Remember AirPods? You probably do, because they’re literally everywhere, all the time, but if you don’t, it’s because Apple has seemingly neglected its hyper-popular wireless earbuds for a while now—or it’s at least failed to give us a model that actually counts as an upgrade. While AirPods 4 were released in 2024, the only notable upgrades back then were USB-C charging (hardly groundbreaking) and a new H2 chip that most people will probably overlook. That means the last real upgrade was actually in 2021. Feel old yet? I sure do.
That lack of attention is starting to show, too, according to a recent report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP), a research firm that follows consumer habits. According to its recent trend report on earbuds, Apple’s share of the Bluetooth audio market is starting to slip. This year, 59% of iPhone owners in its survey say they own AirPods, which is technically up from a year ago but also flat with 2023 levels. On one hand, that’s no surprise given the lack of a major update, but when you couple that with increased competition, things start to get a little tricky. The wireless earbud market, after all, isn’t short of new entrants.
And on top of that competition, Apple also doesn’t have the same level of ecosystem lock on AirPods as it does on the iPhone. While lots of people may never make the switch from their iPhone to an Android device simply because they can’t bear the thought of having to leave Apple’s Messages app and get green-bubbled in perpetuity, AirPods don’t enjoy the same superpower. Any pair of wireless earbuds will work pretty much seamlessly on both Android and iOS, save for some features like hi-res LHDC streaming that are pretty much only for the audiophile niche anyway. That’s all to say that AirPods, unlike the iPhone, are vulnerable, and unless you’re an Apple diehard, you could easily look elsewhere for your earbud needs.
More important than the business side of things, though, is the fact that AirPods, in this day and age, just feel a little stagnant, which is a drag for us consumers. While competitors like Nothing are pushing the category forward with unique, colorful design, other competitors are pursuing new form factors like open-ear wireless earbuds, which are better for exercising or riding a bike, given the fact that you can still hear your surroundings. To be honest, the world of wireless earbuds is more vibrant than ever, but Apple’s offerings are still a bit… pale.
The good news is, Apple may be on the precipice of giving us something actually new. As noted by CIRP’s recent report, Apple has been heavily discounting its AirPods, including very deep sales this past Amazon Prime week. That could suggest that Apple is trying to move inventory ahead of a product launch—a product launch that could be in the fall when Apple traditionally announces its new iPhones. On the design side of things, there’s also a chance (a smaller one, to be sure) of a shakeup. With its Liquid Glass redesign, Apple seems to be moving its gadgets in a new visual direction. That’s all software for now, but that design language could bleed over into hardware, too. I don’t know what exactly that means for AirPods, if anything, but if there were a time for Apple to try something new from a hardware perspective, now would be that time.
While we can’t say for sure, rumors suggest that Apple’s AirPods Pro 3 could involve major changes, including a dose of AI or even in-earbud cameras of some kind. Those cameras, for the record, wouldn’t be for taking pictures but for enabling gestures or better spatial audio, according to Bloomberg. Whatever Apple does or doesn’t do with its next real upgrade to AirPods, the writing is on the wall: its ridiculously popular earbuds need some love, not just for shareholders, but for faithful lovers of Apple audio.
