Dongles & AirPods emerge as most popular Apple products at Best Buy
Possibly to the retailer's chagrin, the bestselling Apple products at Best Buy may be accessories rather than the iPhones, iPads, and Macs they're made for.
During the past two years, the most popular Apple products overall have been the 3.5mm-to-Lightning adapter for headphones, and the 3.3-foot USB-C-to-Lightning cable, Ceros indicated on Friday. The situation appears to have switched up in the June quarter, but still saw AirPods take over first place.
As of Aug. 14, AirPods were holding on to the top spot, followed by the 3.5mm-to-Lightning adapter. The $999 base configuration of the MacBook Air ranked third.
iPhones may be doing better than it appears, as iPhone numbers are based on color and carrier combinations, Ceros noted. At the same time, most iPhone shoppers are believed to prefer Apple or carriers over third-party retailers.
Apple began omitting a 3.5mm jack on iPhones starting with 2016's iPhone 7, nudging buyers towards Bluetooth and Lightning instead. The move was controversial, as the 3.5mm format is still an audio industry standard, and indeed Apple has included the 3.5mm-to-Lightning adapter with all iPhones since then as a concession.
Multiple reports have suggested that Apple might not include the adapter with 2018 iPhone models, expected to be announced next month.
During the past two years, the most popular Apple products overall have been the 3.5mm-to-Lightning adapter for headphones, and the 3.3-foot USB-C-to-Lightning cable, Ceros indicated on Friday. The situation appears to have switched up in the June quarter, but still saw AirPods take over first place.
As of Aug. 14, AirPods were holding on to the top spot, followed by the 3.5mm-to-Lightning adapter. The $999 base configuration of the MacBook Air ranked third.
iPhones may be doing better than it appears, as iPhone numbers are based on color and carrier combinations, Ceros noted. At the same time, most iPhone shoppers are believed to prefer Apple or carriers over third-party retailers.
Apple began omitting a 3.5mm jack on iPhones starting with 2016's iPhone 7, nudging buyers towards Bluetooth and Lightning instead. The move was controversial, as the 3.5mm format is still an audio industry standard, and indeed Apple has included the 3.5mm-to-Lightning adapter with all iPhones since then as a concession.
Multiple reports have suggested that Apple might not include the adapter with 2018 iPhone models, expected to be announced next month.
Comments
When it comes to the legacy analog headphone jack, I got the 7 and then the X and it’s never been an issue since I either used the digital headphones in the box (like most people), or BT.
Any port shape transition is going to take time, and we’ll see whiners for the entire process.
Agreed on the second point tho.
I think he was referring to the annoying USB A-USB B cables required for printers.
Best Buy is the electronic equivalent to Guitar Center.
Get out of here with your media-inspired BS.
I hate how suddenly everyone listens to music while iPhone charges. I don't remember anyone doing that uncomfortable, tangled, 2-wire practice before iPhone removed the jack.
Reminds me of a stupid youtube video that said iPhone made your wired headphones junk. They literally said that.....
Also, some people (like my wife and son) aren't habitual device-chargers, so they often seem to end up in a state where they want to use the device when the batteries are low. Not being able to charge while they listen would obviously be a problem. Luckily, they have 3.5mm jacks, as their devices are from before Apple lost their minds. I'm not sure what will happen come next upgrade cycle.
In terms of Apple-stupid, removing the 3.5mm jack ranks right up there near the top. Then calling it a legacy port just poured salt in the wound (and forever threw Apple's credibility into question).
"I do it every time I go for a longer-than-few-minute drive in the car."
My goodness that sounds tedious.
What I bolded in your comment is actually VERY very very common, which is why I always though "wireless" charging was dumb, especially when Sammy bragged about it. Which is also why I believe Apple will remove the lightning port but add a Watch-style clip-on charger that clips to the Apple logo or the whole back of their devices. OF course before they actually crack real wireless charging.
But handling 2 cords just to listen to music is ridiculous and never heard of anyone doing it until Apple removed the headphone jack and morons(not you specifically) suddenly parroted the meme against Apple.
"In terms of Apple-stupid, removing the 3.5mm jack ranks right up there near the top. "
Kinda how they were stupid for removing the floppy disk drive, the CD Rom drive, SCSI Drive, Mobile Keyboard etc. etc.
"No but this time's different!"
Heard it before too.
So, I guess I have to ask... what's the alternative I'm missing?
re: wireless charging - Yeah, I suppose a 'mag-safe' like cord/disc could be a reasonable charging solution. But, there are many other uses for Lightning (or whatever DATA port is there). But, seeing Apple thinks a 3.5mm jack is 'legacy' maybe efficiently/reliably transferring data is too? I don't put about any level of silliness above Apple these days.
re: 2 cords - Like I said, my wife and son do it all the time. It isn't just to listen to music either, but watching YouTube or playing a game, etc. My son especially does this, as we often don't want to hear all his gaming noise (so make him wear headphones), and the games suck the battery down. I guess I thought I was actually the unusual one, as I'm disciplined about charging every night and use low-power consumption apps and settings, turn my wifi/cell off when not needed, etc.
re: floppy vs 3.5mm jack - not even in the same ballpark. 3.5mm jacks are still widely in use, and I see no reason they won't be for a long time. They are also mechanically superior to Lightning, which is important on devices people tend to put into pockets (assuming you see the dongle as a solution to the lost compatibility).
Oh I don’t know. That’s easy enough to ignore. I bought my 65” TV over a year ago from B.B., and it couldn’t have gone better. They matched the lowest price I could fine, then refunded me the difference between when I bought it and when they dropped it two weeks later, they gave me white glove delivery, on both the original TV which I didn’t like, and the one I kept, and took away the old TV at no extra cost. Friends of mine had the same treatment going through several different models of TVs, delivered and picked up, before they settled on one that was replaced twice with defects, with no questions asked. I don’t think I would ever buy a TV from any other place. I wouldn’t buy an extended warranty from them, though they pushed it on me. I also wouldn’t buy any cables or accessories from them though they pushed those as well. Small price to pay for the service I got.
Glad to see MacBook Air seeing strong sales in a cost conscious retailer. This may be encouraging if Apple is going to do a refresh on the Air to keep it well positioned in what is not a bad cost driven niche to be in if you're Apple. If Chromebooks and barely usable Win10 PCs (those with 4G RAM and 32 GB storage) own the sub $500 niche and low end Win10 PCs own the $500-$800 niche, having a Mac product positioned on the immediate next tier is not a bad thing for cost conscious consumers looking at a good-better-best scenario in their purchasing comfort zone. Trying to push a Mac into the next lower tier would involve too many sacrifices unless it was sold as a loss leader. keeping a compelling Air in the game is smart for these types of retailers.