Apple has always been known for their popular mainline products like the Mac, iPod, iPhone,
iPad, and Apple Watch, but most people aren’t familiar with the historical significance
of their accessories.
Take Apple’s headphones for example, they began as one of the many bundled items with
the original iPod, but quickly became an iconic symbol that everyone associated with Apple.
And today, the company dominates the headphone market with their wildly popular AirPods.
So in this video we’re going to explore the history of Apple headphones and discover
how they went from being a bundled iPod accessory, to becoming one of Apple’s most popular
best-selling products.
This is Greg with Apple Explained, and I want to thank ESR for sponsoring this video.
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Now let’s start at the very beginning, from the first time Apple created their own pair
of headphones back in 2001 for the original iPod.
Back then, the headphone market was very different from today.
Earbuds weren’t nearly as popular, and there wasn’t much variety when it came to headphone
colors and styles.
In fact, nearly every CD player, Walkman, and MP3 player before the iPod was bundled
with a pair of on-ear headphones with a black cable.
No company had ever put much thought into deviating from the status quo.
But as usual, Apple did put in the extra thought.
And they were faced with a branding challenge.
How could the iPod be identified in public if the device was always hidden inside users
pockets?
After all, the company had never made a mobile device before.
They had a history of selling desktop computers and notebooks which always had an Apple logo
on full display while in use.
But that wouldn’t be the case with a pocketable mobile device like the iPod.
So how did Apple overcome this problem?
Well, they made sure the iPod headphones would be instantly recognizable by making them white.
But that wasn’t all, Apple also made the deliberate decision to include earbuds with
the original iPod instead of traditional on-ear headphones, since they were not only smaller
and easily fit in user’s pockets, but also because they wouldn’t mess up the users
hair.
And to make sure people associated white earbuds with the iPod, Apple launched this iconic
ad campaign which literally highlighted the white earbuds, cable, and iPod, against a
black silhouette.
These efforts from Apple to differentiate the iPod from other MP3 players on the market
paid off big time.
The product quickly became a household name and reached an even greater level of popularity
with the iPod mini in 2004.
Now you might assume that since the iPod mini was offered in different colors, its headphones
would come in colors to match.
But that wasn’t the case.
Apple continued to include the same white pair of earbuds in order to capitalize on
the brand association they’d established with the original iPod.
But what the company did do, is decide to offer a premium pair of headphones that could
be purchased separately for $40.
They were called the iPod In-Ear Headphones and featured three different sized plastic
ear tips along with improved sound quality and bass response.
This was the first time Apple sold a pair of headphones independent from the iPod, and
marked the company’s entrance into the headphone market.
Now Apple going into the headphone business also created opportunities for third party
accessory companies.
It may seem weird that there are accessories being sold for an Apple accessory, but it’s
actually becoming a fast growing industry since these products are actually pretty useful.
For example I dropped my first pair of AirPods in them middle of a parking lot on pavement
and the charging case was completely beat up.
That’s when I discovered the usefulness of a case for my AirPods Pro like these from
ESR.
They’re actually really affordable and prevent my charging case from getting scratched in
my pocket by my keys or from being dropped.
Plus the material has a much better grip than the AirPods Pro glossy plastic so they don’t
slip out of my pocket.
The cases are thin so they don’t add much bulk and they still allow for wireless charging
to work.
So if you’re interested in buying one of these cases to protect your $250 AirPods Pro,
just click the link in the description and use the code APPLEEXP10 by February 29th for
an extra 10% off.
Alright, now in 2007 Apple completely revamped the design of their bundled headphones, integrating
the stem and speaker cone more seamlessly, and elongating the rubber strain relief to
reduce fraying.
Now considering the new earbuds would be included with the iPhone, many features were added
in order to be more phone-friendly.
For example, Apple included an in-line remote and microphone so iPhone users could control
music, calls, presentations, video playback, and activate Siri without reaching into their
pocket.
Now with the release of the iPhone, many thought Apple might take the opportunity to include
black headphones for the first time.
Especially considering the iPhone was only offered in black, compared to the original
white iPod.
But black Apple headphones never happened, with the company sticking to the same white
branding strategy as they always had.
Now in 2008 Apple introduced a new version of their premium in-ear headphones.
They featured an in-line remote and microphone, new silicon ear tips instead of plastic, and
adopted a dual driver speaker design.
With a woofer and tweeter integrated into each earbud for, what Apple called, “superior
acoustic accuracy, balance, and clarity.”
They were sold for double the amount of the previous model at $80.
The next small change that Apple made to their signature earbuds came two years later in
2009, with the release of the iPhone 3GS.
The company added two buttons for volume adjustment in addition to the main center button and
microphone.
Now I should mention that these earbuds were not only bundled with the iPhone 3GS, 4, 4s,
and third gen iPod touch, but they were also sold separately.
Which had only been the case for Apple’s more expensive in-ear headphones.
Now at this point, Apple’s headphone sales were modest.
People might buy a pair to replace their old frayed iPod headphones, or maybe if you were
a big Apple fan you might opt for their $80 in-ear headphones.
But either way, Apple wasn’t considered a major player in the headphone market.
That space was occupied by the likes of Sony, Sennheiser, Bose, and others.
But beginning in 2012, that all started to change.
And it’s thanks to the introduction of the EarPods.
You see, Apple had never put much engineering effort in trying to make their bundled headphones
sound and fit as good as they possible could.
That’s why there were always complaints about the iPod headphones sounding thin and
tinny, while also causing discomfort after long periods of use.
But with the EarPods, Apple spent three years of research and development trying to solve
those problems.
Three-dimensionally scanning hundreds of ears to try and find a commonality that would inform
the design of the EarPods, ensuring a snug comfortable fit for as many users as possible.
And in order to achieve the highest level of sound quality, Apple completely changed
the speaker grill design.
Switching from a large circular opening in the center of the earbud, to a much smaller,
oval opening on the side of the earbud.
This new design directed sound right into the ear canal, minimizing leakage and maximizing
clarity.
Apple also included small openings on each earbud in order to tune midrange frequencies,
provide a consistent listening experience, reduce air pressure, and deliver powerful
bass.
Not to mentioned the EarPods were more durable since they had a completely plastic design,
which was an improvement over the gray rubber of the previous headphones that had a tendency
of wearing down over time.
All of these improvements resulted in Apple’s best pair of bundled headphones yet.
Now the EarPods were not only included with the iPhone 5, iPod touch, and iPod nano, but
they were also sold separately for $30, making them the perfect birthday gift or stocking
stuffer.
Sales of the EarPods ended up outperforming even Apple’s expectations, and were sold
out at most retail stores during their first month of release.
Now even though it’s been almost eight years since the EarPods introduction, they’re
still being sold today.
You can buy them with a 3.5mm headphone jack or a lightning connector, and the EarPods
design served as the foundation for what would become Apple’s most popular pair of headphones
in history: The AirPods.
Now the AirPods were introduced alongside the iPhone 7 in 2016, and were the first pair
of truly wireless earbuds to be released by a major company.
We had seen, quote unquote, wireless headphones before, but they had a wire connecting the
two headphones together and often suffered from some serious compromises like size, weight,
connectivity issues, and battery life.
But the AirPods represented a leapfrog in wireless headphone technology, with each earbud
working independently from the other, maintaining a compact form factor, connecting to devices
simply and easily, and achieving five hour battery life.
But many people didn’t see the AirPods this way when they were first announced.
In fact, most people were bitter about Apple removing the headphone jack from the iPhone
7, and felt like the company was simply pushing customers to buy an expensive pair of wireless
earbuds.
And while there may be some validity to this claim, it’s also worth pointing out that
Apple did include an adapter with the iPhone 7 so people could still use their existing
headphones.
But the complaints went further than that.
Many felt that the AirPods $160 price tag was outrageous, especially considering their
sound quality was only marginally better than Apple’s $30 EarPods.
Also, the design of the AirPods were mocked, with memes quickly appearing online comparing
the earbuds to toothbrush heads, and the charging case to a pack of floss.
But as usual, the internet’s opinion about Apple was wrong.
The AirPods became a wild success, and were regularly sold out at Apple Stores across
the country even three months after their release.
Now Apple eventually updated the AirPods in early 2019, adding “hey Siri” support,
an optional wireless charging case, a new H1 chip, 50% more talk time, and two-times
faster device switching.
But there were no changes to the AirPods design, which was a popular request among users.
Many people were asking Apple for black AirPods, in addition to a new in-ear design.
But Apple would only deliver on one of those requests in late 2019 with the AirPods Pro,
rumors were swirling before its release since there were quite a few leaks leading up to
its launch, and one of the most popular rumors was that the AirPods Pro would be offered
in black.
But just like in the past, Apple decided to stick to their signature glossy white plastic
design, which had been associate with the company for well over a decade.
Now there were a lot of great features that the AirPods Pro did introduce, like a smaller
in-ear design with silicon ear tips, active noise cancellation, transparency mode, better
sound quality, IPX4 water resistance, and a force sensor to control music and switch
between listening modes.
Now the AirPods Pro didn’t replace the standard AirPods, they were simply sold as a higher-end
model with a price tag of $250.
But just like the original AirPods, the Pro model also sold extremely well and resulted
in Apple doubling their monthly production of the product.
Now thanks to the unprecedented success of the AirPods, Apple became one of the biggest
players in the headphone market in just a couple years.
It remains to be seen just how large their headphone line will grow, but Apple is certainly
going to be a top competitor for years to come.
Alright guys, thanks for watching and I’ll see you next time.