Here is what you should know: never ever buy a shit product
The headline could have been Apple make Apple product.
Apple has always been rabidly proprietary. Only in europe has any authority been able to force them to put their customers first
fuck the and their proprietary bullshit.
yeah I care as a tech nerd, that’s real.
but as someone who wants a planet in 50 years: apple needs to fucking burn. right alongside Exxon.
Nah, burning would release even more toxins. We need to find an environmentally friendly (or at least minimally harmful) way to dispose of them.
Amen
Mine are still working after 5 years. I probably average 1-2 hours a day on them though which may be less than normal.
Five on mine too. Many days charging from dead, many days charging from 50% or so. Would love to be able to replace the batteries, but if I get seven year out of em? Eh whatever
Mine lasted for years as far as battery is concerned.
Unfortunately the loudness level has dropped significantly. I went to Apple store and they acknowledged this as that’s what happens to them.
Eventually I gave up and replaced with alternative lower cost similar style headphones. The sound level is plenty, but microphone is terrible. I tried several and found I found similar problems. It is acceptable for much lower cost, but doesn’t compare.
You’re using them and not discharging fully which is ideal for the battery.
I’ve got 4yrs on mine, I use them for meetings at work and regularly do 3hr meetings with them, probably averaging about 3 hrs a day, 5 days a week. They ran out for me the other day after a 3.5hr meeting, but luckily just one did, so I had it charge while I was using the other and made it through the 5hr outage call.
Not ideal, but the 4 other head sets (2 bt and two wired I got from the company) sounded terrible (either the microphone or the speaker or both) so they’re my go to pair.
I do wish you could swap the battery, but if I make It to 5 yrs it’d probably be fine considering how much I use them. I’d even be okay if they’d just make that a pro feature. At least give us the choice.
You could just use the wired Apple ones. Does the microphone sound better than just using the phone as a microphone?
The microphone definitely sounds better in the wireless earbuds. Especially with the amount of background noise it picks up if you’re not using it like a phone. (These are all video calls, so I can’t hold it to my face the same way) The wires one isn’t bad though, I used one for a while (wanted to make sure they fit and were comfortable… and then waited for a sale), but traveling back and forth from the office didn’t agree with them over the long term. That’s one benefit with the wireless ones, the case is pretty protective and durable so it makes for good travel usage.
Yet another reason to avoid Apple hardware.
I invested so much into this stupid ecosystem. Feels silly now after realizing how abusive this company is and the lengths it will go to keep you walled in.
Apple products are crap, but pretty much all wireless earbuds have the same problem. Even if the batteries are easily replaceable, the ear buds are likely to get lost since there is no cord to catch them when they fall out of your ears.
I didn’t get two years out of mine.
Regardless, they shouldn’t be manufacturing these like they’re disposable.
IMHO, the first generation was pretty bad. Those things went to shit after 2 years. I couldn’t get through an hour call with them.
But the new Pros are pretty good. I’ve had a pair for 2 years, and I’m still on 3-4 hour calls with them, with ANC on.
I don’t know what black magic is happening, but these things are doing way better than my first ones.
I’m on five years with my gen2 pair, and they’re still doing great.
Question…
Why did you purchase them in the first place then?
Hype? Advertising? Apple ecosystem? Lack of foresight that the batteries aren’t replaceable?
You dare question an Apple product purchase? you’ve angered the cult.
FYI You should know fanboys and their anecdotes beat studies critical to Apple every time.
Oh I know. I’ve repaired over 1000 Apple devices in my days of tech repair, and the only thing I personally gained from my experiences is that they’re overpriced eggshells that are literally designed to fail.
Planned obsolescence ☹️
I bought them for the meme and ended up loving them, and never want to go back to wired headphones on my phone.
After buying AirPods I only once used the 3.5mm jack/dongle either my phone.
Okay. I actually got a pair as a Christmas gift. Have you ever noticed them starting to dangerously overheat on a warm day, while your ears are sweating into them no less?
I’m not exactly a fan of having lithium batteries explode in my ear. I actually like my eardrums and my brain noodles.
Does anyone actually do research into this new modern stuff before figuring out if it’s even safe or not?
Dude I think your headphones are defective. I’ve never noticed my AirPods get anything more than vaguely warm.
I know the left one’s battery runs down about twice as fast as the right one, so yeah they’re probably not in ideal condition.
When using them indoors, they only get mildly warm, nothing to really worry about. But you gotta keep in mind, some folks like to go out jogging with them in their ears.
They’ll get that much hotter when outdoors on a hot summer day, and electronics really don’t like sweat…
In less than two years, the rechargeable lithium-ion battery found in your AirPods is due to die an untimely death.
Bullshit. I got four years out of each of my pairs and I used them several hours a day. Also replacing the battery when it does wear out is is something like 50 bucks. Sure, you can’t do it yourself but Apple will, and they will recycle your old battery.
That said, I’ve switched to bone conduction headphones now, and will probably never own another pair of airpods unless they go down the same path.
I had to return my bone conduction headphones because it tickled my ears too much when I turned it up so loud that I could hear it over my bike machine. My wired headphones kept dying from my sweat, so I just ended up getting some waterproof-ish JBL in-ear headphones so I don’t have to worry about destroying any of my wireless headphones.
Lithium iOS is inherently unstable and that instability goes both ways. They designed it to only last 2 years, but there will be plenty that go beyond that, just as there will be plenty that die in , <2 years. The majority will die at about 2 years, as designed.
That being said,
bone conduction headphones
What’s that? I’m intrigued lmao
Edit: ion* lmao typo stays tho
bone conduction headphones
What’s that? I’m intrigued lmao
Sound is vibration. We typically think of it as vibration transmitted through air (to get to your auditory canal), but it doesn’t have to be. Sound vibration can be conducted through your bones (which your auditory canal is enclosed in) so you can hear without something being in your ears because the sound gets inside you through a different medium.
Do you have an electric toothbrush? Turn it on and bite down with your teeth on it. Notice how it gets MUCH louder? Thats the sound traveling through your jawbone (and skull) to get to your auditory canal.
Mine are two years and they’re working really really well. I’ve noticed a capacity drop, but it’s far more than enough for my needs.
The batteries definitely need to be replaceable. This would be trivially easy.
With that said, I’m not so convinced they are designed to fail in less than two years either. Article strikes me as sensationalist with a grain of truth.
PS: mine even come with a feature to reduce battery aging by delaying full charge until the device is expected to be used. Why bother if planned obsolescence is your explicit goal?
How would you compare capacity at purchase vs now?
Approximately 80% In my rough estimation. It’s fine for a workout which is my threshold for usability, but has begun to suffer on long flights. I use these while working out 3 to 5 times per week and on trips.
This seems generally in line with lithium ion batteries in smart phones.
This seems acceptable to me, though it may not be everyone’s experience, based on the thread
It’s kind of hard to tell with my 2 year old Pro 2s. I treat mine like dog shit. They’re in use constantly for 8 hours of remote meetings, and I leave them in for podcasts at night. I throw them in the case at lunch and during dinner, but it’s not because I’m getting a battery warning. It’s because I’m stepping away from the desk. All in all, I hit these things pretty hard.
My guess is that they’re probably down to 4+ hours of audio and 3+ hours of call time after 2 years. Long enough that I’m likely going to take a break, and put them in the case before I hear a battery warning.
That said, my old non-pro Gen 1 AirPods were really starting to struggle after 2 years. After 2 years I needed to swap between right and left buds to get through an hour call. They made it about 45min with the mic on, and those didn’t have ANC and head tracking.
I found one of mine developed a crackle after a year. It would eventually go away if I put it in the case and took it out a few times which seemed kind of silly.
They had (or maybe still have) an extended warranty / free replacement program for this issue
$50 bucks? I bought two batteries for $4 each from China and they came with sealant to recreate the waterproof seal.
This only works when you can open the earphones and the battery is not soldered (my hands are not so steady not to fuck anything up)
I’m looking at waterproof bone conduction headphones to use in the hot tub, clearly you like yours, are they waterproof too?
I find it funny that people seek special overpriced “bone conducting” earbuds when they already normally do that when sounds vibrate your fucking ear drums.
The purpose of bone conducting earphones is that they don’t obstruct your ears, so you can still hear everything around you with virtually no distortion.
Any good recommendations? I want to purchase a premium one.
Replacing a single earbud is $49, and the case is another $49, so replacing all three batteries is $147, which at least for the regular model is close to buying new AirPods. It’s pretty much a given that the repair costs more than the product is worth after a new model launches.
Apple also doesn’t swap the batteries, they replace the earbuds completely, “recycling” otherwise fully intact earphones. Not sure about the case.
You’re right that they probably last more than two years (that depends on a lot of factors though), and while features like adaptive charging hints that Apple doesn’t want them to die quite as quickly, they still aren’t designed to last and certainly aren’t designed to be repairable.
This reads so much like Apple marketing talk. Just call any criticism bullshit and let the anectodes and fanboys circlejerk. Add “Apple also gives cuddly gifts to kids sometimes”, and you’re golden.
🤢
The recycling plug is a little silly, but they are correct about AirPods lasting longer than that article claims.
The first gen AirPods were absolutely ready for hospice after 2 years. But the new ones are much better. Anyone that’s used some Pro 2s or Gen 3s knows what I’m talking about.
This article’s claims are kind of outdated and they feel like they were written by someone who hasn’t used one of the models made during the last 5 years.
It’s not marketing talk if you know 5+ people and noone has problems with their battery after two years.
5 samples is still anecdotal. There is no statistical significance there.
Sure, but then it’s still worth more than this article lol
My Gen 2s are 2 years old and I use them all day for meetings with a short charge around lunch. I don’t really pay attention to the battery and I’m using them for calls for about 6-8 hours.
Then I usually sleep with one in my ear and fall asleep to a podcast. I usually get a battery warning beep sometime between 3 and 6 am, and I go to bed at 10pm.
All in all, I treat these things like shit, I they’re in use for half the day, I leave the case on a hot ass MagSafe puck at night, and they’re still in really good shape. I just used them from a flight from CA to NY with no problems.
Like many, my first Gen vanilla AirPods were struggling after 2 years, but Apple seems to have figured out how to prolong these little batteries.
I do think replaceable batteries would be great, but that applies to more than just AirPods. I’m not familiar with any mainstream set of earbuds that has replaceable batteries.
Samsung Galaxy Buds and Buds+ were good. I’m waiting to see someone take apart Buds FE to see if the battery is soldered
I myself got Sony linkbuds S, which also have an easy to replace battery
There’s no room for connectors in something that small.
But I’m using linkbuds S that you can replace the batteries in
Looks like they are using a stock button cell. What’s the battery life like on that? I’m guessing that’s where the sacrifice is. Also according to what I saw online those buds are still glued together so it isn’t like changing the batteries in a remote.
Yes, you have to use a hair dryer to loosen them before pulling them apart. That said, that’s way easier than the apple ones
Battery life was good at first, but the batteries did age so I’m only getting 3 hours of anc play time now
I have earphones that are 15-20 years old (UE Triple-fi 10s and Yuin PK2s, the first wave of Chi-fi products), 2-3 year (or even 5) lifespan for audio products is insane.
Over-ear studio headphones, yeah, I expect those to last for a long ass time. But in-ear? Battery or not, a lot of those just get beat to shit after years. Even if you’re buying some nice IEMs. Been this way for as long as I can remember.
Put them in a case with a silica packet? What’s wrong with your IEMs?
I can’t. I ate the packet.
how are you still in the simulation?
That’s just a you thing, the two I mentioned are earbuds.
Stuff like the Fairphone Buds seems like a good alternative.
Like other commenters here, I got something like three years out of my AirPods until they wouldn’t hold a charge.
My nephew loses them way sooner than the battery will die
Since the release of the first AirPods in 2016, countless other companies have replicated their wireless and rechargeable design.
Fuck Apple’s e-waste and all, but the trend to glue batteries inside Bluetooth headphones was well underway before AirPods came to the market.
I sent quite a few pairs of lanyard buds to the grave before AirPods came out. Batteries couldn’t be repaired they couldn’t work wired. BT only.
I got mine in 2019 and still going
The battery lasts shorter than when you got them
Regular 2019 still last more than six hours so that’s a thing
It’s not just time, it’s discharging them fully. You only get so many cycles veggie the battery is significantly impacted
No shit. So does every battery. But 5 years in they’re still going. Not the 2 the article says. But apple should design them to be swapped or longer for environment.
No shit, that’s why I have replaceable battery TWS
Gen 1 AirPods = Trash batteries that become miserable after 2 years. Good luck making it through a 1 hour call if you use them a lot. These things beg for the landfill by year 3.
Gen 3 AirPods or AirPods Pro’s = surprisingly good battery longevity. Expect these to be solid after 2 years.
I honestly never noticed any battery degradation on my OG pros. Like I’m sure they degraded, but they always lasted long enough for me to not care.
Five year old second Gen AirBuds: working amazing
I have the og regular. They still work but the battery dies after 30 minutes.
I feel like they’re 7 years old.
Tbf almost all products nowadays are made to last short periods. That’s what people are trying to change to avoid so much waste.
