Wired earphones, once squeezed to the margins by wireless Bluetooth earphones, have recently unexpectedly experienced a resurgence.

On April 10, reporters from the Jiemian News found on social platforms that there are many posts asking for recommendations on wired earphones, sharing usage experiences of wired earphones, and reporting on a surge in sales of wired earphones. The topic "20 yuan old wired earphones sales surge, outperforming thousand-yuan wireless ones" has sparked heated discussions.

According to a report from market research firm Circana, after a five-year decline in sales, the wired earphone market has made a strong rebound, with sales increasing by 20% in just the first three months of 2026.

As reported by the media, in offline stores in many areas, merchants have also noticed changes. Previously, wired earphones were placed in corners with few people asking about them, but now young people come every day to choose, especially those with fashionable and aesthetically pleasing designs. Sales of wired earphones have increased by about 30% compared to before, and during peak seasons, some stores have monthly sales exceeding thousands.

Reporters from Jiemian News searched on Taobao by sales volume and found that wired earphones from brands such as Baseus have sales in the tens of thousands, with prices ranging from tens to dozens of yuan. In addition, influenced by the pursuit of fashion and personalized needs among young people, some colorful and design-oriented wired earphones have also become popular. For example, a dotted-pattern wired earphone priced at 58 yuan has sold more than a thousand units. The specific page shows that besides the red dotted and cream-yellow dotted versions, other color options are out of stock, and customer service replied that it is currently uncertain when they will be restocked.

Data from the Xueyouta platform shows that several wired earphone models have seen price increases due to limited inventory. Recently, the hottest wired earphones are Apple EarPods (Type-C version), with sales exceeding 100,000 units. In the past month, the market transaction price has risen from 128 yuan to a peak of 144 yuan, an increase of 16 yuan or 12%. In addition, affordable wired earphones such as Baseus H17 and vivo IQOO have also experienced a rise in both sales and prices. Among them, the transaction price of Baseus H17 has increased by as much as 46%, with sales surpassing 31,000 units.

However, the price of ordinary practical models priced between 20 to 50 yuan remains stable. In addition, wired earphones with interfaces incompatible with Type-C products have seen a decline in price due to the need for an adapter to use them. For example, Apple Earpods (Lightning version), the transaction price of this product has dropped from 125 yuan to 122 yuan in the past month.

However, it needs to be clear that this recent revival of wired earphones has not changed the established pattern of the consumer electronics market.