AirPods, Not The Apple Watch, Are What Consumers Want

Apple may be hoping the Apple Watch Series 2 resonates with consumers, but based on a new survey conducted by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, it may be the wireless earbuds, not the Apple Watch, that consumers are excited about.

According to a report, Bank of America Merrill Lynch found that 12 percent of survey respondents are keen on buying the AirPods, which go for $159 and are wireless, when they go on sale in November. That could result in $3 billion in revenue for Apple, the investment firm estimated. What’s more, more survey respondents said they want the AirPods than the Apple Watch Series 2. Only 8 percent of survey respondents chose the Apple Watch.

While the AirPods are designed to listen to music and videos, industry watchers think it will become so much more. According to a recent report by Seeking Alpha, Apple’s AirPods, its wireless headphones that were unveiled with the launch of the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus, offer an innovative user interface that is controlled by Siri, Apple’s digital personal assistant.

“Apple leverages the fact that we are living in an increasingly mobile-centric world and introduces a product which, compared to the stationary concept of the Echo, better fits into the ecosystem of our multiple mobile devices accompanying us throughout the day,” Seeking Alpha wrote in the report. “AirPods increase the value of these products, unlocking new use cases, like turning a smartwatch into a highly portable and convenient music player or allowing for semi-private interactions with a virtual assistant while your smartphone is in your pocket.”

According to the report, if Amazon’s Echo is intriguing to some consumers, then being able to take it on the go in your ear with a connected mobile device has “truly mass-market potential.” The report noted that, in addition to being mobile and offering consumers a lot of use cases, AirPods have other trimmings of a mass-market technology product, such as they are easy to use and have a versatile user interface. The report pointed to the ability to pause a song on an Apple device by double-tapping either headphone or simply asking Siri. Removing the AirPods from a user’s ears also pauses the playback function.