Nearly 10 years ago, I heralded the rise of Bluetooth headphones as the dominant connection type in stereo headphones, overtaking wired devices in market share. At the time, Bluetooth had grown in popularity to become the majority of sales in the stereo headphones market, accounting for 54% of total dollars in July 2016. The rest, as they say, is history. Bluetooth has since become a staple technology in the headphones market, giving rise to new form factors such as True Wireless (the most popular form factor in headphones, accounting for 65% of all headphone dollars in 2025). It’s been implemented in both budget models and premium audiophile-quality headphones.

A trip to New York City with my family over the holidays has me rethinking Bluetooth’s reign. As I walked around the neighborhoods and rode the subway, I noticed people wearing wired headphones — everywhere. Some older people had them, but a lot of younger commuters and people on the street sported white wires hanging from the buds in their ears connected to a device in their pocket or a bag. At Christmas, my uber-hip 19-year-old nephew visited, sporting a single wired earbud in his ear (with the other bud stylishly hanging down at his side). 

Circana’s Retail Tracking Service confirms my observations. After 5 years of sales declines, which culminated in a $42M drop in 2024, wired headphones rebounded in 2025, growing 3% (about $15M). The trend really gained momentum in the second half of 2025, with sales surging 10% between July and December. Multiple brands and price points are seeing sales growth, a signal the trend is widespread. In the first six weeks of 2026, wired headphones revenue is up a whopping 20%!

Wired headphones’ resurgence in popularity has seemingly come out of nowhere; however, there are a few signs of the trend’s emergence. First, as prices for many consumer electronics products rise due to tariffs and other factors, wired headphones are a lower cost alternative with ASPs around $13 in 2025 while Bluetooth were $99. The trend in wired headphones could be an instance of consumers trading down to a lower cost and lower spec alternative. Interestingly, consumers have also proven to be hungry for vintage and throwback products like wired headphones. For example, digital point-and-shoot camera volume surged 93% in 2025, driven by low-cost models priced under $200 (a true phenomenon given most consumers have a better camera with advanced AI features built into their smartphone). Sales of vinyl records continue to grow, according to several industry sources. And Pokémon and Furby licensed products saw gains last year as Gen Xers and others yearn for a slice of the ’90s and early 2000s. The fast pace of innovation continues to deliver technology products that fit consumers’ ever-changing lifestyles, but sometimes the products we deem as “hot” are the ones that make us feel nostalgic for a bygone era.