AirPods in the Shower: Accident or Innovation? – WSJ

Deven Machette’s post-run routine began like any other. She ate some blueberry vegan pancakes, turned on the shower, waited until it became appropriately scorching, then jumped in. That’s when she felt it: her AirPods still in her ears.

“I completely forgot they were in,” said Ms. Machette, a 27-year-old digital-marketing strategist in Santa Barbara, Calif. “Because they’re so snug to your head, you can totally take off your clothes without them falling out.”

Her Apple earbuds survived the blunder. Other AirPod owners haven’t been so lucky.

For some, AirPod showers are an accident, an everyday lapse, like forgetting sunglasses are on your head. For others, they are a deliberate choice, a modern take on the shower radio.

Introduced by Apple Inc. in 2016, AirPods went from being mocked for their looks to becoming the world’s most popular wireless headphones. Of the 130 million wireless headphones sold world-wide in 2019, nearly half were AirPods, according to a Counterpoint Research report. In 2020, Apple is projected to sell about 100 million pairs.