Apple's AirPods: A reminder of just how big Apple's AirPods business is

12/10/20 7:00PM

With Apple releasing the AirPods Max (that come with a truly max price tag of $549) we thought we'd wheel out this chart again — as pundits already begin to ask who on earth will spend that much on a pair of headphones.

Apple doesn't explicitly disclose AirPod revenues, but even the conservative $7.3bn estimate reported by Wired, would make AirPods roughly the same size as Spotify, the leader in global music streaming, which did $7.6bn of revenue in 2019.

For AirPods, the rocky start as an internet joke that made fun of rich people turned into a feature – as the market began to see them as a status symbol. Whether the same will happen with AirPods Max is yet to be seen, but if any company is capable of convincing millions of people to spend $550 on headphones... it's Apple.

Tom Jones

listening party

5/15/26

Spotify wants us all to join its 20th anniversary celebrations

Looking at its finances, no wonder the streamer’s in a festive mood.

Smartphones are 12% cheaper than last year, according to the latest inflation data... except they’re not

Phones are one of a few important categories that get quality, or “hedonic,” adjustments in the Consumer Price Index — which make their price go down in the official statistics.

David Crowther5/12/26

Max Knoblauch5/11/26

Texas sues Netflix, accusing streamer of spying on children and collecting user data without consent

The state of Texas filed a lawsuit Monday against streaming giant Netflix, alleging that the company has built a “behavioral-surveillance program of staggering scale.”

The suit alleges that Netflix is “deceptively designed” to be addictive, using features like autoplay to get viewers hooked, “mining those users for data, and then converting that data into lucrative intelligence for global advertising juggernauts.”

“When you watch Netflix, Netflix watches you,” the lawsuit reads.

“This lawsuit lacks merit and is based on inaccurate and distorted information,” Netflix said in a statement to Sherwood News. “Netflix takes our members’ privacy seriously and complies with privacy and data‑protection laws everywhere we operate.”

Texas is seeking civil penalties of “up to $10,000 per violation” of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act, along with an additional penalty of up to $250,000 per violation involving a consumer aged 65 or older.

“Netflix is not the ad-free and kid-friendly platform it claims to be. Instead, it has misled consumers while exploiting their private data to make billions,” said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the press release announcing the lawsuit.

Netflix did not immediately respond to a request for comment.