What started out as another useless Apple product in the eyes of the general public, the AirPods have turned into a symbol of wealth and status that is desired by some, yet still ridiculed by others. And the strangest thing is that it took the product two years to finally gain relevance.

The AirPods are a wireless earphone product introduced by Apple in December of 2016. The technology was made in response to criticisms of the wired earphones. One of the most notable complaints being the fact that the wires often get tangled up and damaged, making it frustrating to use.

The AirPods eliminate the use of wires and connects to the phone without plugins, allowing the user to listen to music and make phone calls without the annoyance of wires. The AirPods are also electronically powered, which means the pods would need to be charged after a certain amount of time. Recently, Apple released a charging case that will act as a portable AirPod charger.

Upon its original announcement, the product was heavily criticized for the use of a charger and the perceived potential for them to fall out or be lost, especially without the use of a wire to keep the pods in place.

“I’m perfectly fine with a cable… sometimes when my phone falls out of my pocket, the wire actually kinda catches my phone. I’m kinda forgetful and I to forget where I leave things, so I would probably lose my AirPods if I were to buy some,”  senior Ninrot Anguiano said.

Many also claim that the product is useless and doesn’t have a real purpose. While these have been addressed with the addition of more features, the AirPods faded into obscurity and was seen as a failed experiment by Apple.

“I don’t think they’re annoying, I just think its a waste of money if I don’t need it. Like, if it’s not something I need, why am I going to spend one hundred and sixty dollars on headphones,” senior Jocelyn Noritz said.

Despite the critiques,  two years have passed and all the sudden the AirPod became the most sought after item on the market. According to the website Digital Trends, over 28 million AirPods were sold in 2018, which is more than how much was sold in 2017, which was 16 million. This is rather impressive when comparing it to the sales of other experimental products like the Apple Watch, which sold 8 million products at the end of 2017.

In addition, many users of the AirPods have come out to say that there is value in the product, sighting them as reliable and a great addition for all iPhone users.

“Basically they are super convenient because you can use the phone while charging it and you can listen to music at the same time, and they never fall out. I mean, I don’t speak broke, but for all my broke boys out there, AirPods are definitely worth it,” sophomore Nathan Mendes said.

Whether these products will revolutionize the game or will be just another trend remains to be seen. However, it is clear that there is some appeal to the AirPods whether you like them or not and will be around for quite a while.