How AirPods became Apple's hottest product
CTV
Apple's fall product event on Monday, which had been widely framed in the press as a MacBook event, it was arguably the AirPods that stole the show. So how did this product become so popular?
But over the years, AirPods have emerged as a surprise status symbol and a hit for the company. Customers line up outside Apple stores on AirPods launch dates as they do for new iPhones. NBA players began wearing them before games on their "runway" walks to the locker room. Olympic skateboarder Jagger Eaton wore a pair during an event in Tokyo this summer (he took home a bronze medal). There are AirPod cuffs that clasp to ears, jewelry that clips onto the stems and expensive designer cases from Prada, Louis Vuitton and Coach. And AirPods can be found everywhere: in ears at Starbucks, airports and more recently, on Zoom and WebEx calls during the pandemic.
So perhaps it shouldn't be surprising that at Apple's fall product event on Monday, which had been widely framed in the press as a MacBook event, it was arguably the AirPods that stole the show.
For the first time in two years, Apple updated the AirPods line. The US$179 AirPods 3 promise spatial audio, better sound quality, longer-lasting battery, a new contour design and customizable sound that adapts to what the ear is hearing, a feature already available on Apple's higher-end AirPods Pro line. They also come with shorter stems and without the plastic tips found on their predecessors, small tweaks that highlight how the once ridiculed design continues to change.
Crucially, Apple also cut the price of the second-generation AirPods to $129, which could help the company attract more customers and compete with a growing number of similar products from the likes of Amazon, Google and Samsung.
Across the southern U.S., millions of residents woke up Friday to a rare chance to bust out the mittens and snow pants thanks to a cold snap that dumped snow in their backyards.
On Friday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on TikTok’s legal challenge to the law, which the company claims violates its First Amendment rights and those of its 170 million American users
A Canadian teen is reaching audiences around the world with powerful social media videos showing life without hands and feet – the price she paid after developing sepsis.
A New Brunswick nurse is ‘set for life’ after winning a $675,000 lottery prize last month.
Firefighters hoped for a break Friday from fierce winds that have fueled massive blazes in the Los Angeles area, killing 10 people, obliterating whole neighborhoods and setting the nation's second-largest city on edge.
A Manitoba researcher was part of a historic research team that uncovered the oldest ice core ever retrieved.
BC Children’s Hospital says a 13-year-old girl with avian flu was discharged Tuesday after weeks in hospital.
In 1978, President Carter signed into law a bill that legalized homebrewing. Like most inventions, this new style of ale didn't stay inside garages for long.
Automakers pulled out all the stops to showcase their latest advances for in-vehicle experiences at CES, the Consumer Technology Association’s annual trade show of all things tech, in Las Vegas this week.
A series of wildfires are searing through the Los Angeles area, forcing many to evacuate their homes. Here's everything that happened throughout Jan. 8.
Meta’s plans to ditch fact-checking on Instagram and Facebook is stirring up quite the debate.
Two workers at a state-run hospital in West Virginia have been charged in connection with the death of a 61-year-old non-verbal man who investigators said was left in a scalding hot bath for nearly an hour.
Budget-conscious buyers looking for luxury alternatives have flocked to Walmart's Birkin bag look-alike, nicknamed the 'Wirkin.'
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Tuesday it has opened a probe into 2.6 million Tesla vehicles in the United States over reports of crashes involving a feature that allows users to move their cars remotely.
California firefighters battled wind-whipped wildfires that tore across the Los Angeles area, destroying homes, clogging roadways as tens of thousands fled and straining resources as the fires burned uncontained early Wednesday.
Lake Naivasha, northwest of Nairobi, Kenya is becoming increasingly unnavigable. Water hyacinth, the world's most widespread invasive species, is blanketing the lake, choking its fish and leaving people stranded.
Drinking coffee has repeatedly been linked with better heart health and prolonged life. But the benefits of coffee consumption could depend on when you drink it, new research has found.
On one of the most challenging days of Hannah White’s life, she found peace in the generosity and determination of several Delta Air Lines employees who went to great lengths to ensure that she was able to spend another precious 24 hours with her mom.