Main points
- Listening to music on old-school devices like Walkmans and CDs is making a comeback.
- Wired headphones are back in style, offering great sound quality without draining your battery.
- Wireless over-ear headphones with noise-cancelling capabilities remain popular, but there are affordable options as well.
The clocks have been moved forward, the sun is out longer and the flowers are blooming outside. Spring is here, and not only is it a time to enjoy the nice weather and countdown to summer, there are also some audio trends to look forward to.
During this season we’ll see a return to retro tech like wired headphones and Walkmans, and we’ll likely see some new audio announcements and products. To learn what to watch this spring, read on.
Why These Chi-Fi Wired Headphones Are My Favorite Accessories of 2024
While wireless headphones are more mainstream, wired headphones like the Chi-Fi KZ ZSN Pro X are still an audiophile’s dream.
1 Walkmans, MP3 players and iPods are back
What’s old is new again
A lot of people, myself included, are very tired of staring at a screen all the time. The reliance on our phones, and especially the streaming apps on them, is becoming a bit overwhelming. For some of us, this may mean getting back to basics, whatever that means for each of us. Some might pull out their cassette tapes and Walkmans, or their old CDs and portable CD players from high school, or for the younger ones among us, they pull out our old iPods.
It’s also great to take a break from screens when we seem to be inundated with more and more information.
The return of old personal audio technology is exciting for a number of reasons. First, it’s good to try out and build new familiarity with technology that you may not have been exposed to in years or before. It’s also great to take a break from screens when we seem to be inundated with more and more information. Finally, when it comes to formats like CDs, it’s better to spend your time listening to high-quality music rather than the MP3s we’re used to in the digital age.
I bought an MP3 player in 2024 and I actually listened to music for the first time in years
Sony’s 2017 MP3 player is designed for purposeful listening, and even though I’m a budding audiophile, I think it’s a game-changer.
2 Wired headphones are bigger than ever
This is the entry-level trend with low barriers to entry and high returns
Speaking of analog, wired headphones are making a comeback. Celebrities are seen wearing them, it-girls on TikTok are starting to use Apple’s EarPods, and as mentioned before, retro style is back.
Not only do wired headphones look cool and stylish, they’re also great audio technology. They’re classics for a reason. They last longer because there’s no need to drain the battery, they allow you to listen to lossless audio, and there’s no latency issue like with wireless headphones. Plus, many of them are budget-friendly.
Wired headphones are making a comeback, I don’t know how they feel
In 2016, I was laughed at for not having AirPods, and now young Gen Z thinks AirPods are overrated and wired headphones are cool. what happened?
If you want to jump on this trend, you don’t even have to buy a new pair of headphones. Chances are you still have a pair of wired earbuds from seven years ago that you can pull out of your drawer, and they’re probably working just as well as they did then. But if you want, you can also buy a new pair, there are many to choose from in different price ranges.
3 Over-ear wireless headphones remain popular
There’s no denying that noise cancellation and Bluetooth are very convenient
Some people just don’t like wires, and that’s okay. Wireless headphones are clearly still cult-like and popular, with headphones like the AirPods Max and Sony WH-1000XM5 as popular as they were a year ago. With premium noise cancellation, long battery life, and stylish looks, it may never die.
You definitely don’t need to spend a fortune to attend. AirPods Max are expensive, but you can get a great pair of wireless noise-canceling headphones for less. For example, the Sony WH-1000XM4 is very popular and frequently released. There are also headphones like the Sony WH-CH720N and Anker Soundcore Life Q30 that are cheaper at full price.
These 5 features of Sony WH-1000XM5 may make me give up wired headphones
While wired life is great, the Sony WH-1000XM5 tempted me to dip my toe into the world of Bluetooth audio again.
4 WWDC may bring Apple audio announcements
Nothing is confirmed yet, but we can hope
Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is taking place on June 10 this year, which means we could get some new announcements from Apple regarding its audio product line. Can we buy new AirPods Pro 3, or AirPods Max 2?
Apple is reportedly preparing 2 affordable AirPods models for September
Second- and third-generation AirPods are expected to be replaced by new models with improved designs in the fall.
While there are rumors that AirPods Max 2 may be released this year, and it would be nice to get new over-ear AirPods, there’s no good news just yet. We don’t know yet if we’ll see any announcements about it at WWDC this year, as most of what we know about WWDC has to do with next-gen iOS and generative AI. But I think it’s still worth considering that we might find out more information about these two potential releases before or at WWDC, as this would be pretty big news for Apple’s audio lineup.