> [...] airpods even though those look really stupid

speaking /as/ a teenager, that's presumption. maybe it's an Apple-sponsored mindhack, but I actually think wireless earbuds (incl. AirPods) look quite a bit better than their dangly wired counterparts.

Could be part mindhack! I remember Apple's iPod advertising campaign which centered around silhouettes of hip looking users with the trademark white dangly wires snaking into their pocket. I guess with this desirable tech hidden in your pocket, the wires were the best way to recognize that someone had one!

I guess since airpods are visible (and expensive) they are now the desirable focus, and anyone with wired earbuds is hopelessly out of date!

Making them stick out visibly from the sides of people's heads was absolutely a design choice so that people could be "seen" with the product.

Apple is very big on being a status symbol which is why they put a giant shiny (at one point glowing) logo on their laptops and why they spent a lot of money trying to convince iphone users to not use a case which would hide the logo.

Maybe I'm just a lot more accustomed to seeing wires than sticks pointing out of people's ears, but I'd hardly be the first person to say they look dumb. It was a concern reviewers took into account (see for example https://mashable.com/article/apple-airpods-review) and people often say they look like Q-tips/antennae sticking out of people's heads (or worse https://screenrant.com/hilarious-apple-airpods-memes/)

Part of it is that they stick out way too far so you can see them when looking at someone directly. It's especially distracting in cases where they're sticking out in different directions.

it might just be that I was never in a terribly wire-laden environment -- I'm in college now, where something like 70% of people have airpod-shaped devices in their ears at all times, and even in high school seeing wired earbuds was infrequent. the AirPod aesthetic is the only one I remember wrt listening devices.

I don't know if the same effect would occur with these glasses, though. it seems unlikely that they'll have significant /public/ use amongst young people any time soon. I've never even seen an Apple Vision Pro.