Who would have thought that wired headphones would suddenly sell out in 2026.
Research firm Circana mentioned in a recent report that wired headphones suddenly experienced growth after five years of declining sales. A share growth of 3% will be achieved for the whole year of 2025, and sales have soared by 20% in the first three months of 2026. Ten years ago, when AirPods came out, everyone was asserting that TWS headphones would become the only major category in the consumer headphone market in the future, and wired headphones that needed to be plugged into terminals such as players/mobile phones would completely disappear in a few years.
(Source: circana)
The recent data has slapped everyone in the face. Why are wired headphones suddenly so popular? The answer is simple: retro trends and celebrity effect. Australian actor Jacob Elordi, who was nominated for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for "Frankenstein", was photographed using wired headphones at the airport. Actor Hailey Bieber showed off wired headphones in a street photo shoot. The fashion magazine "Vogue" used wired headphones as part of the fashion mix when shooting its cover.
(Source: Instagram)
Although the street photos of a large number of celebrities wearing wired headphones can bring about a certain imitation effect, in fact, wireless headphones have done a good job in noise reduction, connection, and portability, and have occupied the market high ground in the past few years; why do young people still fall in love with this troublesome and difficult-to-maintain "headphone cable"?
“Anti-digitalization”, the new cultural wave of Generation Z young people
In the past two years, a batch of retro digital products became popular on the Internet almost every two months, such as CCD cameras, MP3s, flip phones, etc., but by 2026, the protagonist of this wave has been replaced by wired headphones.
The "popularity" of wired headphones is not due to any technological innovation, but purely because of "fashion." When hung on the outside of sweaters, leather jackets, and shirts, it is not just a tool for listening to music, but more like an accessory with a sense of age, a low-cost but highly recognizable styling component. It is for this reason that the British "Guardian" defines Lily-Rose Depp, Paul Mescal, Bella Hadid and Apple Martin as the pioneers of the retro wave of wired headphones.
It wasn’t just the street photos of these celebrities that started this trend, even fashion magazines also pushed it behind the scenes. At New York Fashion Week in 2025, Dove Cameron even tied Apple Earpods directly into her bun. The fashion magazine "Vogue" spread this look as a typical case of the revival of wired headphones. For a time, almost all modeling artists around the world paid attention to the fact that "wired headphones can be used for modeling".
(Image source: byrdie)
Xiaohongshu, a lifestyle platform, published a report on trendy digital as early as 2024, which mentioned that the platform has 180 million people in the digital industry. Young people’s expectations for digital products have long been not just about ease of use, but have further shifted to “easy to use, fun, and good-looking.” The practicality of wired headphones has been proven, so its success rate in Xiaohongshu is much higher than that of previous CCD cameras and MP3s.
Many people will wonder whether these "electronic waste" hyped up with a "retro" appearance is a huge marketing effort? Actually, it's really not. This group of young people born between 1995 and 2009 is collectively called "Generation Z". This generation of young people has been highly exposed to the Internet since birth. Computers, smartphones, and SLR cameras have almost grown up with them.
(Source: Xiaohongshu)
Therefore, Generation Z has held high the banner of “anti-digitalization” in recent years. Those old machines that were supposed to be retired, such as the square slider Nokia, the physical full keyboard Blackberry, and the Japanese clamshell Sharp that became popular on Xiaohongshu, were called "internet-free mobile phones" by Generation Z and became completely popular; CCD cameras with slow focus, blurry images, and troublesome reading were regarded as "artifacts for producing movies."
(Source: Xiaohongshu)
In other words, the core of this wave of "popularity" of wired headphones is not just the wired headphones themselves, but that they represent the rise of a culture. It is true that wireless headphones, smartphones, algorithm recommendations and seamless connections are efficient, but precisely because they are so efficient, many young people are beginning to grow tired of this kind of life where everything is arranged for you. Wired headphones can be used as both decorations and tools for listening to music. You can take them off and hang them around your neck when you don’t want to listen. There is no need to pause the music. It is this kind of "casualness" that meets the expression needs of Generation Z.
Easily lost, with poor sound quality, and too expensive, are wireless headphones so bad?
For most ordinary people, using a pair of wired headphones to complement their fashionable outfit does not seem to be that important. The reason that really makes them choose to "return to their original roots" is actually simpler: wired headphones are cheaper and easier to use.
Circana mentioned in the report that many users who insist on using wired headphones said in interviews that wireless headphones (referred to as AirPods) are too expensive and we are not willing to pay for functions other than listening to music. This is true. Take Apple as an example. On the official website, EarPods USB-C is currently selling for 149 yuan, and AirPods 4 is 999 yuan. If you want to bring active noise reduction, then AirPods 4 with ANC will cost 1,399 yuan.
The price of a pair of the most basic wired EarPods is only about one-seventh of AirPods 4, and even less than one-ninth of the noise-canceling version. More importantly, many consumers believe that the extra money is actually to pay for other functions of this headset, such as wireless connection, charging box, noise reduction, search, sensors and ecological synergy, etc.
(Source: techradar)
For people who just want to listen to music, watch videos, and make phone calls in peace, they may not be willing to pay an extra fee for these additional experiences. Of course, there is a more fatal problem here: the battery life and anti-lostness of wireless headphones.
The biggest controversy since the birth of TWS headphones is the battery life. For example, AirPods 4 can last up to 5 hours in a single use, and Sony WF-C510 can last up to 11 hours in a single time. Although it does not sound bad, these are ideal conditions. After long-term use, the battery capacity will decrease and the battery life will only get shorter and shorter. The wired headphones themselves do not have batteries, that is, as long as the player has power, it can be used all the time.
(Image source: Apple)
True wireless earphones have become smaller, lighter, and less sensational in recent years, making them easier to lose. What if I lose it? According to Apple's official support page, if you can't find the lost AirPod or charging box, you can purchase replacement parts separately; SoundGuys has sorted it out according to Apple's repair policy. It costs $69 to replace a regular AirPods headset outside of warranty, and $89 for AirPods Pro. If you lose the charging box, the price will be even more daunting.
In fact, these problems with TWS headsets are not a matter of one day or two. The reason why they have been sold out in the past few years and squeezed the living space of wired headsets is precisely because TWS has brought a completely different experience to some consumers. Coupled with the arrival of AI, TWS headphones are no longer just an audio playback tool, but can even be used as an AI device. However, there is a certain reason why wired headphones are firmly chosen by a small number of consumers. They have no battery life anxiety, are cheap, and don’t feel bad if they are lost. In addition, with the rise of retro trends, they can also be used as accessories.
Wired and wireless, the headphone market is divided into two factions
The "recovery" of wired headphones does not actually mean that they are better than wireless headphones. They also have their own problems.
For wired headphones ten years ago, most people defaulted to 3.5mm, which you could plug in and listen to. But today, many mobile phones, tablets, and thin and light computers have long cut off the 3.5mm headphone jack, and instead use USB-C for audio output. The problem is that when USB-C is used as an audio interface, some are only responsible for charging, and some can transmit data and audio. Whether the adapter itself has a built-in DAC will also directly affect compatibility and sound performance.
Since both wired and wireless headphones have obvious shortcomings and advantages, this shows that consumers do not make choices based on "who is better", but that everyone is no longer superstitious about the conventional purchase logic of digital products: "new ones must be better, and old ones should be eliminated."
(Source: Instagram)
In fact, this is how digital products should be. Why are everyone saying that digital products in recent years are no longer as interesting as before? Everyone is making similar things and setting the same parameters, and consumers are forced to compare in the cage of cost-effectiveness. Lifestyle platforms such as Xiaohongshu present a completely different consumption style. Cameras do not necessarily have to be clear and sharp to be worthy of being sought after. Music players do not have to be more versatile. Wired headphones can also bring different experiences.
Of course, this wave of "recovery" of wired headphones at least proves that the public's previous belief that wireless headphones will occupy the entire market is wrong. For a long time to come, both wired and wireless headphone products will exist at the same time. Wired headphones can combine professionalism well and become a retro and fashionable accessory; wireless headphones continue to move closer to the direction of senselessness and AI, and at the same time derive more forms, providing different choices for more people.
