In a year that EarPods are becoming trendy again and Apple just introduced the third-generation AirPods, 9to5Mac is back with another concept. This time, we’re imagining a possible revision of Apple’s braided EarPods, which haven’t received an update in almost a decade.
Since AirPods have become mainstream, younger people are switching back to wired earbuds. Not only you can see more people on the street wearing them, but they always appear in TikTok videos because it’s easier to place the microphone in front of the person speaking.
Recently, 9to5Mac Parker Ortolani wrote an article about the return of EarPods. He explained:
At the end of the day, wired earbuds are making a comeback because of a predictably rebellious gen z. These trends don’t last though, that’s why they’re called trends. They’re a snapshot in time, so give it a few months and the nex t generation of AirPods Pro could be in every cool person’s ears again. Or, maybe things are just stabilizing. Maybe it’s a course correction and we’re seeing a more even delineation between wireless and wired. It’s certainly possible that the cool factor that made AirPods the multi-billion dollar business that they are today is fading.
They’re really just another product now rather than a cool novelty. You could apply the same argument about stagnating phone design to wireless earbuds. They’re a mature category now. But wired products will never go away, purely because of their reliability. Even if wireless is infinitely more convenient in a lot of ways, there are benefits to EarPods. Those benefits include: no need to charge them, a way cheaper price tag, and volume controls.
With that in mind, Parker and I teamed up to create a concept imagining next-gen EarPods.
Here’s the new EarPods you didn’t know you needed
When we thought about this concept, we immediately thought Apple should add braided cable, addressing one of the complaints people always have is how fragile these earbuds are. As the company already has braided USB-C to Lightning cables, why not add this to its new EarPods?
With a braided cable, not only will these EarPods will last longer, it’s also just a better looking design. As you can see in the image, Apple’s revision of EarPods would be a bit larger than the original EarPods, which means they would have heavier bass and louder sound, just like AirPods.
As the company keeps pushing hard its new Spatial Audio technology, it would only be natural for Apple to bring this to the EarPods. Imagine listening to Taylor Swift’s Folklore and some other cool albums in Spatial Audio with wired EarPods.
For these new EarPods, Parker and I thought it was only natural that Apple would update the microphones, so it would be even better for people who want to record TikToks or just make a phone call.
Another selling feature of these earbuds would be a new Space Gray version. We’ve seen people customizing AirPods with black color, so we think Apple should totally add this as well, as it would be a long-awaited product from the company.
Last but not least, Apple should also sell a version with a 3.5mm headphone jack adapter, which means, everyone could take advantage of these earbuds: iPhone users and, literally, anyone else.
Finally, for this product, Apple would charge a bit more, since it has a braided cable and Spatial Audio support. A $10 increase would be more than enough, making these earbuds not only affordable at $29.99 price as it would also be tempting for this new trend among Gen-Z people.
What do you think about this concept? Would you buy a revised version of the EarPods? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
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