The Borg, Lt. Uhura, and security guys wore them. People talked to themselves in public. Once upon a time, Bluetooth headsets were all the rage, filling mall kiosks and Best Buy stores. There were curving behind-the-ear loops, chrome blobs, and sleek black sticks like Apple’s. And it seemed that everyone who was anyone had a Bluetooth headset to accompany their new Blackberry or iPhone. How times have changed!
The wireless headset was the killer use for newfangled Bluetooth technology, back when it was a feature worth mentioning. Once a Bluetooth-equipped BlackBerry, Palm, or Nokia appeared, a headset was a must-have accessory to exploit this newfound wirelessness. Now you could leave your phone in your pocket and jabber in public, annoying passers-by and making yourself look like a crazy person!
And device makers responded with a proliferation of products. I had a Cardo Scala, renowned for its noise isolation technology but not really isolating much noise. And a Jawbone, with its iffy “bone conduction” technology that was little more than a rubber nub. And a tiny Motorola with a tinier cable. I think I left all of them in various taxi cabs.1
But a funny thing happened over the last decade. In 2009, Apple quietly discontinued its own Bluetooth Headset. A few years later, when every phone had Bluetooth, a glut of cheap headsets destroyed the profit in the space. Sales declined as buyers turned to Bose and Beats and sport earbuds. And the Bluetooth headset began to vanish.
Today, it’s difficult to locate a Bluetooth headset in a store, even one focused on electronics and mobile phones. My local Best Buy carries just four models, and they’re stuck in the back corner.2 I stopped into an airport electronics store and found not a single Bluetooth headset for sale, though they had dozens of other portable audio and Bluetooth-connected products.
The companies have moved on, too. Go to the web site of Jawbone or Jabra or Cardo or Plantronics and you won’t see a Bluetooth headset. You have to dig past the exercise bands, sports earbuds, and specialty communications systems to find them. They’re still part of their lineup, but these companies seem to have accepted the new reality of that market.
Some people still love their headsets. I see them permanently stuck in the ears of the same guys who have Oakley sunglasses seemingly glued to their baseball caps. And they remain a staple in call centers and similar “on the phone all day” professions. But a Bluetooth headset is definitely not the aspirational tech jewelry it once was!
I don’t mind being uncool – I only just got my headset and can’t believe how much better working is with one. 2 hands free, no wires, wandering away to make a coffee while I talk and no weird neck-shoulder phone cupping….blissssss
You’re shopping in the wrong place. For electronics (or anything that isn’t an immediate need), I shop eBay. I’m sure others shop Amazon. I found a decent bluetooth headset for under $30. I see the kids in airports with earbuds in each ear with the little speaker thing a foot down the cable carrying on conversations as they walk along. I see the use… you can do music and phone. I don’t do music off a phone so bluetooth headset is a better fit for me. But yeah, younger folks and phones loaded up with tons of music you can see why bluetooth headset demand dropped off.
Yes a few year ago each headset has accessory with it in free of cost and off course we at headsets delivered to our customers, but now mostly companies doesn’t packed accessories in box and customers are still asking for that.
I never see anyone but old black men with blue tooth headsets
You sound like a f*cken douchebag saying that, Cali.
Black people still wear them 😂
I prefer them; I tried earbuds and (for me) I seriously lost situational awareness. I’m also an older dude and the profession I was in was most harmful to my hearing. I simply do not see the wisdom in sticking anything any further in your ear than absolutely necessary. I sincerely expect to see several generations of folks need hearing aids far sooner than generally expected. Hearing aid manufacturers are probably thrilled with the prolific use of earbuds.