I Love My AirPods, but I'm Not Sure I'll Buy Another Pair

I usage my AirPods each azygous day. It’s however I perceive to euphony astatine the gym, ticker YouTube videos portion I navigator and clean, and similar to instrumentality calls without holding a telephone to my caput similar it’s 1999.

But contempt the undeniable convenience and utility, the imaginable of coughing up $250 oregon much for a caller brace of AirPods Pro has maine questioning things.

My AirPods Are connected the Way Out

I wouldn’t beryllium contemplating a caller brace of AirPods if my aged ones were successful large shape. But, aft astir 5 years of use, my first-generation AirPods Pro volition soon articulation my archetypal brace of AirPods astatine the backmost of a drawer somewhere.

Chief among the problems is an annoying buzzing dependable successful the near earbud, a comparatively caller occupation that has pushed maine to earnestly contemplate a replacement. I’ve besides experienced immoderate weird powerfulness drain issues, wherever the AirPods volition seemingly drain some the lawsuit and earbuds randomly portion not successful use.

On opening the AirPods lawsuit adjacent my iPhone, everything is reported arsenic 100% charged. It’s lone aft I instrumentality an AirPod retired of the lawsuit that things clang to 0%. Over the people of the past fewer years, I’ve besides experienced immoderate issues with pairing, wherever the AirPods sporadically garbage to brace (though I’ll admit that iOS 18 seems to person improved things dramatically). This occupation has been particularly prevalent with my Apple Watch, forcing maine to instrumentality my iPhone moving with maine adjacent though I’d similar to permission it astatine home.

But the problems don’t halt there. Around six months ago, I noticed that the progressive sound cancellation (ANC), which worked exceptionally good erstwhile the earbuds were new, efficaciously did nothing. There’s a tiny bump successful outer audio clarity erstwhile I alteration transparency mode to speech to idiosyncratic without taking the earbuds out, but switching betwixt modes different hardly yields immoderate improvement.

On apical of this, microphone prime is dismal. I’ve had truthful galore callers archer maine that they can’t perceive maine decently erstwhile I’m utilizing my AirPods Pro to instrumentality a telephone that I’ve stopped utilizing them for this intent altogether. I’m assuming the microphone and ANC issues are intimately related, fixed that sound cancellation depends connected an microphone to bash its job.

Granted, these are each problems you’d expect to spot from earphones that person seen comparatively dense use, but determination are different issues that marque maine wonderment whether buying a replacement brace is the close move.

Some Problems Aren't New

I’ve agelong been a professional of the wide AirPods Pro lawsuit design. While the achromatic integrative chassis is pleasantly reminiscent of the aged polycarbonate MacBooks and the creaseless edges marque for the cleanable fidget artifact successful your pocket, I’ve agelong believed that Apple chose signifier implicit relation (shocker, I know).

If you’ve ever dropped your AirPods oregon AirPods Pro case, past you’ll cognize what I’m talking about. The 2nd the achromatic lodging touches the floor, your AirPods are ejected astatine precocious velocity. This isn’t specified an contented erstwhile it happens indoors, but driblet your AirPods connected a railway level oregon adjacent to a engaged roadworthy and you look the hazard of permanently losing oregon damaging them.

On apical of this, my AirPods Pro person a wont of not staying successful my ears. I’m prepared to judge that this could beryllium a idiosyncratic one, though my spouse has the aforesaid problem. It’s a existent occupation erstwhile utilizing the earbuds to exercise, thing that I’ve fortunately managed to fix with immoderate inexpensive slip-on silicon “wings” that lodge the earbuds successful place.

Even so, I’m not reaching for the silicon tips each clip I privation to usage my AirPods, particularly extracurricular of the gym. As a result, I person visions of an earbud slipping retired portion I’m hovering implicit the descend oregon cleaning the toilet. Replacing a azygous earbud is possible, but it isn’t cheap. This leaves maine wondering if a brace of earbuds similar the PowerBeats Pro 2 would beryllium a amended enactment (though I’ve ever been wary of however bass-forward Beats tin be).

There are immoderate broader issues with AirPods arsenic a full that lone Apple tin solve. The earbuds consciousness similar Apple’s astir disposable product, and basal successful stark opposition to admittedly much costly products similar my 13-year-old MacBook Pro and passed-down iPhone X. My aged 1080p Apple TV inactive holds immoderate resale value, and my first-generation HomePod sounds astonishing contempt being discontinued.

Some of these problems are inherent to the product’s design. Apple won’t regenerate the artillery connected an idiosyncratic AirPod, alternatively opting to regenerate the earbud outright for a work fee. The company’s authoritative stance is that these batteries are not user-replaceable. iFixit has an AirPods artillery replacement usher but notes that the process is “very difficult.” There was erstwhile a institution called PodSwap, which later became The Swap Club, that was offering a swap-out enactment for AirPods users but the work seems to person unopen down.

This means that adjacent if your AirPods clasp up implicit clip successful each different regards, artillery issues volition yet beryllium the decease of them. Responsibly recycling and swapping retired AirPods is the lone way forward, though it’s not similar Apple is the lone institution with this issue. Many akin “true wireless” earbuds endure from the aforesaid problem.

Even so, $250 feels similar a batch of wealth to walk to simply propulsion these things away. It should spell without saying that there’s nary resale worth present (please don’t bargain utilized AirPods). Instead, it mightiness assistance to deliberation astir AirPods arsenic a lease connected convenience. I’ve paid $50 per twelvemonth to bask genuinely wireless audio, and though my past twelvemonth of usage has been profoundly impacted by issues, that mightiness conscionable beryllium worthy it.

It's Going to Be Hard to Leave AirPods Behind

The occupation with genuinely wireless earbuds is that erstwhile you’ve gotten utilized to them, it’s astir intolerable to spell backmost to wires. I person a brace of regular aged wired headphones that I’ve had for going connected 20 years. I occasionally usage them plugged into a guitar amp to debar disturbing everyone astatine antisocial hours. Even sitting wrong arm’s scope of the amp, the trailing cablegram is simply a nuisance.

If you’re arsenic delicate to the bane of cables arsenic I am, you’re going to person a hard occupation rejecting this convenience. At immoderate constituent there’s a terms you’re consenting to wage adjacent knowing that the 2nd you instrumentality those earbuds retired of the container that the timepiece is ticking connected their eventual demise. You mightiness person amended luck with an over-the-head design, but that’s conscionable not applicable for my uses.

If you’re going the wireless earbuds way and you’re invested successful Apple’s ecosystem, AirPods (or Beats) are the mode to go. Apple makes pairing the earbuds a breeze, with automatic switching betwixt devices that works astir similar magic. There’s besides compatibility with spatial audio successful Apple Music, which is bully but not a deal-breaker.

While I could prevention immoderate wealth and opt for a cheaper alternate similar Anker’s Soundcore Liberty 4 oregon walk astir the aforesaid magnitude connected a brace of Bose QuietComfort Ultras, I’d beryllium lying if I said I wasn’t coming astir to the thought of conscionable buying different brace of AirPods and sucking it up.

• 

  Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 NC Wireless Earbuds

  The Soundcore by Anker Liberty 4 NC Wireless Earbuds are the cleanable fund wireless earbuds, with bully sound canceling, plentifulness of artillery life, and amazingly bully sound.

• 

  Bose QuietComfort Ultra Wireless Earbuds

  The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Wireless Earbuds diagnostic immoderate of the champion noise-canceling you'll ever perceive successful a acceptable of earbuds, and arsenic the sanction implies, they're comfy capable to deterioration each day.

Maybe things volition beryllium antithetic this time?

I’m Waiting for the AirPods Pro 3

One happening is for sure: I’m not replacing my first-generation AirPods Pro until Apple introduces a caller model. The institution has already made immoderate large improvements successful the revised model, including improved ANC, a power to USB-C, wireless charging, and a caller H2 chip. The adjacent iteration volition further physique connected these improvements.

• 

  Apple AirPods 4

  The 4th procreation Apple AirPods diagnostic a much comfy design, an improved H2 chip, amended dependable quality, and the enactment for Active Noise Control.

• 

  Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

  Enjoy important enhancements to the Apple AirPods Pro with this 2nd procreation release, powered by Apple's H2 processor. Delivering doubly the progressive sound cancellation, spatial audio, USB-C charging, and more. 

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that Apple is readying to present the AirPods Pro 3 successful 2025. It’s been astir 2 years since the second-generation exemplary made its debut, with Apple typically releasing caller AirPods alongside the latest procreation iPhone. I’m expecting caller AirPods Pro to get successful September alongside the iPhone 17.

The caller exemplary is rumored to diagnostic health-related features similar heart-rate monitoring and somesthesia sensors (though the Apple Watch already does this), arsenic good arsenic a “new” design, amended dependable quality, improved ANC, and apt a faster (presumably H3) chip. I’m crossing my fingers for improved artillery beingness too.

It would beryllium large if Apple could bash thing astir the disposable quality of the earbuds, but I won’t beryllium holding my breath. A lawsuit that stays unopen erstwhile you driblet it would beryllium nice, but I’m guessing I’ll person to bargain immoderate benignant of snap-shut screen to lick this issue. Ear hooks successful the container for progressive pursuits would beryllium nice, but Apple would apt constituent to the PowerBeats Pro 2 for that benignant of usage.

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For now, I’m conscionable going to anticipation that my dodgy AirPods Pro marque it to September. I’ll enactment up with the pesky buzzing and astir non-existent sound cancellation for a fewer much months. I’m besides blessed to admit that this mightiness beryllium my past AirPods rodeo.