AirPods Are a Tragedy
May 7, 2019 9:46 AM Subscribe
Apple claims that AirPods are building a “wireless future.” Many people think they're a symbol of disposable wealth. The truth is bleaker.
The particles that make up these elements were created 13.8 billion years ago, during the Big Bang. Humans extract these elements from the earth, heat them, refine them. As they work, humans breathe in airborne particles, which deposit in their lungs. The materials are shipped from places like Vietnam, South Africa, Kazakhstan, Peru, Mexico, Indonesia, and India, to factories in China. A literal city of workers creates four tiny computing chips and assembles them into a logic board. Sensors, microphones, grilles, and an antenna are glued together and packaged into a white, strange-looking plastic exoskeleton.
The particles that make up these elements were created 13.8 billion years ago, during the Big Bang. Humans extract these elements from the earth, heat them, refine them. As they work, humans breathe in airborne particles, which deposit in their lungs. The materials are shipped from places like Vietnam, South Africa, Kazakhstan, Peru, Mexico, Indonesia, and India, to factories in China. A literal city of workers creates four tiny computing chips and assembles them into a logic board. Sensors, microphones, grilles, and an antenna are glued together and packaged into a white, strange-looking plastic exoskeleton.
I can't wait until Apple perfects the technology for these things to painlessly pierce the skin and siphon off a tiny amount of blood glucose for their energy needs. Just hold it up to your ear and it gently takes hold, and hooks on, kind of like a tick. Just don't try to pull it out without telling Siri. Not that you'd want to take it out; having an unmediated sensorium is so last century anyway.
posted by seanmpuckett at 10:03 AM on May 7, 2019 [55 favorites]
posted by seanmpuckett at 10:03 AM on May 7, 2019 [55 favorites]
I have always loathed their headphones bc they don't fit inside my ears without extreme pain, so I am glad to now have a more valid reason to reject them.
posted by poffin boffin at 10:06 AM on May 7, 2019 [31 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 10:06 AM on May 7, 2019 [31 favorites]
I switched to wireless headphones in the hope that I could reduce my waste from throwing out headphones every six months when the wires break. But the article makes a good point that wireless are worse for the environment - and only will last about 18-24 months anyways.
I suppose no use of electronics is environmentally or socially sustainable.
posted by jb at 10:08 AM on May 7, 2019 [7 favorites]
I suppose no use of electronics is environmentally or socially sustainable.
posted by jb at 10:08 AM on May 7, 2019 [7 favorites]
A menace to teachers everywhere. At least they're easy to spot.
Also, they cause cancer*!
*in lab rats
posted by subdee at 10:09 AM on May 7, 2019
Also, they cause cancer*!
*in lab rats
posted by subdee at 10:09 AM on May 7, 2019
I have desired airpods the day they were announced, but instead I still make do with 7 year old Apple earbuds and a plastic paperclip when I go jogging. The idea of 18-month use life is unconscionable.
I've always thought that unfortunately the only way to deal with this is to force Apple or others by regulation to develop and provide microsurgical grade electronics disassembly and recycling technology. This is feasible, it's just very expensive. For them.
posted by polymodus at 10:10 AM on May 7, 2019 [9 favorites]
I've always thought that unfortunately the only way to deal with this is to force Apple or others by regulation to develop and provide microsurgical grade electronics disassembly and recycling technology. This is feasible, it's just very expensive. For them.
posted by polymodus at 10:10 AM on May 7, 2019 [9 favorites]
How long does the average pair of earbuds last? Are people using the same pair a decade after they bought them? I bet 18 months is a generous estimate for most wired earbuds. I’m no fan of capitalism, but this article is one of the most overwrought things I’ve ever read.
posted by Slinga at 10:11 AM on May 7, 2019 [16 favorites]
posted by Slinga at 10:11 AM on May 7, 2019 [16 favorites]
I never saw the point since I wear headphones to block out noise, but the planned obsolescence and difficulty to recycle takes the piss.
posted by ellieBOA at 10:12 AM on May 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by ellieBOA at 10:12 AM on May 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
Which makes you angrier -- AirPods or Google Glass.
Go.
posted by JackFlash at 10:13 AM on May 7, 2019 [3 favorites]
Go.
posted by JackFlash at 10:13 AM on May 7, 2019 [3 favorites]
I feel like there's two semi-effective individual-action fixes, but as always systemic action would be better.
a) generate less e-waste: the fact that these things are water-resistant and don't have wires might make them less destructible for some people. Better to use one set of AirPods for eighteen months than drown ten sets of cheap earbuds, noting that all earbud speakers are heavy metal city.
b) recycle your e-waste. Apple will accept and recycle for free headphones and speakers in a lot of countries. In the US, IIRC Target and Best Buy have similar programs.
Apple's hard plastic earbud shape is the one I find comfiest, but I'm reasonably okay at keeping my cables dry and un-shredded, so I'm currently using a two-ish-year old set of wired earbuds. These things are remarkably solid, too - one pair survived a trip through the laundry in a hoodie without issues.
posted by bagel at 10:16 AM on May 7, 2019 [2 favorites]
a) generate less e-waste: the fact that these things are water-resistant and don't have wires might make them less destructible for some people. Better to use one set of AirPods for eighteen months than drown ten sets of cheap earbuds, noting that all earbud speakers are heavy metal city.
b) recycle your e-waste. Apple will accept and recycle for free headphones and speakers in a lot of countries. In the US, IIRC Target and Best Buy have similar programs.
Apple's hard plastic earbud shape is the one I find comfiest, but I'm reasonably okay at keeping my cables dry and un-shredded, so I'm currently using a two-ish-year old set of wired earbuds. These things are remarkably solid, too - one pair survived a trip through the laundry in a hoodie without issues.
posted by bagel at 10:16 AM on May 7, 2019 [2 favorites]
On the other hand, how do you create something AirPod-like that can be easily taken apart and broken down without it being significantly bulkier?
Short answer is, you don't.
Also, if you going to shit on disposable technology, turn your gaze to a $2k product that only lasts 24-48 hours before becoming usable.
Also, I've out probably about 1000 hours (50% of those hours after both went through wash, and one went through the dryer) on mine, and besides having to recharge after an hour long conf call these days, they are holding up. Definitely better than the regular EarPods I used in the past.
posted by sideshow at 10:16 AM on May 7, 2019 [6 favorites]
Short answer is, you don't.
Also, if you going to shit on disposable technology, turn your gaze to a $2k product that only lasts 24-48 hours before becoming usable.
Also, I've out probably about 1000 hours (50% of those hours after both went through wash, and one went through the dryer) on mine, and besides having to recharge after an hour long conf call these days, they are holding up. Definitely better than the regular EarPods I used in the past.
posted by sideshow at 10:16 AM on May 7, 2019 [6 favorites]
Which makes you angrier -- AirPods or Google Glass.
I saw many training concepts created for Google Glass that were amazing - from Ikea products assembly to legit broadband wiring contractors guided install - interfacing with various devices that create a quick and great home install. The problem was they were so complex to create the scenarios that it just not economically feasible to create and maintain them. But the prototypes were cool.
posted by The_Vegetables at 10:17 AM on May 7, 2019 [6 favorites]
I saw many training concepts created for Google Glass that were amazing - from Ikea products assembly to legit broadband wiring contractors guided install - interfacing with various devices that create a quick and great home install. The problem was they were so complex to create the scenarios that it just not economically feasible to create and maintain them. But the prototypes were cool.
posted by The_Vegetables at 10:17 AM on May 7, 2019 [6 favorites]
I just toured a lead-acid battery plant last week as part of my job.
If you stop and think about it (which I try not to do), you quickly realize you are incapable of comprehending how incredibly fucked we are.
posted by Big Al 8000 at 10:17 AM on May 7, 2019 [55 favorites]
If you stop and think about it (which I try not to do), you quickly realize you are incapable of comprehending how incredibly fucked we are.
posted by Big Al 8000 at 10:17 AM on May 7, 2019 [55 favorites]
On the other hand, how do you create something AirPod-like that can be easily taken apart and broken down without it being significantly bulkier
Maybe it's my big floppy elephant ears, but how much of a problem would it be if they took up 100% more volume? It's not like they save lives and end world hunger by being tiny.
posted by each day we work at 10:20 AM on May 7, 2019 [8 favorites]
Maybe it's my big floppy elephant ears, but how much of a problem would it be if they took up 100% more volume? It's not like they save lives and end world hunger by being tiny.
posted by each day we work at 10:20 AM on May 7, 2019 [8 favorites]
Are people using the same pair a decade after they bought them?
I still use mine from the first iPhone I bought—those are about six years old now? They’re pretty sturdy. I do worry what piping stuff directly into my ear will do to my hearing.
posted by sallybrown at 10:22 AM on May 7, 2019 [3 favorites]
I still use mine from the first iPhone I bought—those are about six years old now? They’re pretty sturdy. I do worry what piping stuff directly into my ear will do to my hearing.
posted by sallybrown at 10:22 AM on May 7, 2019 [3 favorites]
Which makes you angrier -- AirPods or Google Glass.
If I were a GOOG employee, Glass for sure since that was just some alpha level hobby shit Sergey put on stage at Google I/O in 2012, and then killed 4 years later, and AirPods are the best product Apple has shipped since iPhone and 2.5 years later they can barely make them fast enough to keep them on the shelves.
posted by sideshow at 10:22 AM on May 7, 2019
If I were a GOOG employee, Glass for sure since that was just some alpha level hobby shit Sergey put on stage at Google I/O in 2012, and then killed 4 years later, and AirPods are the best product Apple has shipped since iPhone and 2.5 years later they can barely make them fast enough to keep them on the shelves.
posted by sideshow at 10:22 AM on May 7, 2019
On the other hand, how do you create something AirPod-like that can be easily taken apart and broken down without it being significantly bulkier
The $8 "i7S" Airpod knockoff has the battery separate from the casing.
Alternatively, I find the cable on necklace style Bluetooth headphones is short enough that it doesn't inevitably fail like wired ones used to. If you use the little alligator clip that comes with them to clip to themselves, you can wear them round your neck when you're not using them, which saves the wire stress of stuffing them into a pocket.
posted by grahamparks at 10:23 AM on May 7, 2019 [9 favorites]
The $8 "i7S" Airpod knockoff has the battery separate from the casing.
Alternatively, I find the cable on necklace style Bluetooth headphones is short enough that it doesn't inevitably fail like wired ones used to. If you use the little alligator clip that comes with them to clip to themselves, you can wear them round your neck when you're not using them, which saves the wire stress of stuffing them into a pocket.
posted by grahamparks at 10:23 AM on May 7, 2019 [9 favorites]
I also don't understand the appeal of Apple wireless keyboards and mice, they have completely stopped selling the wired versions.
You still have to plug in the wired keyboard for it to charge up, so I think 95% of people just leave them plugged in all the time anyway.
posted by Lanark at 10:23 AM on May 7, 2019 [4 favorites]
You still have to plug in the wired keyboard for it to charge up, so I think 95% of people just leave them plugged in all the time anyway.
posted by Lanark at 10:23 AM on May 7, 2019 [4 favorites]
The particles that make up these elements were created 13.8 billion years ago, during the Big Bang
So is literally everything else? This may be the most cod-portentous opening it's ever been my misfortune to read.
posted by Quindar Beep at 10:24 AM on May 7, 2019 [54 favorites]
So is literally everything else? This may be the most cod-portentous opening it's ever been my misfortune to read.
posted by Quindar Beep at 10:24 AM on May 7, 2019 [54 favorites]
/me has been using the same three pairs of headphones for more than a decade and still refuses to buy a phone that doesn't have a headphone jack
Apple are the absolute bane of tech design at the moment. Their obsession with thinness means their devices all thermal throttle, the focus on seamless design also allows them to lock you out of being able to repair your own devices, and they put selling you more devices above basic features (eg Airpods instead of a headphone jack). And since the tech industry is one big follow-the-leader game, they drag everyone else along with them on their garbage.
posted by Punkey at 10:25 AM on May 7, 2019 [34 favorites]
Apple are the absolute bane of tech design at the moment. Their obsession with thinness means their devices all thermal throttle, the focus on seamless design also allows them to lock you out of being able to repair your own devices, and they put selling you more devices above basic features (eg Airpods instead of a headphone jack). And since the tech industry is one big follow-the-leader game, they drag everyone else along with them on their garbage.
posted by Punkey at 10:25 AM on May 7, 2019 [34 favorites]
The generalizations -- and marginalization -- of "impoverished people", who are just used a rhetorical device made this article very hard to take seriously. I don't get why this has been making the rounds on social media for the past few days.
I'm not exactly sure what's so noteworthy about identifying conspicuous consumption, which has long been part of Apple's aspirational marketing strategy. Conspicuous consumption has been with us since the time of the Romans, if not before.
posted by JamesBay at 10:28 AM on May 7, 2019 [4 favorites]
I'm not exactly sure what's so noteworthy about identifying conspicuous consumption, which has long been part of Apple's aspirational marketing strategy. Conspicuous consumption has been with us since the time of the Romans, if not before.
posted by JamesBay at 10:28 AM on May 7, 2019 [4 favorites]
I just toured a lead-acid battery plant last week as part of my job.
I learned recently that the primary recycling vector for old lead-acid batteries is turning the lead into ammunition. So, pick your poison I guess?
posted by backseatpilot at 10:32 AM on May 7, 2019 [5 favorites]
I learned recently that the primary recycling vector for old lead-acid batteries is turning the lead into ammunition. So, pick your poison I guess?
posted by backseatpilot at 10:32 AM on May 7, 2019 [5 favorites]
I have been jogging (consults spreadsheet) 20 times in the last month and I have no clue why it would be a good thing to have v. expensive earbuds that threaten to *fall out on the ground* when they get sweaty vs. v. cheap ones that just threaten to dangle from a wire until I can put them back in. A dose of earbud anxiety is not what my exercise routine is missing.
posted by Kwine at 10:37 AM on May 7, 2019 [18 favorites]
posted by Kwine at 10:37 AM on May 7, 2019 [18 favorites]
These things [wired Apple earbuds] are remarkably solid, too - one pair survived a trip through the laundry in a hoodie without issues.
Actually, every time they get all gunked up and sound muted I throw mine in a pants pocket in the wash and they come out sounding good as new. Have had my current pair for probably three years now.
posted by General Malaise at 10:37 AM on May 7, 2019 [6 favorites]
Actually, every time they get all gunked up and sound muted I throw mine in a pants pocket in the wash and they come out sounding good as new. Have had my current pair for probably three years now.
posted by General Malaise at 10:37 AM on May 7, 2019 [6 favorites]
So is literally everything else? This may be the most cod-portentous opening it's ever been my misfortune to read.
yeah when you try to get me het up about the fact that a product contains hydrogen, even my natural inclination to agree with your points re: e-waste and globalized labor exploitation is going to be strained
also most of the heavier elements in that list were not, in fact, created by the big bang but rather by nuclear processes in stellar cores long after said bang
posted by murphy slaw at 10:39 AM on May 7, 2019 [34 favorites]
yeah when you try to get me het up about the fact that a product contains hydrogen, even my natural inclination to agree with your points re: e-waste and globalized labor exploitation is going to be strained
also most of the heavier elements in that list were not, in fact, created by the big bang but rather by nuclear processes in stellar cores long after said bang
posted by murphy slaw at 10:39 AM on May 7, 2019 [34 favorites]
I'm not exactly sure what's so noteworthy about identifying conspicuous consumption, which has long been part of Apple's aspirational marketing strategy. Conspicuous consumption has been with us since the time of the Romans, if not before.
I think a lot of people are mystified or angry at how Apple seems to evade criticism on a lot of levels. The Bay Area backlash against 'techbros' on issues like gentrification and the Google shuttle, etc... seems to focus wholly on Google and Facebook and leave Apple out of the picture even though they've got similar salaries and a huge campus here. It's not like SF has ever been really affordable in the last several generations, but for some reason the engineer types seem to get a lot more of the wrath for the exact same displacement and social effects of economic disparity than the media savvy companies get. I let it go, but I guess some people want to see Apple stop getting a free pass because they're the cool kids or something.
posted by BrotherCaine at 10:39 AM on May 7, 2019 [4 favorites]
I think a lot of people are mystified or angry at how Apple seems to evade criticism on a lot of levels. The Bay Area backlash against 'techbros' on issues like gentrification and the Google shuttle, etc... seems to focus wholly on Google and Facebook and leave Apple out of the picture even though they've got similar salaries and a huge campus here. It's not like SF has ever been really affordable in the last several generations, but for some reason the engineer types seem to get a lot more of the wrath for the exact same displacement and social effects of economic disparity than the media savvy companies get. I let it go, but I guess some people want to see Apple stop getting a free pass because they're the cool kids or something.
posted by BrotherCaine at 10:39 AM on May 7, 2019 [4 favorites]
a symbol of disposable wealth.
My impression is that this applies to everything Apple makes. Like BMW or Rolex, only a bit more obtainable.
posted by Bee'sWing at 10:41 AM on May 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
My impression is that this applies to everything Apple makes. Like BMW or Rolex, only a bit more obtainable.
posted by Bee'sWing at 10:41 AM on May 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
Airpods are kind of awful, yes. But is there a good analysis of e-waste in the 1980s vs today? Consider that we no longer have 2 mm thick aluminum shielded cases and CRTs, and pretty much all consumer electronics are lighter and have smaller chip dies, more efficient and smaller power supplies. Your C64 and PC and VGA monitors had upgrade cycles, too, just like today.
I'd guess that we're buying less consumer electronics pound-for-pound, at least in developed countries, but there are many more global consumers today and more total waste. But I don't have any data to back that up, and this Vice article certainly doesn't.
Also -- tiny remote control quadcopters may be worse. (No data to back that up except my own grar and the fact that they cost way less)
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 10:41 AM on May 7, 2019 [6 favorites]
I'd guess that we're buying less consumer electronics pound-for-pound, at least in developed countries, but there are many more global consumers today and more total waste. But I don't have any data to back that up, and this Vice article certainly doesn't.
Also -- tiny remote control quadcopters may be worse. (No data to back that up except my own grar and the fact that they cost way less)
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 10:41 AM on May 7, 2019 [6 favorites]
From the Register today, seems like like they are slightly less disposable than it may seem:
"A man in Taiwan swallowed one of his wireless Apple AirPods while he slept but succeeded in retrieving the wayward earpiece – and found it still worked after its dark passage through the human body."
posted by inflatablekiwi at 10:45 AM on May 7, 2019 [8 favorites]
"A man in Taiwan swallowed one of his wireless Apple AirPods while he slept but succeeded in retrieving the wayward earpiece – and found it still worked after its dark passage through the human body."
posted by inflatablekiwi at 10:45 AM on May 7, 2019 [8 favorites]
I can barely manage to keep normal earbud-style speakers in my ears. I can't imagine Airpods being any easier, and they're most likely harder to keep in, at least in my tiny ears. I still don't get how Airpods stay securely stuck in ones ears.
I have to visit a local university campus once a week and, man, Airpods are, seemingly, dangling from every students' ears. Apple definitely hit a homerun with those things.
posted by Thorzdad at 10:47 AM on May 7, 2019
I have to visit a local university campus once a week and, man, Airpods are, seemingly, dangling from every students' ears. Apple definitely hit a homerun with those things.
posted by Thorzdad at 10:47 AM on May 7, 2019
An acquaintance fumbled one AirPod (of course my iPhone autocorrect adds the proprietary capitalization) onto some train tracks during a commute.
No story has ever made me less likely to spend money on a product, and this news about the wastefulness of the product misses the fact that the consumption is the point. My understanding is that guy ordered a brand new pair from his desk that same morning. It cost him less to do that than it would have to wait around for the train station people to retrieve his plastic doohickey.
I don’t know what I’ll do when my iPhone with a headphone jack dies. Get a refurb of a slightly newer model that has a Jack? Go to a dumb phone?
My college biology instructor told us two things about environmental choices. He said these two things were more important than anything else we would learn from his class.
1. Delay procreation until 28 years old. Increased generation time is good for conservation (I’m 37 and no kid yet, so I think he’d be proud)
2. Keep your old car and run it into the ground. An old polluting car that gets used for every second of its usable life is better for the environment than junking it early for a shiny new efficient model. (I use mass transit and only drive a few times a year, I think he’d be happy about this too)
I wonder what he’d say about iPhones and AirPods.
posted by bilabial at 10:48 AM on May 7, 2019 [13 favorites]
No story has ever made me less likely to spend money on a product, and this news about the wastefulness of the product misses the fact that the consumption is the point. My understanding is that guy ordered a brand new pair from his desk that same morning. It cost him less to do that than it would have to wait around for the train station people to retrieve his plastic doohickey.
I don’t know what I’ll do when my iPhone with a headphone jack dies. Get a refurb of a slightly newer model that has a Jack? Go to a dumb phone?
My college biology instructor told us two things about environmental choices. He said these two things were more important than anything else we would learn from his class.
1. Delay procreation until 28 years old. Increased generation time is good for conservation (I’m 37 and no kid yet, so I think he’d be proud)
2. Keep your old car and run it into the ground. An old polluting car that gets used for every second of its usable life is better for the environment than junking it early for a shiny new efficient model. (I use mass transit and only drive a few times a year, I think he’d be happy about this too)
I wonder what he’d say about iPhones and AirPods.
posted by bilabial at 10:48 AM on May 7, 2019 [13 favorites]
I have two pairs of wired earbuds and some other headphones that I've had for a decade or more. One pair of Sennheiser headphones are 25+ years old, and got to the point where the foam inside the ear pads basically rotted to dust. At that point I found some suitable replacement foam, which I cut to size with scissors, and they're now basically in as-new condition.
As a kid I had a super-cheap pair of headphones that I treated like crap, and learned to repair them myself - it's generally a minor wire-stripping and soldering job. I'm pretty confident I could repair any of my current headphones or earbuds.
What I'm arguing is that if there were a demand for repairs, there'd be places you could take things and get them repaired. People just seem to have been indoctrinated into believing that (a) things can't be repaired at all, or (b) things can't be repaired at reasonable cost. The latter belief is a combination of the beliefs that only the original manufacturer (hello Apple) can carry out repairs, and that repairs necessarily cost a significant fraction of the cost of the item. All of this is bullshit designed to prop up sales. One upside of the growing realisation of our current environmental crisis is that people are finally starting to wise up to all of this and repair things.
Just to add to the virtue-signalling, I spent 20 minutes darning a pair of socks today.
posted by pipeski at 10:49 AM on May 7, 2019 [9 favorites]
As a kid I had a super-cheap pair of headphones that I treated like crap, and learned to repair them myself - it's generally a minor wire-stripping and soldering job. I'm pretty confident I could repair any of my current headphones or earbuds.
What I'm arguing is that if there were a demand for repairs, there'd be places you could take things and get them repaired. People just seem to have been indoctrinated into believing that (a) things can't be repaired at all, or (b) things can't be repaired at reasonable cost. The latter belief is a combination of the beliefs that only the original manufacturer (hello Apple) can carry out repairs, and that repairs necessarily cost a significant fraction of the cost of the item. All of this is bullshit designed to prop up sales. One upside of the growing realisation of our current environmental crisis is that people are finally starting to wise up to all of this and repair things.
Just to add to the virtue-signalling, I spent 20 minutes darning a pair of socks today.
posted by pipeski at 10:49 AM on May 7, 2019 [9 favorites]
What sort of baffles me is that people are content with the sound quality at that price level. I'm definitely not one of those audiophiles who thinks that with every $100 spent on equipment, the experience becomes more profound, but I've had wired earbuds up and down and all along the $15-$200 spectrum, and in that range, there's a real difference. Spending $159 for that quality...I just don't get it. That's getting near where there are diminishing returns on increased price for wired earbuds. There's a level below which it's not worth it just to have sound coming into my ears.
posted by praemunire at 10:54 AM on May 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by praemunire at 10:54 AM on May 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
How long does the average pair of earbuds last? Are people using the same pair a decade after they bought them? I bet 18 months is a generous estimate for most wired earbuds. I’m no fan of capitalism, but this article is one of the most overwrought things I’ve ever read.I get about a year to 18 months if I used them every day. If I use them only a couple times a week I can get three years.
I have always loathed their headphones bc they don't fit inside my ears without extreme pain, so I am glad to now have a more valid reason to reject them.Ditto. Every pair of hard plastic Apple headphones I've ever had have been enormously painful in one ear, and fall out the other the instant I move. Sound quality has always been third-rate at best, too.
I think a lot of people are mystified or angry at how Apple seems to evade criticism on a lot of levels.I think there are a lot of ways where the company is less shitty than a lot of other tech giants. Not "not shitty," but less so. They also went through a phase where every ill of hardware manufacturing was laid at their feet and their feet alone, despite all their competitors using the same factories, the same supply chains, and being even less transparent and less interested in making those practices and environments humane and sustainable (even if Apple were only interested because it's good PR to do so). Everybody's smartphones were made in the same environments and using the same practices, but Apple took the brunt of criticism for the entire industry's failings, for years. That they get a little less shit for their role in screwing up silicon valley's livability may be some weird sort of karmic balancing.
posted by Fish Sauce at 11:00 AM on May 7, 2019 [6 favorites]
My mom bought me a pretty expensive pair of Plantronics bluetooth earbuds before the Airpods came out and I barely used them. I liked walking with one earbud in and one out to listen to podcasts while still hearing what's around me (they were the rubbery ones that would block outside sound) and the dangling one weighted too much and would pull the other one out. Wearing one AirPods at a time on the other hand made it so you never ran out of battery until the case ran out of juice which can take a day or two. They really are a brilliant product.
posted by Space Coyote at 11:09 AM on May 7, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by Space Coyote at 11:09 AM on May 7, 2019 [4 favorites]
FWIW, I’ve had a pair of AirPods since Sept 2017 (just over 18 months) and they’re not getting recycled anytime soon. I’m pretty sure the battery life has decreased but it’s hard to say by how much, they’re still entirely usable.
As for their ease of falling out, they’re so light that IF your ears do approximately fit their shape, they are very difficult to shake out accidentally or even on purpose.
Finally, it seems like Apple is one of the only companies making wireless earbuds that don’t have rubber gaskets/cones that seal your ear canal and isolate outside sound. As a jogger and cyclist, I’d be happy to find an alternative that’s cheaper and more re-usable/recyclable, but so far I haven’t found anything that comes close and also doesn’t overly isolate your hearing.
posted by Nutri-Matic Drinks Synthesizer at 11:10 AM on May 7, 2019 [3 favorites]
As for their ease of falling out, they’re so light that IF your ears do approximately fit their shape, they are very difficult to shake out accidentally or even on purpose.
Finally, it seems like Apple is one of the only companies making wireless earbuds that don’t have rubber gaskets/cones that seal your ear canal and isolate outside sound. As a jogger and cyclist, I’d be happy to find an alternative that’s cheaper and more re-usable/recyclable, but so far I haven’t found anything that comes close and also doesn’t overly isolate your hearing.
posted by Nutri-Matic Drinks Synthesizer at 11:10 AM on May 7, 2019 [3 favorites]
> How long does the average pair of earbuds last?
The average pair of wired earbuds doesn't cost $200.
I think the Airpods are really competing with other headphones in the $150+ price range and when you're paying that much they totally do last decades. I have Grados that weren't more than that.
Basically they are charging "real headphone" prices for "shit that came free with your cellphone" lifespan. And that sucks, especially when the cost would be much, much higher if they had to capture all the externalities involved in the resource extraction and end-of-life disposal of their junk.
posted by Kadin2048 at 11:11 AM on May 7, 2019 [13 favorites]
The average pair of wired earbuds doesn't cost $200.
I think the Airpods are really competing with other headphones in the $150+ price range and when you're paying that much they totally do last decades. I have Grados that weren't more than that.
Basically they are charging "real headphone" prices for "shit that came free with your cellphone" lifespan. And that sucks, especially when the cost would be much, much higher if they had to capture all the externalities involved in the resource extraction and end-of-life disposal of their junk.
posted by Kadin2048 at 11:11 AM on May 7, 2019 [13 favorites]
I have my issues with Apple's industrial design as of late as well. I'm holding on to my 2012, last-generation, non-retina MacBook Pro, both because I've upgraded the RAM and added an SSD (and replaced the battery) giving me a few more years with it, and because of the reliability issues plaguing the current MacBook line. I'm an old-school enough computer user that I would prefer to have the ability to pop a machine open and swap out a simple component or two, when I need to.
For stuff like phones and tablets (and headphones), I'm less bothered. There's trade-offs to user-serviceability that I'm more comfortable making for those sorts of devices, especially after killing a phone by dropping it in water. Every opening, every hole, every detachable component is a potential point of failure, and a potential point of ingress for dirt and liquids. A computer that lives on your desk requires a different set of tradeoffs than one that you carry in your back, versus one you carry in your pocket, versus one you wear on your wrist, versus one you stick in your ears.
And yeah, sideshow, the Galaxy Fold was some really dumb design. I'm not sold on folding phones in general, but if you're gonna do it, the Huawei Mate X looks like a much smarter design.
posted by SansPoint at 11:12 AM on May 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
For stuff like phones and tablets (and headphones), I'm less bothered. There's trade-offs to user-serviceability that I'm more comfortable making for those sorts of devices, especially after killing a phone by dropping it in water. Every opening, every hole, every detachable component is a potential point of failure, and a potential point of ingress for dirt and liquids. A computer that lives on your desk requires a different set of tradeoffs than one that you carry in your back, versus one you carry in your pocket, versus one you wear on your wrist, versus one you stick in your ears.
And yeah, sideshow, the Galaxy Fold was some really dumb design. I'm not sold on folding phones in general, but if you're gonna do it, the Huawei Mate X looks like a much smarter design.
posted by SansPoint at 11:12 AM on May 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
How long does the average pair of earbuds last? Are people using the same pair a decade after they bought them? I bet 18 months is a generous estimate for most wired earbuds.
2 years is the longest I've been able to get a pair to last w/daily use. Anker makes some that are, like most of their products, significantly more durable, but the wires are stiff and tend to get easily pulled out of my ears.
I'm currently using a pair that are half-dead because I can't bring myself to throw another one away.
posted by ryanshepard at 11:13 AM on May 7, 2019
2 years is the longest I've been able to get a pair to last w/daily use. Anker makes some that are, like most of their products, significantly more durable, but the wires are stiff and tend to get easily pulled out of my ears.
I'm currently using a pair that are half-dead because I can't bring myself to throw another one away.
posted by ryanshepard at 11:13 AM on May 7, 2019
For roughly 18 months, AirPods play music, or podcasts, or make phone calls. Then the lithium-ion batteries will stop holding much of a charge, and the AirPods will slowly become unusable. They can’t be repaired because they're glued together. They can’t be thrown out, or else the lithium-ion battery may start a fire in the garbage compactor. They can’t be easily recycled, because there’s no safe way to separate the lithium-ion battery from the plastic shell. Instead, the AirPods sit in your drawer forever.
So for upwards of $150 I would be paying for the privilege of sticking persistently toxic and possibly carcinogenic garbage in my ears for 1.5 to 3 years.
Your offer sounds tempting, but can you offer me the same sort of thing but sexier or more expensive?
posted by otherchaz at 11:21 AM on May 7, 2019 [2 favorites]
So for upwards of $150 I would be paying for the privilege of sticking persistently toxic and possibly carcinogenic garbage in my ears for 1.5 to 3 years.
Your offer sounds tempting, but can you offer me the same sort of thing but sexier or more expensive?
posted by otherchaz at 11:21 AM on May 7, 2019 [2 favorites]
My main headphones are wired over-the-ear things that I end up using for a half decade (or more) at a time. I've also got some wired in-ears that I bought in 2012, love, I basically only use them when traveling, and am worried I can't replace them when they give out.
I have bought two pairs of bluetooth over-the-ear headphones over the last 5 years. Pretty much the only reason I have them is that wires are inconvenient during some workouts. I probably would still have my original set if I hadn't accidentally left it in my brother's automobile in a different state while visiting and it got bounced around and slightly crushed.
On one hand, my average purchase/use profile approach the same order that's estimated here for the AirPods -- rather than one $175-ish device that lasts ~2 years, I have three devices running $15-$40 that probably last me ~6-8 years between the three of them. But on the other hand, a marginal gain on the same order is still a gain, both from the POV of personal thrift or global waste, especially when these devices slip as neatly into my use cases/lifeflow as I can imagine AirPods doing.
And really, if Apple wasn't leading a charge to ditch the longstanding "just works" 1/8" jack in favor of a vendor-locked product, I could see myself doing this indefinitely.
posted by wildblueyonder at 11:23 AM on May 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
I have bought two pairs of bluetooth over-the-ear headphones over the last 5 years. Pretty much the only reason I have them is that wires are inconvenient during some workouts. I probably would still have my original set if I hadn't accidentally left it in my brother's automobile in a different state while visiting and it got bounced around and slightly crushed.
On one hand, my average purchase/use profile approach the same order that's estimated here for the AirPods -- rather than one $175-ish device that lasts ~2 years, I have three devices running $15-$40 that probably last me ~6-8 years between the three of them. But on the other hand, a marginal gain on the same order is still a gain, both from the POV of personal thrift or global waste, especially when these devices slip as neatly into my use cases/lifeflow as I can imagine AirPods doing.
And really, if Apple wasn't leading a charge to ditch the longstanding "just works" 1/8" jack in favor of a vendor-locked product, I could see myself doing this indefinitely.
posted by wildblueyonder at 11:23 AM on May 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
Setting aside the issues of class, of overconsumption, of design and durability, of materialism and personal branding and "aspiration" and so on, the interesting thing about AirPods is that they are little miniature wearable computers.
AirPods represent the future of computing, and the next stage of how humans will interface with the Internet.
posted by JamesBay at 11:25 AM on May 7, 2019 [2 favorites]
AirPods represent the future of computing, and the next stage of how humans will interface with the Internet.
posted by JamesBay at 11:25 AM on May 7, 2019 [2 favorites]
Somebody probably brought this up already, but I've long been baffled by some of Apple's naming choices. For these, I thought, "They're wireless earbuds. Why Airpods and not Airbuds?" And then, of course, I remembered why not.
posted by queensissy at 11:31 AM on May 7, 2019 [5 favorites]
posted by queensissy at 11:31 AM on May 7, 2019 [5 favorites]
What are you people doing with your earbuds that kills them within 18 months?
posted by sinfony at 11:33 AM on May 7, 2019
posted by sinfony at 11:33 AM on May 7, 2019
I believe they commit suicide.
posted by MtDewd at 11:38 AM on May 7, 2019 [7 favorites]
posted by MtDewd at 11:38 AM on May 7, 2019 [7 favorites]
Most earbuds have the problem that if your wire is hosed, you have to trash them completely. I've moved to the lowest-tier In-Ear Monitoring headphones like these, and when my wire breaks, I keep the earpieces and just get a new cord. It's a game changer for me.
posted by tclark at 11:39 AM on May 7, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by tclark at 11:39 AM on May 7, 2019 [4 favorites]
murphy slaw: "also most of the heavier elements in that list were not, in fact, created by the big bang but rather by nuclear processes in stellar cores long after said bang"The article says that the *particles* that make the elements up were created during the big bang.
It is asking us to pause and consider that AirPods are composed of protons, neutrons, and electrons.
posted by edheil at 11:45 AM on May 7, 2019 [7 favorites]
sinfony: What are you people doing with your earbuds that kills them within 18 months?
Your AirPods Will Die Soon -- The surprisingly short life of new electronic devices (Alana Semuels for The Atlantic, March 21, 2019)
Space Coyote: I liked walking with one earbud in and one out to listen to podcasts while still hearing what's around me
Having one ear "open" and the other "closed" makes me feel wonky, so I have two pairs of headphones: inexpensive, "open" Koss KSC75 headphones that I wear at work, so I can hear , and unhook one if I want to hear conversations better, and 1MORE Triple Driver in-Ear Earphones Hi-Res Headphones (Amazon x2), for blocking out the world. Both are wired, and I've killed four headphones in the past ~7 years (3 Koss, as they're more fragile, and you shouldn't fall asleep on them, or pack heavy things on top of them, or try to open cabinet drawers with the cords while listening to music; another brand died, possibly because of wire fatigue near the earbud).
I like the idea of wireless headphones, but I hate the fact that they're battery driven, which means I'll stick with wired headphones and be considerate of how I wear them.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:46 AM on May 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
Your AirPods Will Die Soon -- The surprisingly short life of new electronic devices (Alana Semuels for The Atlantic, March 21, 2019)
The lithium-ion batteries that power AirPods are everywhere. One industry report forecast (Globe News Wire) that sales would grow to $109.72 billion by 2026, from $36.2 billion in 2018. They charge faster, last longer, and pack more power into a small space than other types of batteries do. But they die faster (Medium), too, often after just a few years, because every time you charge them, they degrade a little. They can also catch fire or explode if they become damaged, so technology companies make them difficult, if not impossible, for consumers to replace themselves.Use them a lot, you'll have to charge them a lot, and you'll have a short-lived "disposable" product.
Space Coyote: I liked walking with one earbud in and one out to listen to podcasts while still hearing what's around me
Having one ear "open" and the other "closed" makes me feel wonky, so I have two pairs of headphones: inexpensive, "open" Koss KSC75 headphones that I wear at work, so I can hear , and unhook one if I want to hear conversations better, and 1MORE Triple Driver in-Ear Earphones Hi-Res Headphones (Amazon x2), for blocking out the world. Both are wired, and I've killed four headphones in the past ~7 years (3 Koss, as they're more fragile, and you shouldn't fall asleep on them, or pack heavy things on top of them, or try to open cabinet drawers with the cords while listening to music; another brand died, possibly because of wire fatigue near the earbud).
I like the idea of wireless headphones, but I hate the fact that they're battery driven, which means I'll stick with wired headphones and be considerate of how I wear them.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:46 AM on May 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
My mom recently bought a cordless vacuum cleaner, and I noticed the battery was not removable, so as soon as it's done its 500 charge cycles, that will be landfill.
(I mean, I could disassemble it, and hope it's got 18650's in it and they're not directly soldered in..)
Beyond batteries being non-removable, there's no established recycling chain for lithium ion, the way there is for lead acid. Lead acid batteries get recycled more than any other product.
posted by joeyh at 11:56 AM on May 7, 2019 [2 favorites]
(I mean, I could disassemble it, and hope it's got 18650's in it and they're not directly soldered in..)
Beyond batteries being non-removable, there's no established recycling chain for lithium ion, the way there is for lead acid. Lead acid batteries get recycled more than any other product.
posted by joeyh at 11:56 AM on May 7, 2019 [2 favorites]
Meanwhile, Google just announced new Pixel 3a phones, and they have 3.5" headphone jacks!
posted by mbrubeck at 12:03 PM on May 7, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by mbrubeck at 12:03 PM on May 7, 2019 [3 favorites]
(I meant 3.5mm, of course.)
posted by mbrubeck at 12:10 PM on May 7, 2019 [5 favorites]
posted by mbrubeck at 12:10 PM on May 7, 2019 [5 favorites]
Love 2 see Guillotine Memes on a website that just took 250 million dollars from private equity firms.
posted by Fidel Cashflow at 12:11 PM on May 7, 2019
posted by Fidel Cashflow at 12:11 PM on May 7, 2019
The greatest sin of AirPods is that they bleed sound everywhere. I get that the lack of seal that lets ambient sound in is a good safety feature for a lot of people, but the amount of sound that gets out is annoying in elevators and on public transit.
I have a pair and couldn't get over that annoyance factor, the lack of noise cancelling and the slight feeling that they're insecure in my ears. I'm back to my Sony WI-1000x, which have a feature to let in ambient noise when you want it. I had a pair of Bose QC30s which were amazing (in noise cancelling if not in sound), but they fell apart after a year, becoming unusable the day after the warrant expired.
posted by mikesch at 12:15 PM on May 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
I have a pair and couldn't get over that annoyance factor, the lack of noise cancelling and the slight feeling that they're insecure in my ears. I'm back to my Sony WI-1000x, which have a feature to let in ambient noise when you want it. I had a pair of Bose QC30s which were amazing (in noise cancelling if not in sound), but they fell apart after a year, becoming unusable the day after the warrant expired.
posted by mikesch at 12:15 PM on May 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
Can't wait to see the "oh right, this was actually bullshit" swing, just like the anti-straw trend.
Airpods are very good. They don't come loose, I listen to music or podcasts 8-10 hours a day (commute plus work) and the lack of isolation is a plus, not a minus. I'm never going back to wired, the cord really is a hassle.
Battery life? Well I've only had mine for 16 months, but I haven't noticed a drop off.
Yeah, on the one hand, products like this aren't user serviceable and have a limited lifespan. On the other hand, they're tiny. Most of us aren't actually particularly good about proper disposal of items even when they're technically recyclable.
Basically it's just another hit job on Apple, because there's a persistent belief that their stuff's overpriced and they're an easy target.
posted by explosion at 12:19 PM on May 7, 2019 [8 favorites]
Airpods are very good. They don't come loose, I listen to music or podcasts 8-10 hours a day (commute plus work) and the lack of isolation is a plus, not a minus. I'm never going back to wired, the cord really is a hassle.
Battery life? Well I've only had mine for 16 months, but I haven't noticed a drop off.
Yeah, on the one hand, products like this aren't user serviceable and have a limited lifespan. On the other hand, they're tiny. Most of us aren't actually particularly good about proper disposal of items even when they're technically recyclable.
Basically it's just another hit job on Apple, because there's a persistent belief that their stuff's overpriced and they're an easy target.
posted by explosion at 12:19 PM on May 7, 2019 [8 favorites]
It will never make money but I think a laudable design goal would be a standard for electronics coupled with a technology such that you could recycle them buy just throwing them in a grinder and having a process that separated the materials out. None of the pick apart the circuit board over an open fire stuff.
posted by Pembquist at 12:22 PM on May 7, 2019
posted by Pembquist at 12:22 PM on May 7, 2019
explosion: I do love my AirPods as well. I did experience the battery level decline after a while, and while they stay in fine for me, they're a bit too loose to use at the gym, so I got some thing off Amazon to sitck them in when I work out.
But, yeah, I also admit they're not for everyone. There's other fully-wireless earbuds out there that might fit in certain people's ears better, have a lower price, better audio quality, whatever your priority is.
More importantly, in terms of the FPP, all of those wireless earbuds have the same problem as AirPods: sealed units that cannot be repaired or easily broken down and recycled.
posted by SansPoint at 12:29 PM on May 7, 2019
But, yeah, I also admit they're not for everyone. There's other fully-wireless earbuds out there that might fit in certain people's ears better, have a lower price, better audio quality, whatever your priority is.
More importantly, in terms of the FPP, all of those wireless earbuds have the same problem as AirPods: sealed units that cannot be repaired or easily broken down and recycled.
posted by SansPoint at 12:29 PM on May 7, 2019
I bet 18 months is a generous estimate for most wired earbuds.
That just implies that earbuds are poorly made.
Conversely, I have a pair of AKG K240s that are easily 20 years old and still sound great.
posted by aspersioncast at 12:29 PM on May 7, 2019 [4 favorites]
That just implies that earbuds are poorly made.
Conversely, I have a pair of AKG K240s that are easily 20 years old and still sound great.
posted by aspersioncast at 12:29 PM on May 7, 2019 [4 favorites]
I love my AirPods. I've had mine for 18+ months and they're still fine, no noticeable battery degradation. I don't plan on replacing them once they die, though, due to the environmental impact.
Sustainability is more important than convenience.
posted by vitout at 12:31 PM on May 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
Sustainability is more important than convenience.
posted by vitout at 12:31 PM on May 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
I got a couple of these bluetooth receivers and they turn any corded headphones/speakers into wireless headphones/speaker.
I can use my good big old headphones with them and a short 6" cord between the receiver the headphones that I then clip to my shirt collar. I suppose I could also just use some velcro to attach the device directly to the headphones.
Sometimes I like having the cord on those headphones (better audio maybe? but mostly microphone and volume controls), and it's nice to know that I can just replace the tiny part that handles the bluetooth should the battery start to fail.
For devices that don't have bluetooth transmission capability, you can also get a bluetooth transmitter. I've used one of those along with my bluetooth receiver to listen to movies on an airplane seatback screen without a wired connection.
--
Regarding airpods themselves, it's interesting that they're seen as some sort of wealth or status signifier, especially since bluetooth phone headsets (Jawbone, et al) were such an object of scorn and contempt from around 2003 to 2008.
posted by msbrauer at 12:32 PM on May 7, 2019
I can use my good big old headphones with them and a short 6" cord between the receiver the headphones that I then clip to my shirt collar. I suppose I could also just use some velcro to attach the device directly to the headphones.
Sometimes I like having the cord on those headphones (better audio maybe? but mostly microphone and volume controls), and it's nice to know that I can just replace the tiny part that handles the bluetooth should the battery start to fail.
For devices that don't have bluetooth transmission capability, you can also get a bluetooth transmitter. I've used one of those along with my bluetooth receiver to listen to movies on an airplane seatback screen without a wired connection.
--
Regarding airpods themselves, it's interesting that they're seen as some sort of wealth or status signifier, especially since bluetooth phone headsets (Jawbone, et al) were such an object of scorn and contempt from around 2003 to 2008.
posted by msbrauer at 12:32 PM on May 7, 2019
I was not interested in AirPods until I read something somewhere (here?) about using them as hearing aids. The price is big, but not compared to a hearing aid. (You're also looking cooler with Pods compared to hearing aids). I've got the Hearing settings on my iPhone, but I was getting the impression that that function only works with AirPods. Does it work with any Bluetooth buds?
posted by MtDewd at 12:37 PM on May 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by MtDewd at 12:37 PM on May 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
I've two pairs of AirPods - love them. My newest set was a gift for speaking at a conference, after which I gave my original set (about two years old) to my wife. The original set has been accidentally through a full cold laundry wash cycle and tumble dry at least twice, and has probably 500+ hours of conference call use on them. Still works fine (though the last wash cycle I think reduced the mic quality on the left hand side). Battery life isn't great now on the old set - maybe 90 minutes talk time / 2-3 hours of audio only - but the reduced use my wife has for them I'd imagine they last another 2+ years. Helps that she is not stupid enough to leave them in pockets all the time.
posted by inflatablekiwi at 12:41 PM on May 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by inflatablekiwi at 12:41 PM on May 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
The standard death sentence for wired earbuds is them dangling out of your pocket and getting caught in something (or if they're really dangling, trodden on). Nowt to do with build quality.
posted by grahamparks at 12:45 PM on May 7, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by grahamparks at 12:45 PM on May 7, 2019 [3 favorites]
Regarding airpods themselves, it's interesting that they're seen as some sort of wealth or status signifier, especially since bluetooth phone headsets (Jawbone, et al) were such an object of scorn and contempt from around 2003 to 2008.
They're the cheapest Apple product so it's more like giving your kid a Ferrari keychain.
posted by Space Coyote at 12:49 PM on May 7, 2019 [3 favorites]
They're the cheapest Apple product so it's more like giving your kid a Ferrari keychain.
posted by Space Coyote at 12:49 PM on May 7, 2019 [3 favorites]
They're the cheapest Apple product so it's more like giving your kid a Ferrari keychain.
I'd imagine they heavily imply the owner also has an iPhone. I can't imagine why you'd buy AirPods if you had an Android phone. I'm sure someone has...but why?
posted by explosion at 12:56 PM on May 7, 2019
I'd imagine they heavily imply the owner also has an iPhone. I can't imagine why you'd buy AirPods if you had an Android phone. I'm sure someone has...but why?
posted by explosion at 12:56 PM on May 7, 2019
I like my Airpods quite a lot, because (A) screw wires forever, unless I'm tethered to a vintage NAD receiver with the long, long cord of a pair of AKG K340s, go-go dancing in my underpants in the privacy of my home, (B) those horrible silicone cups on virtually every other pair of earbuds feel like having a tween's fingers in your ears like a dryish wet willie and every single movement of a cord or other plastic on rubber-cup buds makes a loud "squanch squanch" sound, whereas the shape and scale of Airpods fit me perfectly and have yet to leave my ears on their own despite wild disco-dancing, and (C) having neither wires to hang up on every single stationary object around me when I move nor a huge, showy pair of over-the-head headphones telegraphing my conscious disengagement with my species is nice, and I can work on a car, make art, do carpentry, or install a roof while listening to scientists on a podcast talking about fascinating things like flicker fusion or farm folk in the UK going on and on about cricket and the herd of Montbéliarde cows.
I hear how wasteful these things are, but honestly, a pair of Airpods is literally 8 grams of material that maybe gets recycled or possibly just trashed every two years (I'm skeptical of the predicted lifespan, given most people's complete ignorance on how to properly manage their charge cycles for battery longevity), and compared to the tsunami of waste that most Westerners generate.
I reuse, repurpose, recycle, and eschew waste-making products in favor of less waste-making products (or productless solutions to problems), so I'm massively offsetting the two-tenths of a kilogram (less than a half a pound, if you're non-metric) of e-waste I'd generate from Airpods over the projected 36 years of remaining life I have on Earth.
And they're expensive, but they basically amount to the same cost as 3-4 not-super-fancy beers in a bar per month, which I've already offset by my teetotaling, or a single restaurant hamburger with fries and a tip, whereas the education, entertainment, and dancing I get out of them in that same period is vastly more than I'd get from 3-4 not-super-fancy beers or single restaurant hamburger with fries and a tip, so I don't call them all that expensive.
I guess, as usual, Apple's the target because [insert fashionable hate category: hipsters, young people, snobs, people brand-loyal to the thing that is easiest for people to snark on, some mythical desire to look "trendy," etc], but they fit my ears, their expense is, to me, justified by the time I spend using them and the degree to which they stay out of my way and in my ear canals, and unlike, say, the big TVs that seem to be in everyone else's homes that are also barely recycleable and each generate literally a hundred or more times the amount of e-waste a series of Airpods would generate over the entire rest of my life. Their particles were forged in the hearts of stars, which I learn more about while listening to kickass science podcasts on them, and they may well join the fossil record along with all those bones all those dumb dinosaurs thoughtlessly left all over the place. I like to think cockroach anthropologists of the future would collect them like all the old amphorae they find in digs and sunken ships and put them in off-the-beaten-track museums where they can't afford a whole Macintosh 128 in a glass case.
posted by sonascope at 1:02 PM on May 7, 2019 [8 favorites]
I hear how wasteful these things are, but honestly, a pair of Airpods is literally 8 grams of material that maybe gets recycled or possibly just trashed every two years (I'm skeptical of the predicted lifespan, given most people's complete ignorance on how to properly manage their charge cycles for battery longevity), and compared to the tsunami of waste that most Westerners generate.
I reuse, repurpose, recycle, and eschew waste-making products in favor of less waste-making products (or productless solutions to problems), so I'm massively offsetting the two-tenths of a kilogram (less than a half a pound, if you're non-metric) of e-waste I'd generate from Airpods over the projected 36 years of remaining life I have on Earth.
And they're expensive, but they basically amount to the same cost as 3-4 not-super-fancy beers in a bar per month, which I've already offset by my teetotaling, or a single restaurant hamburger with fries and a tip, whereas the education, entertainment, and dancing I get out of them in that same period is vastly more than I'd get from 3-4 not-super-fancy beers or single restaurant hamburger with fries and a tip, so I don't call them all that expensive.
I guess, as usual, Apple's the target because [insert fashionable hate category: hipsters, young people, snobs, people brand-loyal to the thing that is easiest for people to snark on, some mythical desire to look "trendy," etc], but they fit my ears, their expense is, to me, justified by the time I spend using them and the degree to which they stay out of my way and in my ear canals, and unlike, say, the big TVs that seem to be in everyone else's homes that are also barely recycleable and each generate literally a hundred or more times the amount of e-waste a series of Airpods would generate over the entire rest of my life. Their particles were forged in the hearts of stars, which I learn more about while listening to kickass science podcasts on them, and they may well join the fossil record along with all those bones all those dumb dinosaurs thoughtlessly left all over the place. I like to think cockroach anthropologists of the future would collect them like all the old amphorae they find in digs and sunken ships and put them in off-the-beaten-track museums where they can't afford a whole Macintosh 128 in a glass case.
posted by sonascope at 1:02 PM on May 7, 2019 [8 favorites]
OK, this article is as bullshitty as I thought it was going to be, but
But more than a pair of headphones, AirPods are an un-erasable product of culture and class. People in working or impoverished economic classes are responsible for the life-threatening, exhaustive, violent work of removing their parts from the ground and assembling them. Meanwhile, people in the global upper class design and purchase AirPods.
Oh boy, these people are going to absolutely go nuts when they find out about international banking, the automobile industry, meat products, coltan (the thing that makes you mobile phone work), petrol, any out of town big box store, and basically capitalism itself. Now please continue your scheduled hate against... er, is it headphones, apple, or the concept of entropy? Anyway.
posted by The River Ivel at 1:02 PM on May 7, 2019 [7 favorites]
But more than a pair of headphones, AirPods are an un-erasable product of culture and class. People in working or impoverished economic classes are responsible for the life-threatening, exhaustive, violent work of removing their parts from the ground and assembling them. Meanwhile, people in the global upper class design and purchase AirPods.
Oh boy, these people are going to absolutely go nuts when they find out about international banking, the automobile industry, meat products, coltan (the thing that makes you mobile phone work), petrol, any out of town big box store, and basically capitalism itself. Now please continue your scheduled hate against... er, is it headphones, apple, or the concept of entropy? Anyway.
posted by The River Ivel at 1:02 PM on May 7, 2019 [7 favorites]
"Luckily" lithium is a finite resource just like oil; we won't be using it forever.
I don't use airpods (they would absolutely fall out of my ears) but I'm 100% wireless and won't go back voluntarily. The convenience is way too high.
Maybe we'll start getting removable batteries in phones again? The smartphone industry is tapped out; we're down to Samsung and their foldable screens which aren't interesting even if they actually worked, and Apple hasn't done anything interesting in years now. I can see someone trying to differentiate by including them again.
posted by MillMan at 1:04 PM on May 7, 2019
I don't use airpods (they would absolutely fall out of my ears) but I'm 100% wireless and won't go back voluntarily. The convenience is way too high.
Maybe we'll start getting removable batteries in phones again? The smartphone industry is tapped out; we're down to Samsung and their foldable screens which aren't interesting even if they actually worked, and Apple hasn't done anything interesting in years now. I can see someone trying to differentiate by including them again.
posted by MillMan at 1:04 PM on May 7, 2019
Basically it's just another hit job on Apple, because there's a persistent belief that their stuff's overpriced and they're an easy target.
Their stuff is objectively overpriced because their stuff is obscenely profitable. Apple's net profit in 2018 was ~$59 billion with a net profit margin of ~24%. It's roughly the 5th most profitable large company in the world by margin, and its peers are all banks or have heavy monopoly power (e.g. Verizon with ~13%). Its nearest actual competitor is Samsung with a mere ~9% margin.
posted by jedicus at 1:06 PM on May 7, 2019 [7 favorites]
Their stuff is objectively overpriced because their stuff is obscenely profitable. Apple's net profit in 2018 was ~$59 billion with a net profit margin of ~24%. It's roughly the 5th most profitable large company in the world by margin, and its peers are all banks or have heavy monopoly power (e.g. Verizon with ~13%). Its nearest actual competitor is Samsung with a mere ~9% margin.
posted by jedicus at 1:06 PM on May 7, 2019 [7 favorites]
jedicus: So just don't buy Apple products, and let those of us who want to have our fun?
posted by SansPoint at 1:11 PM on May 7, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by SansPoint at 1:11 PM on May 7, 2019 [2 favorites]
On the other hand, how do you create something AirPod-like that can be easily taken apart and broken down without it being significantly bulkier
If a replaceable battery module had been added as a design constraint, they would have found a way. Wrist watches have replaceable batteries, as do hearing aids. It could screw together like a pen, or the bit that sticks out could be snap-on snap-off so you can swap out just that bit.
Really though, given the tiny size of Airpods, the disposable nature isn't a significant eco problem at all, it's just a bad thing for the consumer. The battery in an Airpod presents no real risk as it is so small too.
posted by w0mbat at 1:13 PM on May 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
If a replaceable battery module had been added as a design constraint, they would have found a way. Wrist watches have replaceable batteries, as do hearing aids. It could screw together like a pen, or the bit that sticks out could be snap-on snap-off so you can swap out just that bit.
Really though, given the tiny size of Airpods, the disposable nature isn't a significant eco problem at all, it's just a bad thing for the consumer. The battery in an Airpod presents no real risk as it is so small too.
posted by w0mbat at 1:13 PM on May 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
w0mbat: If a replaceable battery module had been added as a design constraint, they would have found a way. Wrist watches have replaceable batteries, as do hearing aids. It could screw together like a pen, or the bit that sticks out could be snap-on snap-off so you can swap out just that bit.
Fair, but there's the design trade-offs that come from that. Screw threads get worn, gaskets can get lost, snap-on/snap-off parts can wear out, and all provide ingress points for liquid and other things that aren't great for the internals.
posted by SansPoint at 1:16 PM on May 7, 2019
Fair, but there's the design trade-offs that come from that. Screw threads get worn, gaskets can get lost, snap-on/snap-off parts can wear out, and all provide ingress points for liquid and other things that aren't great for the internals.
posted by SansPoint at 1:16 PM on May 7, 2019
I have two pairs of wired earbuds and some other headphones that I've had for a decade or more
I wish those were easy to find. I kept looking for better quality headphones - earbud, over-ear, whatever - that would last for several years. Maybe I just use them a lot (3-4 hours / day?) or maybe I'm rough on devices. But my SO is super-careful with devices and his $80 wired over-the-ear headphones (bought in the hopes they would last) still died after 2-3 years, when the cables went. He got another year or so by re-wiring them where they broke (attached a new 3.5mm jack), but there is only so many times you can do that.
posted by jb at 1:52 PM on May 7, 2019
I wish those were easy to find. I kept looking for better quality headphones - earbud, over-ear, whatever - that would last for several years. Maybe I just use them a lot (3-4 hours / day?) or maybe I'm rough on devices. But my SO is super-careful with devices and his $80 wired over-the-ear headphones (bought in the hopes they would last) still died after 2-3 years, when the cables went. He got another year or so by re-wiring them where they broke (attached a new 3.5mm jack), but there is only so many times you can do that.
posted by jb at 1:52 PM on May 7, 2019
As a jogger and cyclist, I’d be happy to find an alternative that’s cheaper and more re-usable/recyclable, but so far I haven’t found anything that comes close and also doesn’t overly isolate your hearing.
I just tried a pair of bone-conduction headphones in a shop the other day, and I was fascinated. I was getting very good sound quality even playing them relatively quietly, and I could hear someone talking quietly beside me.
I don't know how well they would work for my primary headphone use (podcasts and other speech audio in loudish environments like subways or roads - I use sound-isolating buds so as not to kill my hearing). But I was intrigued. I never listen to anything while cycling, for safety reasons. But I would love to cycle and listen to a podcast. (though maybe there are other safety issues around distraction).
posted by jb at 1:58 PM on May 7, 2019 [3 favorites]
I just tried a pair of bone-conduction headphones in a shop the other day, and I was fascinated. I was getting very good sound quality even playing them relatively quietly, and I could hear someone talking quietly beside me.
I don't know how well they would work for my primary headphone use (podcasts and other speech audio in loudish environments like subways or roads - I use sound-isolating buds so as not to kill my hearing). But I was intrigued. I never listen to anything while cycling, for safety reasons. But I would love to cycle and listen to a podcast. (though maybe there are other safety issues around distraction).
posted by jb at 1:58 PM on May 7, 2019 [3 favorites]
So just don't buy Apple products, and let those of us who want to have our fun?
Air Pods: Almost as good as sticking your fingers in your ears and going "la la la."
(Plus they make you look like there's half a fucking Capri cigarette hanging out of your ear).
posted by aspersioncast at 1:58 PM on May 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
Air Pods: Almost as good as sticking your fingers in your ears and going "la la la."
(Plus they make you look like there's half a fucking Capri cigarette hanging out of your ear).
posted by aspersioncast at 1:58 PM on May 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
Meanwhile, Google just announced new Pixel 3a phones, and they have 3.5" headphone jacks!
I'm still on a Nexus 5, was going to upgrade about the time they rolled out the first Pixel. But I wasn't spending 700 bucks.
But at 399 for the Pixel 3a? I'm TRYING to wait until the next paycycle, but man, does that hit the sweet spot.
posted by mikelieman at 2:00 PM on May 7, 2019
I'm still on a Nexus 5, was going to upgrade about the time they rolled out the first Pixel. But I wasn't spending 700 bucks.
But at 399 for the Pixel 3a? I'm TRYING to wait until the next paycycle, but man, does that hit the sweet spot.
posted by mikelieman at 2:00 PM on May 7, 2019
Their stuff is objectively overpriced because their stuff is obscenely profitable
Profitability isn't inherently a measure of over-priced-ness. If $500 is a fair price for a widget, and companies A&B both charge $500, but company B has found additional efficiencies in the process, that means they're a more profitable company, but it doesn't make company B's products "objectively overpriced."
Additionally, Apple may be able to command that premium because their products are peerless. They have a tendency (not absolute) to last longer, degrade more gracefully, and command a higher after-market value. They don't have to race to the bottom the way other manufacturers do.
There's also value inherent in Apple that other companies don't offer. Apple's accessibility options are legion. They value security in a way other companies only pay lip service to.
Look, I used to be the kinda nerd who'd want to buy the most powerful device and jailbreak it and get root access and customize it. Now I don't have the fucking time or inclination. Apple products are just the best experience I can get out of the box.
posted by explosion at 2:01 PM on May 7, 2019 [9 favorites]
Profitability isn't inherently a measure of over-priced-ness. If $500 is a fair price for a widget, and companies A&B both charge $500, but company B has found additional efficiencies in the process, that means they're a more profitable company, but it doesn't make company B's products "objectively overpriced."
Additionally, Apple may be able to command that premium because their products are peerless. They have a tendency (not absolute) to last longer, degrade more gracefully, and command a higher after-market value. They don't have to race to the bottom the way other manufacturers do.
There's also value inherent in Apple that other companies don't offer. Apple's accessibility options are legion. They value security in a way other companies only pay lip service to.
Look, I used to be the kinda nerd who'd want to buy the most powerful device and jailbreak it and get root access and customize it. Now I don't have the fucking time or inclination. Apple products are just the best experience I can get out of the box.
posted by explosion at 2:01 PM on May 7, 2019 [9 favorites]
explosion: Look, I used to be the kinda nerd who'd want to buy the most powerful device and jailbreak it and get root access and customize it. Now I don't have the fucking time or inclination. Apple products are just the best experience I can get out of the box.
I made the switch to Apple (from Linux!) about 14 years ago for the same basic reasons. I got tired of fiddling, tired of of customizing stuff, tired of the amount of time and effort I needed to exert to use my stuff. Apple hardware and software isn't perfect, but it's definitely easier on my mind and more respectful of my time than Windows and Linux. I'm comfortable paying a premium for that. For those who aren't, or for those who prefer something else, I say, have fun and use the stuff that works best for you.
posted by SansPoint at 2:10 PM on May 7, 2019 [7 favorites]
I made the switch to Apple (from Linux!) about 14 years ago for the same basic reasons. I got tired of fiddling, tired of of customizing stuff, tired of the amount of time and effort I needed to exert to use my stuff. Apple hardware and software isn't perfect, but it's definitely easier on my mind and more respectful of my time than Windows and Linux. I'm comfortable paying a premium for that. For those who aren't, or for those who prefer something else, I say, have fun and use the stuff that works best for you.
posted by SansPoint at 2:10 PM on May 7, 2019 [7 favorites]
Profitability isn't inherently a measure of over-priced-ness. If $500 is a fair price for a widget, and companies A&B both charge $500, but company B has found additional efficiencies in the process, that means they're a more profitable company, but it doesn't make company B's products "objectively overpriced."
High margins are an indication of a non-competitive market. In a competitive market, the price will decline to the marginal cost. In the case of Apple, its high margins are partly because of a non-tangible fashion or class signifier value, but more importantly because intellectual property laws enable it rely on a government enforced monopoly to prevent competition. That's what the whole "round corners" litigation was about - eliminating free market competition and maintaining a monopoly. Government enforced monopolies can be quite lucrative.
posted by JackFlash at 2:15 PM on May 7, 2019 [2 favorites]
High margins are an indication of a non-competitive market. In a competitive market, the price will decline to the marginal cost. In the case of Apple, its high margins are partly because of a non-tangible fashion or class signifier value, but more importantly because intellectual property laws enable it rely on a government enforced monopoly to prevent competition. That's what the whole "round corners" litigation was about - eliminating free market competition and maintaining a monopoly. Government enforced monopolies can be quite lucrative.
posted by JackFlash at 2:15 PM on May 7, 2019 [2 favorites]
I have never tried the AirPods, but by all accounts they are terrible. However, I have bought the Jabra Elites, and they are terrific. Until the "truly wireless" earbud space opened up post-AirPod, the features I wanted were not available for any price. Now they are available for a merely egregious price, which is less egregious if you use them daily. By the time I have to replace my current ones, they will be available for a reasonable price.
I'd much rather risk losing a $150 earbud, which has not happened, than risk having a headphone cable pull my $700 phone out of my pocket and onto the concrete, where it will smash and cost me $xxx to repair, which has happened. Or have the cable get caught on my belt or jacket and pull my phone out of my pocket and onto the escalator when I have the brazen desire to look up, which has also happened, more than once. Or get caught between the seat cushions of a train and pull... well, you get the idea. Fuck headphone cables.
As for the environment, just look upon the mounds of cheap disposable headphones in the landfill, some of which were mine, and despair. Despite all the hand-wringing, I have yet to meet anybody who's had to throw away their wireless earbuds because the batteries died. My old Jaybirds still work fine after 4 years, which is longer than any of my wired headphones lasted. It may be easier to repair wired headphones, but it isn't economical for all but the most expensive ones, and nobody has or ever will do so (statistically speaking). The very thought of it is laughable. Headphone repair? Give me a break, VICE. They've always gone in the garbage, by and large, and they always will, wired or not. I have a EE degree and a soldering iron, but what I don't have is time to waste on shitty products that break in predictable ways. Sign me up for the wireless future.
posted by hyperbolic at 3:04 PM on May 7, 2019
I'd much rather risk losing a $150 earbud, which has not happened, than risk having a headphone cable pull my $700 phone out of my pocket and onto the concrete, where it will smash and cost me $xxx to repair, which has happened. Or have the cable get caught on my belt or jacket and pull my phone out of my pocket and onto the escalator when I have the brazen desire to look up, which has also happened, more than once. Or get caught between the seat cushions of a train and pull... well, you get the idea. Fuck headphone cables.
As for the environment, just look upon the mounds of cheap disposable headphones in the landfill, some of which were mine, and despair. Despite all the hand-wringing, I have yet to meet anybody who's had to throw away their wireless earbuds because the batteries died. My old Jaybirds still work fine after 4 years, which is longer than any of my wired headphones lasted. It may be easier to repair wired headphones, but it isn't economical for all but the most expensive ones, and nobody has or ever will do so (statistically speaking). The very thought of it is laughable. Headphone repair? Give me a break, VICE. They've always gone in the garbage, by and large, and they always will, wired or not. I have a EE degree and a soldering iron, but what I don't have is time to waste on shitty products that break in predictable ways. Sign me up for the wireless future.
posted by hyperbolic at 3:04 PM on May 7, 2019
Most earbuds have the problem that if your wire is hosed, you have to trash them completely.
Soldering iron! And contrary to other suggestions in the thread, there's no limit to how many times you can replace a cable. There's a limit to how often you can reattach the jack to an existing cable when the connection gets dodgy, since you're shortening it each time, but no real limit to how often you can replace the entire cable.
posted by Dysk at 3:04 PM on May 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
Soldering iron! And contrary to other suggestions in the thread, there's no limit to how many times you can replace a cable. There's a limit to how often you can reattach the jack to an existing cable when the connection gets dodgy, since you're shortening it each time, but no real limit to how often you can replace the entire cable.
posted by Dysk at 3:04 PM on May 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
those horrible silicone cups on virtually every other pair of earbuds feel like having a tween's fingers in your ears like a dryish wet willie
Just FYI, the proper Comply tips (foam) will solve this problem as well as drastically reduce noise leakage (and usually improving the bass, which leaks most, I think). They're like $15 for a 3-set pack.
posted by praemunire at 3:51 PM on May 7, 2019 [2 favorites]
Just FYI, the proper Comply tips (foam) will solve this problem as well as drastically reduce noise leakage (and usually improving the bass, which leaks most, I think). They're like $15 for a 3-set pack.
posted by praemunire at 3:51 PM on May 7, 2019 [2 favorites]
If Vice cared about our environment they wouldn't have fucking kicked Death By Audio out.
posted by destructive cactus at 3:53 PM on May 7, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by destructive cactus at 3:53 PM on May 7, 2019 [2 favorites]
Love my AirPods. Marvelous design. Automatic pairing, turn on and off when I put them in and take them out. The double-tap allows me to talk on the phone if I need to. They charge fast, they're tiny, and it's a good design for the case. They don't hurt my ears, which I know is not the universal experience; my spouse insisted his "tiny ears" wouldn't accommodate them until I gave him a pair for Christmas, and now they're his go-to earbuds.
And I don't love the accusation status aspiration, which reminds me of the "cut out the latte and you too will have the life savings of someone born into wealth" commonplace. They are small luxuries, no doubt, but I live in an Eastern city with a high poverty level where those small luxuries are as common as the expensive shoes people can also afford when they can't afford to buy a house.
Also, everything is made of stuff that was formed in supernovae (probably not the Big Bang, which mostly formed Hydrogen, helium, lithium, and beryllium).
posted by Peach at 4:03 PM on May 7, 2019 [2 favorites]
And I don't love the accusation status aspiration, which reminds me of the "cut out the latte and you too will have the life savings of someone born into wealth" commonplace. They are small luxuries, no doubt, but I live in an Eastern city with a high poverty level where those small luxuries are as common as the expensive shoes people can also afford when they can't afford to buy a house.
Also, everything is made of stuff that was formed in supernovae (probably not the Big Bang, which mostly formed Hydrogen, helium, lithium, and beryllium).
posted by Peach at 4:03 PM on May 7, 2019 [2 favorites]
I really wish there were an eco-charge option that would only charge up to 80% of max and shut off the buds at 20% power. You'd get at least 3 times the number of charge cycles out of the battery
posted by BrotherCaine at 4:03 PM on May 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by BrotherCaine at 4:03 PM on May 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
A few points of fact:
- I bought my first pair on day 1 of release and used them for about 26 months. By that point I estimate the battery was around 50% of the original capacity, and this was after using them multiple hours every day for podcasts and music.
- I sold this pair on Facebook for £80, i.e. half the price I bought them for. I was inundated with buyers and probably could have sold them for £100. And yes, I told people what I thought the battery capacity was.
- They are surprisingly durable. I have dropped them down flights of stairs and worn them out in the rain many times. A friend put his through the wash a couple of times and they were fine.
- I go running with them most days and they haven’t fallen out, even in high winds. But YMMV.
- They don’t have noise isolation and so the sound quality isn’t great. You may laugh but I contend this is part of the appeal for some, as it allows you to hear the environment at the same time - very valuable while running or walking in crowded areas. This is probably also why the Youths like wearing them all the time. I also have Sony 1000XM3s so I do know what good headphones sound like.
posted by adrianhon at 4:09 PM on May 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
- I bought my first pair on day 1 of release and used them for about 26 months. By that point I estimate the battery was around 50% of the original capacity, and this was after using them multiple hours every day for podcasts and music.
- I sold this pair on Facebook for £80, i.e. half the price I bought them for. I was inundated with buyers and probably could have sold them for £100. And yes, I told people what I thought the battery capacity was.
- They are surprisingly durable. I have dropped them down flights of stairs and worn them out in the rain many times. A friend put his through the wash a couple of times and they were fine.
- I go running with them most days and they haven’t fallen out, even in high winds. But YMMV.
- They don’t have noise isolation and so the sound quality isn’t great. You may laugh but I contend this is part of the appeal for some, as it allows you to hear the environment at the same time - very valuable while running or walking in crowded areas. This is probably also why the Youths like wearing them all the time. I also have Sony 1000XM3s so I do know what good headphones sound like.
posted by adrianhon at 4:09 PM on May 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
How long does the average pair of earbuds last? Are people using the same pair a decade after they bought them? I bet 18 months is a generous estimate for most wired earbuds. I’m no fan of capitalism, but this article is one of the most overwrought things I’ve ever read.
Well, your average pair of cheapo earbuds doesn't have an Li-ion battery in it. Now - are these that much worse than other products with batteries? I'm not sure. I was also kinda like - oh come on, but I guess the argument that these are a notable example of technology being designed as a disposable package holds some water.
posted by atoxyl at 4:46 PM on May 7, 2019
Well, your average pair of cheapo earbuds doesn't have an Li-ion battery in it. Now - are these that much worse than other products with batteries? I'm not sure. I was also kinda like - oh come on, but I guess the argument that these are a notable example of technology being designed as a disposable package holds some water.
posted by atoxyl at 4:46 PM on May 7, 2019
I do worry what piping stuff directly into my ear will do to my hearing.
Not really directed at you specifically but I've never quite got why this is a particular concern. Isn't the same sound pressure level going into your ear going to sound pretty much equally loud no matter where the source is located? I guess the issue is that a speaker producing 90db+ runs into the natural limit of other people telling you to turn it the hell down, whereas you can really blast yourself with earbuds if you want to?
I would be concerned about trying to drown out ambient noise by turning up unsealed earbuds or open headphones. That's why I'm a big fan of true noise-isolating in-ear earphones (like the Etymotic ones).
posted by atoxyl at 4:54 PM on May 7, 2019
Not really directed at you specifically but I've never quite got why this is a particular concern. Isn't the same sound pressure level going into your ear going to sound pretty much equally loud no matter where the source is located? I guess the issue is that a speaker producing 90db+ runs into the natural limit of other people telling you to turn it the hell down, whereas you can really blast yourself with earbuds if you want to?
I would be concerned about trying to drown out ambient noise by turning up unsealed earbuds or open headphones. That's why I'm a big fan of true noise-isolating in-ear earphones (like the Etymotic ones).
posted by atoxyl at 4:54 PM on May 7, 2019
Any discussion of airpods seems to involve some people complaining that they don't fit their ears well, followed by other people rushing in to argue that their own airpods fit *their* ears just fine. But every pair of non apple buds I've owned comes with a variety of tip sizes and pointy bits to help with fit... It doesn't look like airpods do, is that right?
And is anyone else feeling almost nostalgic to read a thread full of touchy apple stans in 2019? Feels like it's been a while.
posted by ominous_paws at 7:54 PM on May 7, 2019 [3 favorites]
And is anyone else feeling almost nostalgic to read a thread full of touchy apple stans in 2019? Feels like it's been a while.
posted by ominous_paws at 7:54 PM on May 7, 2019 [3 favorites]
Isn't the same sound pressure level going into your ear going to sound pretty much equally loud no matter where the source is located?
Um no. It's a basic property of acoustics that the closer you get to the sound, the louder it sounds. The wikipedia article on Sound Pressure notes: "The distance of the measuring microphone from a sound source is often omitted when SPL measurements are quoted, making the data useless, due the inherent effect of the inverse square law, which summarily states that doubling the distance between the source and receiver results in a halving of the measurable effect." The reverse is true, too.
And anyway it's not really about how loud it sounds; your ears are surprisingly fickle and quickly adjust. The closer a loud noisemaking device gets to your inner ear, the more likely it is to cause hearing damage. Listening to loud headphones for long periods is a great way to fuck up your hearing.
posted by aspersioncast at 8:41 PM on May 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
Um no. It's a basic property of acoustics that the closer you get to the sound, the louder it sounds. The wikipedia article on Sound Pressure notes: "The distance of the measuring microphone from a sound source is often omitted when SPL measurements are quoted, making the data useless, due the inherent effect of the inverse square law, which summarily states that doubling the distance between the source and receiver results in a halving of the measurable effect." The reverse is true, too.
And anyway it's not really about how loud it sounds; your ears are surprisingly fickle and quickly adjust. The closer a loud noisemaking device gets to your inner ear, the more likely it is to cause hearing damage. Listening to loud headphones for long periods is a great way to fuck up your hearing.
posted by aspersioncast at 8:41 PM on May 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
Sure, but in-ear headphones producing a given SPL at your eardrums is the same as speakers producing a given SPL at your eardrums. The latter will be a lot louder than the former if measured at the same distance, but so what? The things right next to your ear won't be pushing as much pressure to reach the same SPL at your eardrum because they're closer.
posted by Dysk at 9:12 PM on May 7, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by Dysk at 9:12 PM on May 7, 2019 [2 favorites]
They can’t be easily recycled, because there’s no safe way to separate the lithium-ion battery from the plastic shell. Instead, the AirPods sit in your drawer forever.
When I bought the new AirPods to replace my original model, Apple sent me a label to return the old one to a recycling center. I don't know how much actual recycling occurs, but at least it keeps toxins out of landfills.
I used the old ones for 5–6 hours per day, mostly audio, and they were down to about 30 minutes playing per charge. The new ones are such a joy—I can listen to an entire album without having to stop and recharge!
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 11:29 PM on May 7, 2019 [2 favorites]
When I bought the new AirPods to replace my original model, Apple sent me a label to return the old one to a recycling center. I don't know how much actual recycling occurs, but at least it keeps toxins out of landfills.
I used the old ones for 5–6 hours per day, mostly audio, and they were down to about 30 minutes playing per charge. The new ones are such a joy—I can listen to an entire album without having to stop and recharge!
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 11:29 PM on May 7, 2019 [2 favorites]
I switched to wireless headphones in the hope that I could reduce my waste from throwing out headphones every six months when the wires break.
Will read the rest of the thread before I continue this comment, but first reaction - my two headphones are Bose, and both are around 5 years old. I upgraded when they got noise cancelling, and I treasure them like my own children. Specifically, I have some QuietComfort over-ear something-or-others that take a AA/#7 battery and last about 2 days on a charge. The sound quality, after 5 years and nearly daily use, is fantastic. Same with the earbuds with the rechargeable Li battery (still holds a 14-hour charge, any ol' micro USB cable will do to top up). I don't know if they're the best possible sound quality on the market or anything, but to this day, other people only used to Apple & other off-market earbuds put them on and are impressed. The people who sneer at Bose are premium headphone geeks with equally or more durable stuff.
The thing about my headphones is that the cords don't break. And, Bose will fix them. My over-ears have a detachable cord. In theory I could get a wireless dongle to plug into them. I have laundered the noise-cancelling earbuds, and they came out fine after letting them dry on the windowsill. If the cords did break, Bose keeps a warehouse full of replacement parts in Shanghai (for China), and in other countries where they have more of a retail presence, your local mall definitely has a shop. Got my over-ears fixed in Cambodia for $60/2 days when the foam started coming off. Expensive, but also, 5 years with these bad boys.
and still refuses to buy a phone that doesn't have a headphone jack
I respect this, but I have dongles, my phones and headphones all have attached cases (I always have a bag with me, often just a knapsack backpack, I ain't walking around out there without toilet paper and an umbrella and a sweatshirt in reach, 'specially not when I day-trip all the time, and then my laptop goes in there too, headphone cases/extra phones/power bank/charging cables just go in there). There are multiple ways of dealing with this, and it's not like I wasn't carrying extra crap anyway. Also, I collect the dongles from USB-C phone-owning friends. Easy.
"A man in Taiwan swallowed one of his wireless Apple AirPods while he slept but succeeded in retrieving the wayward earpiece – and found it still worked after its dark passage through the human body."
posted by inflatablekiwi at 2:45 AM on May 8 [8 favorites +] [!]
Well. Looks like my laundry story isn't that unique.
posted by saysthis at 12:23 AM on May 8, 2019
Will read the rest of the thread before I continue this comment, but first reaction - my two headphones are Bose, and both are around 5 years old. I upgraded when they got noise cancelling, and I treasure them like my own children. Specifically, I have some QuietComfort over-ear something-or-others that take a AA/#7 battery and last about 2 days on a charge. The sound quality, after 5 years and nearly daily use, is fantastic. Same with the earbuds with the rechargeable Li battery (still holds a 14-hour charge, any ol' micro USB cable will do to top up). I don't know if they're the best possible sound quality on the market or anything, but to this day, other people only used to Apple & other off-market earbuds put them on and are impressed. The people who sneer at Bose are premium headphone geeks with equally or more durable stuff.
The thing about my headphones is that the cords don't break. And, Bose will fix them. My over-ears have a detachable cord. In theory I could get a wireless dongle to plug into them. I have laundered the noise-cancelling earbuds, and they came out fine after letting them dry on the windowsill. If the cords did break, Bose keeps a warehouse full of replacement parts in Shanghai (for China), and in other countries where they have more of a retail presence, your local mall definitely has a shop. Got my over-ears fixed in Cambodia for $60/2 days when the foam started coming off. Expensive, but also, 5 years with these bad boys.
and still refuses to buy a phone that doesn't have a headphone jack
I respect this, but I have dongles, my phones and headphones all have attached cases (I always have a bag with me, often just a knapsack backpack, I ain't walking around out there without toilet paper and an umbrella and a sweatshirt in reach, 'specially not when I day-trip all the time, and then my laptop goes in there too, headphone cases/extra phones/power bank/charging cables just go in there). There are multiple ways of dealing with this, and it's not like I wasn't carrying extra crap anyway. Also, I collect the dongles from USB-C phone-owning friends. Easy.
"A man in Taiwan swallowed one of his wireless Apple AirPods while he slept but succeeded in retrieving the wayward earpiece – and found it still worked after its dark passage through the human body."
posted by inflatablekiwi at 2:45 AM on May 8 [8 favorites +] [!]
Well. Looks like my laundry story isn't that unique.
posted by saysthis at 12:23 AM on May 8, 2019
I am almost always impressed with the empathy and imagination of MeFi commenters... except when it comes to Apple.
I never saw the pointposted by fairmettle at 2:39 AM on May 8, 2019 [5 favorites]
I also don't understand the appeal
I have no clue why it would be a good thing to have
I can't imagine
What sort of baffles me
by all accounts they are terrible
I've long been baffled
I have a couple of Jabra bluetooth earbuds which are a bit bulkier than airpods, but have a setting that lets ambient noise through if you want it. So, while I won't listen to music like that, it's a great way to listen to podcasts while cycling and still to be aware of your environment. And when that setting is turned off, they are pretty damn good at sound isolation.
It's surely obvious, though, that lots of people don't have the Apple median earhole, and so will not be suited; just as obvious that lots of people do and can't see when other weirdos have a problem.
posted by alloneword at 2:44 AM on May 8, 2019 [3 favorites]
It's surely obvious, though, that lots of people don't have the Apple median earhole, and so will not be suited; just as obvious that lots of people do and can't see when other weirdos have a problem.
posted by alloneword at 2:44 AM on May 8, 2019 [3 favorites]
in stellar cores long after said bang
Great-grandmother or great, great, great, great-grandmother -- still all in the same line.
posted by filtergik at 4:02 AM on May 8, 2019
Great-grandmother or great, great, great, great-grandmother -- still all in the same line.
posted by filtergik at 4:02 AM on May 8, 2019
empathy and imagination
Yes, when will people give this plucky little startup a fair shot? ;)
posted by ominous_paws at 5:33 AM on May 8, 2019 [3 favorites]
Yes, when will people give this plucky little startup a fair shot? ;)
posted by ominous_paws at 5:33 AM on May 8, 2019 [3 favorites]
Categories in which there are Opinions, and arguing about them is the Point:
Cats v Dogs
Apple v Everything Else
Playground Game Rules
posted by Peach at 5:45 AM on May 8, 2019 [1 favorite]
Cats v Dogs
Apple v Everything Else
Playground Game Rules
posted by Peach at 5:45 AM on May 8, 2019 [1 favorite]
I'm surprised no one's mentioned the number one reason why I moved across - the tendency of wired headphones to develop a loose connection. Or get snagged or knotted up. I've been using headphones daily for a couple of hours for about 20 years now and they always (cheap of expensive) develop a loose connection over a year.
The number of AirPod alternatives that still have cables means that they don't get the appeal. The remaining ones seem either crazy expensive or ugly.
Finally, sound quality. Meh. It's good enough. I listen to a lot of music, although perhaps my dislike for prog, much classical or indeed much that audiophiles seem to dig (soft spot for Steely Dan aside), perhaps means I don't have the most educated view here. I don't really care. The music sounds good enough to move me.
posted by treblekicker at 6:11 AM on May 8, 2019 [2 favorites]
The number of AirPod alternatives that still have cables means that they don't get the appeal. The remaining ones seem either crazy expensive or ugly.
Finally, sound quality. Meh. It's good enough. I listen to a lot of music, although perhaps my dislike for prog, much classical or indeed much that audiophiles seem to dig (soft spot for Steely Dan aside), perhaps means I don't have the most educated view here. I don't really care. The music sounds good enough to move me.
posted by treblekicker at 6:11 AM on May 8, 2019 [2 favorites]
When it comes to wired headphones, well, I love the pair of 1978-vintage AKG K240 Sextett headphones handed down to me by my father, and I've replaced the cord entirely once, changed the plug a few times (upgrading from the plastic original to a nicer one), and resoldered the upper wiring as needed. Done the same with my K340s and Stax SR-40s as needed.
I'm a crack shot with a soldering iron, having been building and repairing things for the last forty years since my dad had me build a Heathkit digital clock to train me how to do such things, but repairing modern earbuds and other wired headphones? Hell no. I can solder nearly microscopic SMD stuff despite my aging corpus, but when it comes to the wires in modern low end earphones, the wire technology is insane. You can pry everything open with care, strip the outer cover, and the wires are bundles of hair-fine copper with a kind of per-strand insulation you can't remove, and you can't burn it off or use flux to infiltrate it to make a decent connection, and when you do manage to get what seems like a decent joint, it doesn't last long. And jeez, you can't move in the physical world without headphone wires snagging and yanking out of your ears at best and flinging your MP3 player, phone, or musical instrument to the floor.
I get that my Airpods are a glued-up nightmare...and I revel in that some combination of automation and engineering makes them possible. The iFixit teardown page is pretty fascinating, and I'm really unsure how you'd design those to make them serviceable beyond maybe coming up with a way to unscrew the tails with the battery incorporated for replacement, though that would just make them larger and give the everything-Apple-is-terrible-or-at-least-we've-heard crowd to make even more amusing references to toothbrushes and robotic reproductive cells.
It'd be cool if there was a way that, like my old AKG headphones, I could still be enjoying my AirPods in some form forty years after they were made, but that would likely also boost their cost tremendously. My lovely AKG K340 headphones, when new in 1983, cost $300, which is around $750 when adjusted to today's market. It's a lot easier to build a $750 pair of headphones for service. Heck, the 1938 Westinghouse Power-Aire electric fan on my desk at home, which cost my grandmother $12.57 in 1938 ($226 in 2019 dollars), has been going strong for 81 years and I've been carefully repairing and maintaining it for the past forty of those, but who will pay $226 for a long-lived desktop electric fan in 2019? We've bargain-hunted ourselves into this state, and we talk a good game about wanting things to be different...but in the crunch, we just buy cheap crap over and over, tossing it out as soon as it fails, while sneering at people who pay "too much" for things as if the extension of the Boots Theory of Socioeconomic Unfairness—that, while spending more on something that produces value for us in its use, sometimes the more expensive option is ultimately the less expensive option—didn't usually hold.
In terms of AirPods, what would my alternative be? I don't want anything that will close off my ear canal, either with rubberiness or foaminess, I don't need (or want, TBH) to silence the outside world, I don't listen at screaming volumes that would bleed everywhere, and I don't want crap hanging off my ear or weird connecting wires tying the two together under my chin or behind my head. I want to be able to listen to podcasts, radio theater, and music at a reasonable level while I'm moving around and working in workspaces with a moderate noise level. AirPods just meet all those standards for me, and the e-waste they'll generate over a lifetime of use is roughly the same as was generated by all the stupid beeping novelty electronic greeting cards I've received in my life. I guess I could buy the knock-offs, but I'm not sure I want to reward people who make copies of things instead of making things that work well on their own merits.
posted by sonascope at 7:24 AM on May 8, 2019 [3 favorites]
I'm a crack shot with a soldering iron, having been building and repairing things for the last forty years since my dad had me build a Heathkit digital clock to train me how to do such things, but repairing modern earbuds and other wired headphones? Hell no. I can solder nearly microscopic SMD stuff despite my aging corpus, but when it comes to the wires in modern low end earphones, the wire technology is insane. You can pry everything open with care, strip the outer cover, and the wires are bundles of hair-fine copper with a kind of per-strand insulation you can't remove, and you can't burn it off or use flux to infiltrate it to make a decent connection, and when you do manage to get what seems like a decent joint, it doesn't last long. And jeez, you can't move in the physical world without headphone wires snagging and yanking out of your ears at best and flinging your MP3 player, phone, or musical instrument to the floor.
I get that my Airpods are a glued-up nightmare...and I revel in that some combination of automation and engineering makes them possible. The iFixit teardown page is pretty fascinating, and I'm really unsure how you'd design those to make them serviceable beyond maybe coming up with a way to unscrew the tails with the battery incorporated for replacement, though that would just make them larger and give the everything-Apple-is-terrible-or-at-least-we've-heard crowd to make even more amusing references to toothbrushes and robotic reproductive cells.
It'd be cool if there was a way that, like my old AKG headphones, I could still be enjoying my AirPods in some form forty years after they were made, but that would likely also boost their cost tremendously. My lovely AKG K340 headphones, when new in 1983, cost $300, which is around $750 when adjusted to today's market. It's a lot easier to build a $750 pair of headphones for service. Heck, the 1938 Westinghouse Power-Aire electric fan on my desk at home, which cost my grandmother $12.57 in 1938 ($226 in 2019 dollars), has been going strong for 81 years and I've been carefully repairing and maintaining it for the past forty of those, but who will pay $226 for a long-lived desktop electric fan in 2019? We've bargain-hunted ourselves into this state, and we talk a good game about wanting things to be different...but in the crunch, we just buy cheap crap over and over, tossing it out as soon as it fails, while sneering at people who pay "too much" for things as if the extension of the Boots Theory of Socioeconomic Unfairness—that, while spending more on something that produces value for us in its use, sometimes the more expensive option is ultimately the less expensive option—didn't usually hold.
In terms of AirPods, what would my alternative be? I don't want anything that will close off my ear canal, either with rubberiness or foaminess, I don't need (or want, TBH) to silence the outside world, I don't listen at screaming volumes that would bleed everywhere, and I don't want crap hanging off my ear or weird connecting wires tying the two together under my chin or behind my head. I want to be able to listen to podcasts, radio theater, and music at a reasonable level while I'm moving around and working in workspaces with a moderate noise level. AirPods just meet all those standards for me, and the e-waste they'll generate over a lifetime of use is roughly the same as was generated by all the stupid beeping novelty electronic greeting cards I've received in my life. I guess I could buy the knock-offs, but I'm not sure I want to reward people who make copies of things instead of making things that work well on their own merits.
posted by sonascope at 7:24 AM on May 8, 2019 [3 favorites]
I am almost always impressed with the empathy and imagination of MeFi commenters... except when it comes to Apple.
Literally every computer-like device I own in my home is Apple (which these days reflects a huge price premium that's rough on a very middle-class income), but don't let me stop you from jumping to conclusions.
posted by praemunire at 9:00 AM on May 8, 2019
Literally every computer-like device I own in my home is Apple (which these days reflects a huge price premium that's rough on a very middle-class income), but don't let me stop you from jumping to conclusions.
posted by praemunire at 9:00 AM on May 8, 2019
in-ear headphones producing a given SPL at your eardrums is the same as speakers producing a given SPL at your eardrums.
In theory, but in practice this is really hard to measure. It's my understanding that at these distances actual air pressure differences figure into the problem, so that it matters whether your device is open-back vs. closed-back vs. completely closed in-ear vs. something like air pods that passes sound.
But this is a bit of a derail, and I'm just a hobbyist. I'm sure there's an actual acoustic engineer around here who can weigh in.
posted by aspersioncast at 9:01 AM on May 8, 2019
In theory, but in practice this is really hard to measure. It's my understanding that at these distances actual air pressure differences figure into the problem, so that it matters whether your device is open-back vs. closed-back vs. completely closed in-ear vs. something like air pods that passes sound.
But this is a bit of a derail, and I'm just a hobbyist. I'm sure there's an actual acoustic engineer around here who can weigh in.
posted by aspersioncast at 9:01 AM on May 8, 2019
jedicus: So just don't buy Apple products, and let those of us who want to have our fun?
I own or use for work a MacBook Pro, an iMac, an iPhone, an Apple TV, and a waterproofed iPod Nano for swimming. I think Apple makes pretty good products. I also think that, as a company, it uses its status as a maker of Veblen goods to extract obscene profits.
With its 59 billion in profit Apple could spend over $500k on every public school in the United States, equipping it with a state of the art computer lab and pay for an instructor. Or it could ensure that every single worker in its supply chain was paid a living wage in a safe working environment.
Or if that $59 billion were taxed at a reasonable rate (say ~25%), then that could increase NASA's budget by 50%. Or pay for the entire CHIP program.
Instead, the money mostly just sits and accumulates more money. As of last month, Apple has approximately $225 billion in cash. The company literally has more money than it knows what to do with. It's obscene.
posted by jedicus at 9:40 AM on May 8, 2019 [8 favorites]
I own or use for work a MacBook Pro, an iMac, an iPhone, an Apple TV, and a waterproofed iPod Nano for swimming. I think Apple makes pretty good products. I also think that, as a company, it uses its status as a maker of Veblen goods to extract obscene profits.
With its 59 billion in profit Apple could spend over $500k on every public school in the United States, equipping it with a state of the art computer lab and pay for an instructor. Or it could ensure that every single worker in its supply chain was paid a living wage in a safe working environment.
Or if that $59 billion were taxed at a reasonable rate (say ~25%), then that could increase NASA's budget by 50%. Or pay for the entire CHIP program.
Instead, the money mostly just sits and accumulates more money. As of last month, Apple has approximately $225 billion in cash. The company literally has more money than it knows what to do with. It's obscene.
posted by jedicus at 9:40 AM on May 8, 2019 [8 favorites]
How long does the average pair of earbuds last? Are people using the same pair a decade after they bought them? I bet 18 months is a generous estimate for most wired earbuds.
I have every pair of wired earbuds that came with each iPhone back to version 3, and they all still work. I use them all the time. I've accidentally yanked them off with doorknobs countless times, sent them through the washer/dryer, and none of them have ever had issues with the wires or stopped working. I must have at least six pair around here. It's one of the most reliable accessories, at least for me. What has always failed for me with each iPhone is the USB power/lightning cable. It ends up fraying around the USB connector and eventually just stops working. All of them. It's a problem.
posted by krinklyfig at 10:38 AM on May 8, 2019
I have every pair of wired earbuds that came with each iPhone back to version 3, and they all still work. I use them all the time. I've accidentally yanked them off with doorknobs countless times, sent them through the washer/dryer, and none of them have ever had issues with the wires or stopped working. I must have at least six pair around here. It's one of the most reliable accessories, at least for me. What has always failed for me with each iPhone is the USB power/lightning cable. It ends up fraying around the USB connector and eventually just stops working. All of them. It's a problem.
posted by krinklyfig at 10:38 AM on May 8, 2019
FWIW, I have a XR but have not bought airpods yet. I mean, they look nice and I'm sure they're great, but it's just not in my budget. Still use the lightning wired buds for now. I'm a bit peeved that along with the missing plug there is no analog signal for wired headphones now, so the dongles require a DAC to work. So they're not that reliable, even the official one made by Belkin. ISTM they are trying to push everyone to wireless by making the alternative a hassle.
posted by krinklyfig at 10:55 AM on May 8, 2019
posted by krinklyfig at 10:55 AM on May 8, 2019
I was given a pair and don't care for how they look, but wow, I didn't realize how behind the times I must have been for sound quality. The bass is weak, but the level of detail and sense of space on a variety of classical pieces I tested was way better than what I had been experiencing with my previous upper-low-end wired headphones. I'm sure there are lots better headphones out there including better wireless ones and by many accounts the sound from these little things might still be classified as "bad," but even though the bass is a bit of a loss, the increased detail over my decades-old collection of Sony, Shure, Apple, Anker, and other in-ear headphones was pretty impressive and means I'm unlikely to switch back, much as I do hate the look. Hopefully the pretty colored wraps I ordered will spice that aspect up a bit at least.
(Independent of this, I also support an extremely high tax rate for disgustingly rich corporations, as well as multi-billion-dollar penalties for stashing cash abroad in order to avoid taxes. Ah, the contradictory complexities of living in a capitalist dystopia...)
posted by chortly at 12:18 PM on May 8, 2019 [1 favorite]
(Independent of this, I also support an extremely high tax rate for disgustingly rich corporations, as well as multi-billion-dollar penalties for stashing cash abroad in order to avoid taxes. Ah, the contradictory complexities of living in a capitalist dystopia...)
posted by chortly at 12:18 PM on May 8, 2019 [1 favorite]
I do not understand what it is about Apple, specifically, that gets people to use the language of oppression to defend their decision to blow three figures on shitty sounding headphones that are designed not to last. Why are there no Sony rootkit stans out there?
posted by sinfony at 1:20 PM on May 8, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by sinfony at 1:20 PM on May 8, 2019 [4 favorites]
People whose opinions I respect on these topics have consistently described AirPods as the best Apple product since the iPhone, so I would love to try a pair for myself. But they simply will not fit in my ear - the older EarPods or borrowed AirPods simply fall out of my ears when I walk or even gently shake my head.
So I'm stuck with these Jabra wireless headphones (wire connecting the two ears) - and they suck. The Bluetooth connection is unreliable, they un-pair every so often, the volume control is too coarse, they're too loud for my ears even at the lowest volume setting, argh. I listen to podcasts mostly, so I don't care about audio quality or bass performance - just please work and stay out of my way! But that's too much to ask for this pair, or the Anker pair before it.
Much as I hate to do so, I'm probably going to throw an obscene amount of money at Apple when the new PowerBeats ones come to market with rubber tips that do work in my ears.
posted by RedOrGreen at 1:25 PM on May 8, 2019
So I'm stuck with these Jabra wireless headphones (wire connecting the two ears) - and they suck. The Bluetooth connection is unreliable, they un-pair every so often, the volume control is too coarse, they're too loud for my ears even at the lowest volume setting, argh. I listen to podcasts mostly, so I don't care about audio quality or bass performance - just please work and stay out of my way! But that's too much to ask for this pair, or the Anker pair before it.
Much as I hate to do so, I'm probably going to throw an obscene amount of money at Apple when the new PowerBeats ones come to market with rubber tips that do work in my ears.
posted by RedOrGreen at 1:25 PM on May 8, 2019
> What has always failed for me with each iPhone is the USB power/lightning cable. It ends up fraying around the USB connector and eventually just stops working. All of them. It's a problem.
krinklyfig, I've pointed family members with similar problems to these Kevlar-reinforced ones from Monoprice. Under 10 bucks for the 3-ft length cables.
posted by RedOrGreen at 1:28 PM on May 8, 2019 [4 favorites]
krinklyfig, I've pointed family members with similar problems to these Kevlar-reinforced ones from Monoprice. Under 10 bucks for the 3-ft length cables.
posted by RedOrGreen at 1:28 PM on May 8, 2019 [4 favorites]
I am almost always impressed with the empathy and imagination of MeFi commenters... except when it comes to Apple.
If you've ever seen people say "well, you're not part of Apple's target market" in defense of Apple's choices, then one of several answers to this riddle is in your hands.
And the charges of "well, you just have some irrational particular hate-on for Apple" are the tech equivalent of conservative charges of media bias. Plenty of Apple's critics are current/former users, and there exists criticism with a substantial basis, regardless of subjective factors in play (and which can factor as easily in affirmations as in criticism).
posted by wildblueyonder at 1:39 PM on May 8, 2019 [2 favorites]
If you've ever seen people say "well, you're not part of Apple's target market" in defense of Apple's choices, then one of several answers to this riddle is in your hands.
And the charges of "well, you just have some irrational particular hate-on for Apple" are the tech equivalent of conservative charges of media bias. Plenty of Apple's critics are current/former users, and there exists criticism with a substantial basis, regardless of subjective factors in play (and which can factor as easily in affirmations as in criticism).
posted by wildblueyonder at 1:39 PM on May 8, 2019 [2 favorites]
I do not understand what it is about Apple, specifically, that gets people to use the language of oppression to defend their decision to blow three figures on shitty sounding headphones that are designed not to last.Probably the overwhelming presence of reductive and objectively incorrect statements like yours from people presenting their anti-Cupertino position as moral superiority.
posted by uberchet at 3:09 PM on May 8, 2019 [1 favorite]
I just bought these foam half covers and they eliminate the too-loose feeling while increasing the bass response.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 4:10 PM on May 8, 2019
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 4:10 PM on May 8, 2019
If anyone's still reading, and wants a decent pair of headphones:
Among other things I repair jukeboxes for a living, grew up around vinyl and high-end amps, and have been involved in amplifier and speaker design as part of my job (which is a weird one). I've spent many hours listening on £300 vintage cans that are like having an armchair strapped to either side of your head. I know what I'm talking about, and these Monoprice headphones - which cost sixteen dollars - are quite frankly phenomenal. They're not the best-sounding headphones I've ever tried, but they're certainly the best for under $200. They're not in-ear types - but if you're used to earbuds they'll be a revelation.
They also solve the "wires are always the thing that breaks" problem, in a way that'll have you slapping your forehead and going "Well, DUH."
(on the subject of wires, which someone was commenting on above - never buy expensive phone wires (lightning, microUSB, whatever). Every connector has a maximum number of times it can be mated before the metal fatigues and breaks - if you buy fancy expensive cables with a reputation for longevity, then the wear (which has to happen somewhere) happens in the port rather than the cable. Buy ten one-dollar cables and wear them out, rather than buying a $20 cable and then paying someone like me to put a new port in your phone when it wears out.)
posted by FeatherWatt at 5:57 PM on May 8, 2019 [3 favorites]
Among other things I repair jukeboxes for a living, grew up around vinyl and high-end amps, and have been involved in amplifier and speaker design as part of my job (which is a weird one). I've spent many hours listening on £300 vintage cans that are like having an armchair strapped to either side of your head. I know what I'm talking about, and these Monoprice headphones - which cost sixteen dollars - are quite frankly phenomenal. They're not the best-sounding headphones I've ever tried, but they're certainly the best for under $200. They're not in-ear types - but if you're used to earbuds they'll be a revelation.
They also solve the "wires are always the thing that breaks" problem, in a way that'll have you slapping your forehead and going "Well, DUH."
(on the subject of wires, which someone was commenting on above - never buy expensive phone wires (lightning, microUSB, whatever). Every connector has a maximum number of times it can be mated before the metal fatigues and breaks - if you buy fancy expensive cables with a reputation for longevity, then the wear (which has to happen somewhere) happens in the port rather than the cable. Buy ten one-dollar cables and wear them out, rather than buying a $20 cable and then paying someone like me to put a new port in your phone when it wears out.)
posted by FeatherWatt at 5:57 PM on May 8, 2019 [3 favorites]
Sure, but in-ear headphones producing a given SPL at your eardrums is the same as speakers producing a given SPL at your eardrums. The latter will be a lot louder than the former if measured at the same distance, but so what? The things right next to your ear won't be pushing as much pressure to reach the same SPL at your eardrum because they're closer.
Yes, this is I meant - the level at your ears, not the level at the source. I'm not a professional either so I'm not completely sure that SPL and frequency content are the only two variables that go into loudness (or bad-for-your-ears-ness) but I'm pretty sure they're the biggest ones and the major effects of distance on each seem fairly predictable?
posted by atoxyl at 6:45 PM on May 8, 2019
Yes, this is I meant - the level at your ears, not the level at the source. I'm not a professional either so I'm not completely sure that SPL and frequency content are the only two variables that go into loudness (or bad-for-your-ears-ness) but I'm pretty sure they're the biggest ones and the major effects of distance on each seem fairly predictable?
posted by atoxyl at 6:45 PM on May 8, 2019
What sort of baffles me is that people are content with the sound quality at that price level. I'm definitely not one of those audiophiles who thinks that with every $100 spent on equipment, the experience becomes more profound, but I've had wired earbuds up and down and all along the $15-$200 spectrum, and in that range, there's a real difference. Spending $159 for that quality...I just don't get it. That's getting near where there are diminishing returns on increased price for wired earbuds. There's a level below which it's not worth it just to have sound coming into my ears.
I agree - - if unmatched sound quality per dollar spent is your only criteria for headphones, then AirPods are not the best value available, especially as you are only comparing them to wired headphones. However, if you can consider for a moment that other buyers may have different criteria, then you might be able to begin to imagine why many AirPods owners consider them to be Apple's best designed product since the iPhone.
Personally, my criteria include:
I agree - - if unmatched sound quality per dollar spent is your only criteria for headphones, then AirPods are not the best value available, especially as you are only comparing them to wired headphones. However, if you can consider for a moment that other buyers may have different criteria, then you might be able to begin to imagine why many AirPods owners consider them to be Apple's best designed product since the iPhone.
Personally, my criteria include:
- the AirPods case fits in my jeans coin pocket - - there's no longer any occasion where I have to think that bringing my headphones along is too much of a hassle.posted by fairmettle at 3:27 AM on May 9, 2019 [5 favorites]
- on several occassions, I have turned off my music and subsequently forgotten I'm wearing my AirPods - - they are that comfortable for me. AirPods are my first ever wireless headphones. The standard Apple EarPods never fit me well and were always falling out of my ears, so the comfortable and secure fit of the AirPods was a revelation to me. True wirelessness is a feature that I had to experience to appreciate.
- as an Apple Watch owner, there is no better accessory than AirPods. I can leave my phone at home on my daily exercise walk and listen to music or podcasts on a sound system that weighs a total of 102 grams... plus even though it doesn't sound like much, I absolutely love the tactile delight of adjusting the volume of my AirPods by spinning the watch crown.
- sure it's a cliche by now but: they just work. Initial setup, connecting, and switching devices is simple, reliable, and quick.
- finally, back to the topic of this thread, I do try to consider the environmental impact of my purchases. Part of the price of AirPods includes Apple's commitment to the disassembly and recycling of their components ("go to Apple’s trade-in website, select 'Other devices' followed by “Headphones and speakers,” enter your address, and you’ll receive a free prepaid shipping label for your old AirPods."
Fairmettle nails it.
I'm an audio nerd, and I have lots of fancy headphones -- and also Airpods. I bought them because:
posted by uberchet at 7:03 AM on May 9, 2019 [4 favorites]
I'm an audio nerd, and I have lots of fancy headphones -- and also Airpods. I bought them because:
- Portability. The charging case is just lovely -- it's basically made to ride in your pocket all the time.
- Just-works-ism. Pairing is a non-event, and the integration with my watch and phone is delightful. Remove one, and the music pauses. You can control other aspects of the music player or your phone by tapping them, and the right one can do something other than the left.
- Exercise use. On my bike trainer, or in the gym, there's no peer for the extreme simplicity of portability, the glory of no wires, and the aforementioned well-designed integration.
- Yeah, sound. I didn't make a huge survey of it, but the AirPods sound WAY better than any other earbud-style headphone I've used. Obviously, they SHOULD at this price, but I feel like they're not getting enough credit here on this front. They don't compete with my Sennheisers, my Grados, or my Etymotics, but neither would I use any of those in the gym -- and none of them can do the other things the AirPods can do.
- PHONE CALLS. I end up using my phone for more business calls than I'd prefer, for lots of reasons. Using wired headphones for this sucks. All Bluetooth earpieces sound like garbage, and are single-taskers (generally useless for music). The AirPods are comfortable and entirely viable for a cell-phone biz call, so it's like getting two-for-one.
posted by uberchet at 7:03 AM on May 9, 2019 [4 favorites]
I am deep in the Apple ecosystem and I have never tried the airpods. I have like three sets of the shitty hard plastic earbuds that come with iPhones kicking around my life. They fit into one of my ears. They don't fit into the other ear, and trying to force it hurts. I assume that the Airpods are equally in the realm of one size doesn't fit all. Who the hell thought making hard plastic earbuds, wireless or not, was a good idea?
I've got a pair of B&O earbuds. They are nice, they are pretty, and they will keep on Just Working until I have to replace my old iPhone with one without a jack - and maybe I'll go back to Android then. I keep 'em in a little round rubber case.
posted by egypturnash at 8:35 AM on May 9, 2019
I've got a pair of B&O earbuds. They are nice, they are pretty, and they will keep on Just Working until I have to replace my old iPhone with one without a jack - and maybe I'll go back to Android then. I keep 'em in a little round rubber case.
posted by egypturnash at 8:35 AM on May 9, 2019
Didn't Apple make a big deal out of how extensively they'd surveyed ear shapes, and that they'd actually slightly altered the shape of each side because they'd determined human ears aren't symmetrical? Did I just dream that keynote?
posted by lucidium at 9:11 AM on May 9, 2019
posted by lucidium at 9:11 AM on May 9, 2019
lucidium: I don't recall the bit about each side being different, but I do recall that they surveyed a bunch of ear shapes to find something that would be an almost-universal fit.
Of course, there's no way they could find something to fit _every_ ear, as we've seen from people in this thread. (Adding to the anecdata, my left ear canal is definitely larger than my right, so my left AirPod doesn't fit as well.)
posted by SansPoint at 9:26 AM on May 9, 2019 [1 favorite]
Of course, there's no way they could find something to fit _every_ ear, as we've seen from people in this thread. (Adding to the anecdata, my left ear canal is definitely larger than my right, so my left AirPod doesn't fit as well.)
posted by SansPoint at 9:26 AM on May 9, 2019 [1 favorite]
Here is the 2012 EarPods keynote introduction - no mention of L/R asymmetry.
Also note that EarPods fit differently than AirPods - - the former often fell out of my ears, while the latter never have.
posted by fairmettle at 9:30 AM on May 9, 2019
Also note that EarPods fit differently than AirPods - - the former often fell out of my ears, while the latter never have.
posted by fairmettle at 9:30 AM on May 9, 2019
Thanks, I guess I did just imagine that bit. All these years living a symmetrically eared lie.
posted by lucidium at 9:51 AM on May 9, 2019
posted by lucidium at 9:51 AM on May 9, 2019
AirPods don't seem to be shaped exactly like the cheapie buds that come with iPhones. You might try them to see if they'd work for you.
posted by uberchet at 10:03 AM on May 9, 2019 [1 favorite]
I've got a pair of B&O earbuds.OTOH, those are very nice.
Didn't Apple make a big deal out of how extensively they'd surveyed ear shapes, and that they'd actually slightly altered the shape of each side because they'd determined human ears aren't symmetrical?I dunno if they made a big deal about it at launch, but it's definitely true that AirPods aren't symmetrical. There's a right one and a left one, like with shoes. This is probably a big reason they fit better, and sound better, than the default buds.
posted by uberchet at 10:03 AM on May 9, 2019 [1 favorite]
Just chiming in here to say that I am never able to wear headphones for a long time even with the smallest adapter because they hurt my ears after ten minutes or so. But the AirPods don’t. So that’s +1 to Apple.
I got them with a rebate from when I bought my laptop (came in Apple store gift cards and I didn’t need anything so decided what the hell) but the fact that they fit, can pair with my phone OR laptop without any fuss (I constantly switch between the two for work calls through Zoom and actual calls on my phone), and have that neat-o feature of stopping play when you remove one means that I would pay full price for them.
Also this article made me angry in ways many people have already articulated. I mainly wanted to let folks with small ear canals know that I find them really comfortable. My partner wears her almost all the time (just in one ear) while working from home and her ear canals are much bigger but she finds them comfortable too. That’s pretty nice, IMO.
What’s not nice is that her battery life on her first pair was too crappy after 2 years so she passed them onto a friend and bought new ones. But she used them CONSTANTLY. She has a chronic pain disorder and having a distraction in the form of podcasts helps but she lives with me, a super sensitive person, so it keeps that constant noise from bothering me and it makes it so we can communicate easily since she can hear me and pause quickly as needed.
posted by the thorn bushes have roses at 10:52 AM on May 9, 2019 [1 favorite]
I got them with a rebate from when I bought my laptop (came in Apple store gift cards and I didn’t need anything so decided what the hell) but the fact that they fit, can pair with my phone OR laptop without any fuss (I constantly switch between the two for work calls through Zoom and actual calls on my phone), and have that neat-o feature of stopping play when you remove one means that I would pay full price for them.
Also this article made me angry in ways many people have already articulated. I mainly wanted to let folks with small ear canals know that I find them really comfortable. My partner wears her almost all the time (just in one ear) while working from home and her ear canals are much bigger but she finds them comfortable too. That’s pretty nice, IMO.
What’s not nice is that her battery life on her first pair was too crappy after 2 years so she passed them onto a friend and bought new ones. But she used them CONSTANTLY. She has a chronic pain disorder and having a distraction in the form of podcasts helps but she lives with me, a super sensitive person, so it keeps that constant noise from bothering me and it makes it so we can communicate easily since she can hear me and pause quickly as needed.
posted by the thorn bushes have roses at 10:52 AM on May 9, 2019 [1 favorite]
I made an AirPod fossil for an article on Vice
- via Reddit
posted by fairmettle at 3:15 AM on May 10, 2019
- via Reddit
posted by fairmettle at 3:15 AM on May 10, 2019
Apple marketing often emphasizes emotional connections, and connects feeling good and feeling right to using their products. They've been coasting on the resulting reputation for decades.
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:48 AM on May 10, 2019
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:48 AM on May 10, 2019
Apple marketing often emphasizes emotional connections, and connects feeling good and feeling right to using their products. They've been coasting on the resulting reputation for decades.Yeah, there's definitely no benefit to using a mobile platform not literally owned by an advertising company, or a desktop platform based on BSD instead of 30 years of Windows cruft. And if there's one thing that absolutely no one in this thread has been able to do, it's enumerate material advantages of AirPods over other wireless earbuds. Certainly *I* didn't do exactly that a few posts supra.
Yep, definitely all just marketing fluff.
posted by uberchet at 9:48 AM on May 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
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posted by SansPoint at 9:58 AM on May 7, 2019 [5 favorites]