Apple might be ditching it’s freebie wired EarPod headphones this year. That’s a good thing for quite a few reasons
We’re now halfway through 2020, and it’s fair to say it’s been a rough year so far; there’s a deadly pandemic sweeping the globe, the job market is broken, the economy is in the bin, and, somehow, Apple EarPods continue to exist.
Things are looking up, though! Sure, we’re heading for a second wave and the economic situation isn’t looking great, but there’s talk that this could finally be the year that Apple EarPods cease to exist (if you discount the 19 pairs you have hidden away in drawers around your home, each one tangled into an impossibly tight ball).
According to the analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple intends to ship this year’s iPhones without EarPods, nor a charger, included in the box. If true, this will mark the first time in the history of the iPhone that it will ship unaccompanied by offensive, plastic headphones. Before the advent of the EarPods alongside the iPhone 5 in 2012, devices shipped with Apple’s “iconic” Earbuds, famed for their numerous appearances in overly-saturated iPod adverts.
This is good news. Sure, social-media reactions so far have fallen predominantly into the category of “outrage”, and the cynics among you may see it as a not-so-cleverly devised move by Apple to flog more of its (excellent) wireless earbuds, but maybe – just maybe – the company has finally come to realise that those spending upwards of £1,000 on a new smartphone simply aren’t going to use The Worst Headphones Ever.
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OK, we’re being dramatic, but the EarPods – especially when you consider that they come bundled with one of the most premium smartphones around – are not good. Yes, they do the job when you forget you have a Zoom call starting in 18 seconds and your AirPods inexplicably won’t connect to your MacBook, but let’s be honest: they’re uncomfortable, unattractive and suffer from poor sound and terrible leakage. They are free, though, and you do tend to get what you pay for.
But general terrible-ness isn’t the only reason Apple’s decision to ditch bundled headphones should be celebrated. As per Kuo’s research note, this isn’t all some ploy to sell more AirPods, but rather a considered attempt by Apple to offset the cost increases that come with upgrading to a new iPhone.
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