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Headphone Market

The Price of Silence

Apple quietly (no pun intended) introducing a noise-cancelling “Pro” version of its hugely popular AirPods surely heated up the competition in the market for noise-cancelling headphones/earphones. Having been available for a week now, the Airpods Pro were widely greeted by , as most commentators lauded how Apple addressed most of the niggling issues people had with regular AirPods.

At $249, the “Pro” edition of Apple’s wireless earphones comes at a $90 premium compared to regular AirPods, which start at $159 and are already considered too expensive by many. While it is certainly debatable whether it makes sense to spend $249 on a pair of earphones, it ultimately is a question of personal taste and budget.

As the following chart shows, noise-cancelling headphones generally come at a price. While there are cheaper alternatives to Apple’s latest offering, higher-end noise-cancelling headphones from market leaders Bose and Sony can easily scrape the $400 mark.

Description

This chart shows the recommended U.S. retail price of selected noise-cancelling earphones/headphones.

Ownership of headphones and earphones in France 2024, by number of users
Ownership of headphones and earphones in France 2024, by ownership status
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Consumers occasionally wearing headphones while shopping in Canada 2024, by gender
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Consumers occasionally wearing headphones while shopping in Canada 2024, by age
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Headphone shipments worldwide 2013-2025
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Sales revenue from headphones in Germany 2008-2025

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