Apple’s AirPods Did the One Thing the Apple Watch Couldn’t

Whether you wear an Apple Watch or not, you know they exist. Boasting easy connection to your iPhone and many band options, there are a lot of ways to customize your watch.

Sales of the Apple Watch are growing and the device continues to show promise for the development of the company. Despite this, the Apple Watch is not the only wearable you’ll see on someone’s wrist. When I go out and see a smartwatch on someone’s wrist, I can’t always identify it with a single glance.

The customization of the Apple Watch was supposed to be a major selling point. Just watch the Keynote from 2014 announcing the device. Apple wanted the Watch to fit your style, but still stand out. This approach to making fashion-friendly accessory seems counter-Apple. They’re a company known for removing noise and focusing on the product. Simplicity was their initiative in the past, but the introduction of a new product placed the emphasis elsewhere.

This weekend I got my AirPods. I haven’t used them much, but so far they’ve been great: synched easily, fit in my ears, no wire, sound good. When purchasing the AirPods there is no choice, you get the white with the chrome at the bottom of each AirPod.

Here is where the difference lies: the AirPods are instantly recognizable.

When I pass by someone on the street who has AirPods in, I know they’re an Apple user. I know what this product is, what the person is doing, but it’s still subtle. This single glance is enough to get the point of the AirPod across. I see no wires and the AirPods stay in the ear.

This is exactly what Apple wants, and it takes me back to 2004 when the iPod was beginning to skyrocket in popularity. When you walked down the street and saw someone with white EarPods, you know what the EarPods were plugged into. It was a signature of Apple, and they turned a pair of complimentary headphones into a status symbol.

Apple has its own style of marketing, so being instantly recognizable is important for them. Their ads never tell you what the product is, just how to use it. Take the iconic silhouette iPod ads. You’d watch 27 seconds of commercial where black silhouettes danced holding white outlines of iPods. At the very end, you’d see the iPod name flash on the screen, but the bulk of the commercial was dedicated to showing you the iPod was portable and could move with you when it made you dance.

The AirPods are the first new Apple product in a while that are so easy to recognize. This is how it differs from the Apple Watch. If I see an Apple Watch, I recognize it as a smartwatch but it takes a moment before I know it’s Apple. The AirPods scream Apple at first glance and that’s reminiscent of Apple’s old branding.