The archive · Product Ideas · Product decision · 2023
Loop Switch unifies three earplugs into one twistable pair — Engage, Experience, Quiet
Loop's 2023 Switch crams Engage, Experience and Quiet into a single earplug: a twist dial mechanically swaps filters, ending the swap-between-pairs ritual.
Loop Earplugs
What it had to solve
Loop made earplugs that filter rather than block sound, sold as separate models for conversation, events and sleep. In 2021 the company noticed its superfans swapping Loops for different scenarios up to 12 times a day — the problem became: one earplug, three acoustic personalities.
How it works
Loop Earplugs built its name on earplugs that filter sound instead of blocking it, offering separate models for concerts, conversation and sleep. In 2021 the company noticed its superfans swapping Loops in and out for different scenarios up to 12 times a day — a pain point that pointed straight at the next product: one earplug that does all three jobs.
Two years and roughly 30 prototypes later, Loop launched Switch in October 2023 at $59.95. A circular piece sits on the outer loop above the ear canal; twisting it adjusts internal filters by micrometers to toggle among three attenuation levels — Engage (up to 17 dB), Experience (up to 21 dB) and Quiet (up to 25 dB). The engineering team considered sliding, pressing a button and pulling before choosing rotation, which fit the brand's iconic ring design.
Switch launched alongside Loop's first brand campaign, 'Shut Up Noise, Turn Up Sound,' positioning the plugs as lifestyle 'earwear' rather than safety gear. The product became Loop's best-selling item on Shopify, and the company credited it with helping sales pass $100 million in 2023.
Why it lands
- Observing real behavior — fans swapping earplugs up to 12 times a day — turned a product-line problem into a single-product insight.
- Thirty prototypes and a micrometer-precision mechanism let one physical gesture deliver three genuinely different acoustic results.
- Choosing rotation instead of buttons or sliding kept the control consistent with Loop's jewelry-like design language.
- A $59.95 price sat above the single-mode models, giving the line a premium flagship without replacing the others.
What it did
Loop's sales passed $100 million in 2023 with help from Switch, which became the brand's best-selling product on Shopify and lifted both repeat customers and average order value.
What you can take
A physical interface can solve a product-portfolio problem: instead of asking users to buy three earplugs, Loop made the mode change a tactile, mechanical gesture that matches the brand.
Since then
Switch became Loop's best-selling product on Shopify and a pillar of the company's growth story; Fast Company named Loop one of its Most Innovative Companies of 2024, crediting Switch, and the company said it was tripling its R&D budget for an expanding product roadmap. Loop later iterated the concept into the Switch 2, keeping the three-mode mechanical dial as the signature interaction.
Sources
- These earplugs don't block all the sound in the room, unless you want them to
- People Are Buying More Experiences Than Things. I Tried the Viral Brand That Wants to Change the Way We Hear Them.
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