(Credit: Apple)
AirPods may be small in size, but in terms of revenue, they're huge. Last year, AirPods made Apple over $18 billion in revenue, according to Bloomberg.
If that sounds like a lot, it's because it is. In fact, it's more than many big-name tech companies made overall in 2023, including Spotify ($14 billion), Nintendo ($12 billion), eBay ($10 billion), Airbnb ($10 billion), DoorDash ($9 billion), Shopify ($7 billion), and OpenAI ($4 billion).
That being said, it's worth noting that this is revenue, not profit. Revenue is the overall amount a company makes from products or services, as opposed to profit, which is how much a company clears after expenses. So while these numbers don't necessarily illustrate how much the sale of 75 million AirPods in 2023 added to Apple's bottom line as opposed to, say, Spotify's 220 million subscriptions, it is nevertheless a stunning fact.
Apple's wireless white earbuds were released on this day eight years ago. They were introduced alongside the iPhone 7: the first iPhone without a headphone jack. While this move angered many Apple customers who were forced to abandon one accessory and purchase an even more expensive one, it has clearly more than paid off for Apple.
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AirPods are notorious for how easy they are to lose, and in some ways, that is their genius, at least for Apple. They end up abandoned on sidewalks, strewn on train tracks, and remain hidden in the depths of sofa cushions. In 2019, AirPods owners spent $700 million replacing them.
AirPods start at $129 for the latest model AirPods 4 and are $179 for the noise-cancellation version. AirPods Pro are a step up, with better sound than AirPods and rubberized eartips that fit in the ear canal. The latest model, AirPods Pro 2, is $249. The cost of any model is not negligible for most people, and their loss is not covered by AppleCare+, though you can replace a single AirPod or case for a fee. It’s easy to see how between their popularity, losability, and cost, AirPods are making Apple a fortune, even in the face of the fashionable embracing wired headphones.