Apple ditching the headphone jack spurs threefold increase in wireless headphone sales

Sales of wireless headphones have leapt threefold in the last twelve months according to Argos.

The number of Bluetooth headphones have risen by 343 per cent according to sales data – led by mobile phone users who have found that their handsets no longer have a headphone socket.

The jump in sales follows Apple abandoning the headphone socket just over twelve months ago with the launch of the iPhone 7, and the recently launched iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X following suit.

Argos’ sales of Bluetooth headphones are also ahead of the market trend – as the total Bluetooth headphone market share in Western Europe has almost doubled in the last year according to researchers at GFK.

Dean Clarke, technology accessories buyer at Argos said: “Changes in the mobile market have driven a huge – and incredibly rapid – shift in the way that people listen to music. This has been one of the fastest adoptions of a technology that we’ve ever seen – the rate at which consumers are adopting wireless headphones is a remarkable transformation in purchasing habits.

“Apple, one of the biggest players in the mobile market has caused the switch. The iPhone 7 was one of the first top-selling flagship smartphones to ditch the headphone socket and the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X following suit this year has confirmed that wireless is likely to be the standard going forwards.”