AirPods as a Status Symbol ⇥ theguardian.com
Elena Cresci, the Guardian:
Of all the widely ridiculed tech products, Apple’s AirPods have experienced an extraordinary turnaround. Back in 2016, they were roundly mocked by the tech industry. Tiny wireless earbuds? It seemed like a recipe for disaster – streets would be littered with these lost headphones, which would clutter up city pavements like discarded gloves and babies’ socks.
[…]
But fast-forward to 2019 and, somehow, the £159-a-pair little pods have transformed into a bona fide status symbol. Diana Ross has a pair, Kristen Stewart wears them and a woman in Virginia has even started a cottage industry by turning them into earrings for people (which does solve the problem of inevitably losing them).
These are called “life savers”. That’s right: AirPods. I love them for the same reason that you love them for.
You know you love something because, as soon as you think you lost them, the whole world has to stop until you find these again. I’ve lost them a couple of times, but I’ve found them a couple of times, so we’re even.
The original modern status symbol headphones were the white earbuds that came with the iPod. Those were overtaken by Dr. Dre’s Beats models — which, of course, Apple now owns. But I don’t think anything matches AirPods as both a status symbol and a daily essential.
And they still don’t work with my ears, which is upsetting.