> That means almost all iPhone users are still either using wired earphones or none at all.
I'm sorry, what? Non-Apple branded Bluetooth earphones (including AirPod knockoffs) are ubiquitous, and far outnumber wired earphones (in part thanks to Apple and many Android OEMs dropping headset jacks).
That only happened on high-end smartphones. Low-end and mid-range still have 3.5 mm socket.
(Also, I actually look around regularly at the train station, and I still see mostly wired headsets. I'm using a wireless one, btw.)
I see the occasional default Apple headphones, but the vast majority of people are using Airpod-alikes.
This does not match my experience at all, but SE Asia is a diverse place.
Go to a random rural town in a midwestern US state and I'm sure you probably won't see people wearing Airpods, which is probably what people are picturing when someone says SE Asia.
We have paved roads believe it or not, as well as a large class of people who use the newest iPhones.
Which means that almost everyone still uses wired phones.
You see a lot of AirPods (I was gifted a set myself) but you see even more wireless over-ear headphones. I probably notice those the most. And wired are still common, though not necessarily 3.5mm.
* I know, not representative of the general population, and USA-centric, but the A list tends to be representative of what people want and, if they can afford it, what they have.
What do you mean by not necessarily 3.5mm?
Do you mean they are ubiquitous with people using iPhones? Because here is Australia I would guesstimate that 80% of in-ear wireless earphone used with Apple devices are AirPods.
I think probably 50% of people I know who've bought an iPhone in the last year have bought AirPods at the same time (if they didn't already have them).
Over/On ear headphone are a different story, as is Android.
Maybe in new sales, but not in deployed use.
I’ll buy a quality headset or in-ear and it might last me a decade.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=wireless+headset&ia=images&iax=ima...
Every headset has some amount of wiring.
Yet half of HN has a fit anytime the word “Serverless” is uttered.
Understanding that may not be wider usage, I feel there exists a need (or at least benefit) for two words - something which is good/intended for listening, and something which is good/intended for conversing.
As I'm currently in operations, vast majority of my team spends 4+++ hrs a day on calls and conference calls. We'll take a $20 3.5mm Logitech with a boom over a $100 bluetooth with a boom over $200 bluetooth without a boom in a heart beat. Anybody with airpods [or Samsung etc equivalents] has been taken out to the back alley and shot by now.
When you think about it, the new usage (wireless = no wires at all) is more accurate than the old (wired, but not connected the the phone itself by wires)