cheap, low quality sound, uncomfortable, definitely not one-size-fits-all, hard to clean, unfortunately what most people continue to buy. like what, 11 to 20 dollars?
more durable, decent quality sound, rarely falls out, interchangeable rubber things; as such easy to clean. $25
i wouldn't doubt that the air pods were designed to fail (fall out, bad battery, difficulty pairing, whatever). how else could they make an excessive amount of money off it? buds like these have been around a while (and with better designs) but not many have really considered them because they're not advertised in the mainstream often. now that apple is making them - based off their stuffty earpod design - bluetooth ear buds may become really popular, with them leading as the example because they brought it to the mainstream, implying it catches on.
I bought
these to replace my $25 pair (pictured above, different color) because wired was such a pain to use when working out, and i'd go through a pair ever 4-6 months. i honestly find my self often wishing i had a plain pair of earbuds again because i can just plug them in and listen to music, because with bluetooth buds you need to first have them charged, then turn them on, then turn bt on your phone, pair the devices, then finally you can listen to music. mine are connected together, so i only have one device to pair and charge. with the air pods, you have to charge both, and likely pair both. you could have bt on all the time on your phone to skip one of those steps but that drains battery. not to mention how much more difficult it would be to lose my pair vs an air pod, albeit mine are more designed to stay in for working out
point is, there are there all-around better and cheaper bluetooth alternatives, but wireless buds shouldn't be pushed as the future norm in modern society. an unintuitive adapter plugged in the charging/file transfer port for those who still want to use wired buds is especially ridiculous
