In Zoë Kravitz’ episode of popular internet series Subway Takes, the actor’s stance is emphatic: Bluetooth doesn’t work. '[The technology] is still pink in the middle. Put it back in the oven,' she argues, suggesting that its inventors surged ahead and released the product when it wasn’t yet fit for purpose.
Kravitz has a point. Still now, more than a quarter of a century since the first Bluetooth device hit the market back in 1999, its process remains riddled with hurdles. If you’ve ever tried to pair on the go only to realise your headphones are stuck connected to your watch/ laptop/ insert latest Apple product here, you’ll understand. If you’ve spent miles of a car journey forgetting and reconnecting your device on loop as your speaker tries to match with anyone but its intended recipient, you will also get it. Bluetooth remains the de facto method for peer-to-peer data exchange, but half of the time it won’t recognise the other party even if they’re sitting in the same vehicle.
The recent slow resurgence of wired headphones could be seen as just another facet of analogue romanticism. Like the mass return to vinyl in the wake of streaming’s ubiquitous stronghold, wired headphones feel like a nostalgic relic of a more tangible time. Sporting an old-school style like Sony’s just-released MDR-3Rs, whose slender steel design perfectly mirrors the brand’s original 1980s Sony Walkman-compatible model, is a fast-track signifier of a certain kind of purist aesthetic. It says that you value music as more than just another time-filling option lumped alongside podcasts, algorithmically-engineered playlists and whatever whale sounds might sing you to sleep.
However, perhaps now it’s time to concede that wired headphones are simply just better. New over-ear models such as the MDR-3R, or wired earbuds such as Marshall’s Mode In-Ears, have been modernised so as to overcome the historic design flaws of their predecessors. The latter have tangle-resistant cords so the connection doesn’t deteriorate, while the new Sony model features an in-built microphone for taking calls and using smart assistants. Both are fitted with USB-C connectors to plug into most smartphones, while premium over-ear wired options remain the true audiophile’s choice. At Sennheiser alone, selections range from the budget-friendly HD 560S (£99.99) to the top of the range HD 800 S (£1,499).
Bluetooth has gone through a number of developments over the years. If you’re looking for a battery-saving, low energy way to transfer data, that’s its true USP. But its monopoly seems outsized in comparison to its efficiency. Perhaps no real competitor technology has emerged because, in order to challenge Bluetooth, you’d have to change the inbuilt tech of every phone, laptop and car in the world. Specialist industries, like sound technicians, can bypass the need for it with WiFi routers, but for the average person just trying to link their earpods up to listen to Spotify, you’re stuck.
I'm not saying I can’t see the appeal of wireless tech. For anyone who grew up in the ‘90s and spent hours of their childhood untangling knots and catching wires on door handles, the idea of Bluetooth will have been a revelation. But the reality, in 2026, is that it’s one of the least reliable facets of our day. 'A wire isn’t so inconvenient that I’m down for [the alternative] to work for like, 42% of the time,' Kravitz reasoned. 'Especially in a car. You want to pull over on the highway just to put on a playlist?!' With more viable options than ever to just plug in and play, I can’t help but agree.