Wireless Earbuds: Why do People Fear they’ll Fall Out? | Apple’s AirPods are on the Right Track

Consider the following
- Earbuds with dangling cords that pull on them: 
Won’t fall out of your ears. 
Despite the extra weight and movement of cords. People experienced this for the last… oh I don’t know… 15 to 20 years.

- Earbuds without cords that don’t have anything external pulling on them: People fear they’ll fall out of your ears.
Despite also having seen single-earpiece Bluetooth headsets that are even bigger and heavier, which also don’t fall out your ear.

That doesn’t follow. The expectation of wireless buds falling out, is not very reasonable.

Some considerations and things to think about:

1. If *for some concussion-inducing-head-shaking reason* they do pop out your ears: Yes, they will likely hit the ground. 
A cord would keep them safe in this case…. Just remember though that the cord itself is the main reason they get yanked out in the first place. The cord creates a problem it also solves. No cord creates no problem that doesn’t need solving. The real benefit of no yanking is actually not dropping your expensive smartphone phone on the floor too.

2. “I still can’t picture people walking around with them and not dropping them.”
- Have you ever noticed people with hearing aids complaining they fall out constantly? … I haven’t either. 
- Have you ever noticed those business people who call so much during a day, they just keep a BlueTooth headset in their ear during the day complain it falls out during their highly important calls?… hmmm. 
- Have you ever worn those more expensive fitting earplugs to a concert? … did you have to remove them yourself, or did all the dancing that night not move them one bit?

3. “Earbuds are small, and small things are more likely to get lost.”
Yes, if you’re the kind of person that can’t keep track of small gadgets, good luck in the future, things will get smaller and more wearable. 
- There will be carrying containers or pouches (that also charge them). 
- There Will be bright colors.
- There might even be a “lost mode”, after all, they’re wireless devices that have speakers and perhaps small lights in them, so it would be fairly simple for programmers to make a mode that pings the buds to make a noticeable sound and light signal. Since there are these small electronic tags for your keys, and phones have it too. Oh and they’re magnetic.

4. “What about battery life though?”
- Of course they’re not going to replace all-day headphone wearing… maybe you want to talk to people sometime during the day right?
- These things are meant for hassle-free commuting and being on the go or outdoors. These are activities that don’t last longer than 20 to 120 minutes anyway, and most wireless earbuds can last much longer than that. Once at your destination, you put the buds back in the container (that charges them).
- If you’re in a car, you have a better sound system at your disposal, you probably won’t use them for 2–5 hours (but you still could). If you’re at a desk, your computer or external speakers will have your music and audio needs met. 
Think of these little things as for “head out the door, grab buds out of the container in your pocket and go”.

5. “Will there be badly designed buds that don’t stay in your ears well?”
Yes, since we’re leaving the ear-to-ear back head design, there is a first time for everything and some companies will mess up and figure out how NOT to create wireless earbuds. Competition and feedback over time will even out the bugs. Companies do their best to get it right the first time so they can pioneer this and make their customers happy, there is a lot at stake. Let’s hope engineers figured it out like many mobile innovations we like.

6. These things might actually become super stylish and fashionable. Wearable tech can be an expression of yourself. 
People wear earrings, sunglasses, caps, hats, headbands etc. why not put something in your ear? Over-ear and on-ear headphones are already used as a way to express a style.

So why do people expect or fear it won’t work and wireless earbuds will fall out? 
Because it’s new and we’re used to our wired earbuds, so we don’t want to leave our comfort zone. 
We haven’t felt what it’s like to wear them yet. And that’s the initial obstacle with user-experience oriented products that introduce new ways of using things to us. 
And this is why there are early adopters who will try anything that’s new and promising, even if it’s not matured yet and might have the risk of some bugs or it not working out.

Could they still flop?
Sure it could. But let’s not create irrational expectations and just see what it’s like first, test it, try it, and then make a conclusion.