---
title: "This Site Is Selling Decorative AirPods That Don’t Play Sound"
description: "Millennials are so hot for the 'buds, online fashion retailer ASOS has decided to put silver dummy AirPods that don't actually play music on sale."
date: "2019-09-27"
modified: "2019-09-27"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/site-decorative-apple-airpods"
categories:
  - "Future Society"
tags:
  - "apple"
  - "consumer electronics"
  - "the digest"
---

# This Site Is Selling Decorative AirPods That Don’t Play Sound

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/site-decorative-apple-airpods.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: ASOS/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Faux Buds

Apple's wireless earbuds haven't just [sold like hot cakes](<https://www.macrumors.com/2018/07/31/apple-wearable-category-growth-q3-2018/>) — they've also become a style icon.

They're such a hot commodity, [*Business Insider* reports](<https://www.businessinsider.com/asos-fake-airpods-millennial-style-symbol-2019-9>), that online fashion retailer ASOS has started selling silver dummy AirPods that don't actually, you know, play music. Welcome to 2019, I guess.

## Ear Hole

It's a bizarre indication of just how popular Apple's earphones have become since they were introduced back in 2016.

Ironically, the buds were first met with derision for [looking like q-tips](<https://mashable.com/2016/09/13/apple-airpods-review/>) — despite getting generally favorable reviews.

## Style Icon

You'll get zero technological functionality out of these dummy AirPods though. All they do is trick passersby into thinking you've got $159 to shell out on a pair — even though Apple doesn't even sell a silver model.

At least they're cheaper than Apple's offering. The "faux headphone ear piece in silver tone" will put you back $9.50 on ASOS — and yep, that's just one faux bud, not two.

**READ MORE:** [A fast-fashion brand selling fake, nonfunctional 'ear pieces' reveals AirPods' transformation into a millennial style symbol](<https://www.businessinsider.com/asos-fake-airpods-millennial-style-symbol-2019-9>) \[*Business Insider*\]

**More on Apple:** *[Apple: Humans Will No Longer Review Siri Recordings](<https://futurism.com/apple-humans-review-siri-recordings>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)