A video of Toronto music icon Drake flaunting his white wired earbuds has sparked questions about whether the shift to their wireless successors was the right move.
When Apple’s AirPods first came on the tech scene they were met with mixed reviews. Luckily for Apple, the tides soon changed, and it became clear that AirPods and Bluetooth powered earbuds and headphones were here to stay.
But even now, eight years out from the launch of AirPods, some people, including Drake, are still holding on tightly to their wired buds.
Are people really going back to wired headphones?
Despite Drake being called the “it girl” by the TikTok user who shared the video and comments supporting his choice of earbuds, there doesn’t appear to be “a concerted move away from Bluetooth,” according to Michael Nunan, a broadcast audio specialist and educator with 30 years of experience.
That being said, “you’re not likely to find audio professionals using Bluetooth unless there’s some absolute requirement to do so,” Nunan added.
One of the main reasons is because of limited fidelity, which refers to how accurately sound is reproduced when played through an output device like a headset or stereo system.
For the average person playing music or a podcast from their phone through wireless headphones, those fidelity issues aren’t a deal-breaker.
Audio files on mobile devices are usually compressed so they take up less storage space — a process that leads to worsened sound quality, Nunan explained.
“If you’re really interested in fidelity, there’s a good chance you’re not listening off of your phone, in which case you’re also not going to want to give up quality by creating the convenience of a wireless connection,” he said.
Nunan speculated Drake may have been using his wired headphones to listen to uncompressed music files — possibly even his own.
“Drake may have very high-quality recordings on his phone, and he doesn’t wish to lose any of that quality by going to Bluetooth,” he said. “That’s absolutely a thing.”
Another reason people may prefer to use wired headphones over a wireless pair is because of the latter’s shelf-life.
“The electronics just degrade over time, and they will eventually stop working,” said Nunan. They can also be costly to replace.
Could Drake inspire “techlash?”
Gustavo Ferreira, an assistant professor in information and technology studies at the University of Toronto, doesn’t know why Drake would have been using wired earbuds, but what he’s more interested in is why it grabbed so many peoples’ attention.
“It tells us a lot about celebrity culture,” said Ferreira.
He believes seeing a musician like Drake with wired headphones raised skepticism about the quality of Bluetooth connection.
This plays into what Ferreira called the “techlash” — backlash against tech companies for making design and software choices users don’t want or feel they need.
“Apple has a cult following,” said Ferreira. “But they also have an infamous way of doing away with certain types of technologies,” like when they removed the headphone jack from the iPhone.
With no headphone jack, users who want to use wired headphones have to give up their ability to charge their phone and listen to music at the same. The work around is to buy another piece of tech like a wireless charger or audio cable splitter.
People going out of their way to continue using wired headphones instead of accepting the push to Bluetooth could be making a statement to say “I don’t trust these companies. I don’t like what they choose for me,” Ferreira explained.
Is it possible to have a better listening experience with Bluetooth?
Consensus seems to be that a wired connection leads to better sound quality, but it’s still possible to have an enhanced listening experience with a Bluetooth headset.
For example, subscribers to Tidal, have access to higher quality music files than those typically available on platforms like YouTube or Spotify. Apple Music has also taken steps to make the wireless experience more immersive with Dolby Atmos, which emulates surround sound technology.
One con of wireless headphones that isn’t currently being addressed — and likely won’t be — is the issue of interference, which is when a connection gets disrupted by other Bluetooth or Wi-Fi signals.
In densely packed areas like Toronto where people may be walking around with multiple Bluetooth enabled devices or may be introducing smart devices into their homes, “this is not going to go away,” said Nunan.
Luckily, he said, connectivity improves with each generation of new tech, but “until somebody invents some new physics, we’re going to be dealing with interference forever.”
