The AirPods are Tim Cook’s most underrated achievement

AirPods emerged as a signature Tim Cook-era Apple product, pushing the company into the wireless audio era after the headphone jack was removed.

Despite a controversial 2016 launch, the product quickly caught on with help from the W1 chip and the iPhone 7 rollout.

The line expanded beyond simple earbuds with features like noise canceling, health tracking, and hearing-aid support.

AirPods strengthened Apple’s ecosystem and became a major source of influence beyond the iPhone.