From Zendaya to zoomers, listeners are forgoing the convenience of wireless headphones to plug in again. Is it just a retro affectation – or does this physical connection strengthen our relationship to music?
AirPods changed my life. I was previously a user of excellent but somewhat cumbersome Audio Technica over-ears, but Apple’s wireless headphones – dinky in their construction, finicky in their setup, temperamental in their ability to actually work – liberated me from cords. My listening habits are, at best, frustrating for the people around me: when you write about music, you have to listen to the same things over and over, and sometimes those things are very bad. Suddenly I could listen to a terrible new pop record or an ominous drone piece while making breakfast or folding laundry late at night without fear of disturbing my housemates by listening from a speaker. I kept my Audio Technicas but built out my collection of AirPods; now I use the wireless in-ear ones while commuting and also have the over-ear AirPods Max.
For a while, though, I’ve been thinking about moving back to wired earbuds. At some point, doubts about the joyous wireless future I was living in began to creep into my head. I am conspiracy-prone, and started to wonder what all that Bluetooth was doing to my head. I thought about the security issues that come with Bluetooth. And after a fall from a Lime bike on a slippery road, I started thinking about ways to avoid all future falls, one of which was to cycle without listening to music or podcasts.
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