Some people who read this forum; hardly all of them. And, from what I can see from friends who have them, a pair of Bose headphones lasts a HECK of a longer than a smartphone, both in terms of durability under typical use and obsolescence.

Perhaps because the premium phones aren't actually than much better for everyone's use cases. Mind, I'm not a fan of the around-the-ear style of headphones and find the free loaner Bose sets on AA not to my liking, but it seems like plenty of people find it comfortable and the level of noise cancellation really is that much better than say my $40 Audio-technicas or the $40 Aiwas I had before that.