If America stood up and collectively yelled its woes about wireless earbuds, everyone wearing a pair of standard AirPods would hear them. They don't have ear tips or noise canceling, and a leaky pair of dynamic drivers means that every sound from the outside world gets in.
You might not even have them in your ears at all. If you try to use the squeeze-button controls without practicing first, one AirPod may be on the floor while the other goes down the drain.
I don't hate all Apple headphones. Despite their middling battery life, I still like the AirPods Pro, and the AirPods Max are the best wireless headphones I've ever used. Heck, I even love most modern Beats products—including the recently announced Beats Fit Pro, which just came out yesterday.
But something has to be said. In the words of the immortal Howard Beale, I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore. Things have got to change! I'm begging you—yes, you, dear reader. You have to stop buying the newest AirPods just because they work well with your iPhone. Just don't. Buy any of Apple’s other models, which have the modern features (and comfy fit) you deserve.
Standard AirPods—as they’ve become colloquially known since the AirPods Pro launched in 2019—used to be pretty decent.
When the AirPods were first announced in 2016, five hours of battery life—and the fact that they actually worked—was enough to rank them among the best on the market. Not to be too finger-pointy, but this wasn’t a huge surprise. The market for wireless headphones was created in large part by the company responsible for removing the headphone jack. It stands to reason they would corner it.
But in the nearly six years since, a ton of companies—including Apple itself—have developed dramatically better earbuds than they had when your crazy uncle couldn’t stop babbling about Her Emails. We've gotten longer battery life, better microphones, more ergonomic fits, better charging cases, and generally more durable buds from every brand, across the board.
But AirPods remained mostly stagnant. This one adds an hour of battery life, spatial audio, and new drivers in addition to the last update's wireless charging case. But they also raised the price by $25. I can name about a half-dozen buds that fit and sound better, including many Apple-made pairs. The Beats Studio Buds ($120) have the same sweat-resistance rating, a more ergonomic design, two hours more battery life, and active noise canceling. The Beats Fit Pro ($200) have the same spatial audio tech and H1 chip.