Apple’s been making earbuds for two decades, but they’ve only ever offered them in one color white. So why is Apple willing to make colorful iPhones and iMacs but not colorful earbuds? Well, that’s what I’ll explain right now, so design and brand identity is extremely important to Apple.
They want their products to look unique and be easily identifiable in public. That’s part of the reason why Apple’s notebooks used to feature illuminated logos. But when it came to the iPod in 2001 they ran into a unique problem since it was a small mobile device that would be inserted into people’s pockets. Instead of being prominently displayed like computers.
So how would Apple incorporate a strong brand identity with the iPod if it would hardly ever be seen in public? Well, they focused on part of the product that would be visible, for example their audio devices, but since earbuds were too small to feature something like an Apple logo, they focused on any headphones most defining feature, which is their color. At that time, virtually every pair of headphones included with CD players and walkmans were colored black, so to stand out, Apple went the other direction, making their headphones pure white, which matched the iPod. Apple even highlighted this design choice with their iconic silhouette ad campaign that featured the white headphones, perhaps even more than the iPod itself. The product went on to become the best selling music player in the world, and its white headphones became synonymous with the brand.
But in 2004, Apple had another decision to make when they began offering the iPod in different colors. Some customers expected them to create colorful headphones to match, but instead Apple continued to include white headphones that made their music player instantly recognizable, and this approach continues today, despite the iPod touch being offered in a variety of colors, they all include white Earpods. Despite 2 generations of Airpods plus an additional Air Pods Pro model, Apple continues to offer those in just one color. White, but with the release of air pods Max and the iMac, I think there’s a reason to believe apples finally changing their tune their first over ear headphone called Airpods Max is available in five colors and the iMac is available in seven. But what’s even more important is the approach Apple took to the IMAX accessories for the first time ever. They included color matched cables and approached that could be carried through to the next ear pods model and to Apple’s entire air pods.
so after two decades of waiting we may finally get colorful earbuds from Apple in the near future.
