If you were, like me, scrolling mindlessly through Instagram over winter break, you most likely saw the endless memes about Apple’s airpods. Airpods, which launched in 2016, are not offered with the purchase of an iPhone, like Apple’s original earbuds. Instead, you have to shell out $159 separately for the arguably scammy Airpods. When Airpods first came out, Apple removed the headphone jack from the iPhone, possibly in the hopes that people would spend the extra money to purchase Airpods as the old earbuds could no longer be used in updated iPhone. Surprisingly, now the craze for Airpods is real– and overhyped. While the memes themselves are usually worth tagging your Airpod-owning friends in (my personal favorites came from @grapejuiceboys) some memes have involved the destroying of or losing of Airpods. Why spend upwards of $150 for a meme? If you think that this isn’t a big deal because Airpods are easily fixable, guess what; they’re not. Due to the lack of repairability the Airpods received a 0/10 on the iFixit’s scale, calling the Airpods a “repair nightmare.”
Aesthetically, they aren’t that attractive. They have been compared to sticking cigarettes in your ears, Q-tips, and electric toothbrush heads. Airpods are also one size fits all, just like Apple’s wired earbuds, and they don’t come with adjustable ear tips. “When I go on a run, I feel like when I get sweaty they also get sweaty, and I worry that they’ll slip out,” says Joanna Rucker ’21. If the wired earbuds from Apple don’t fit in your ears, it’s most likely that AirPods won’t either. This increases the likelihood that the pods will fall out and be lost or broken.
While wireless headphones are definitely the future of portable listening devices, they should be more affordable. They’re easy to lose and expensive to replace. While Airpods are simple to track on Find My iPhone when out of the case, once they are in the case you can’t track them. “I’m very disorganized, so that’s definitely the worst part,” said Elizabeth Zaccaro ’22. If you are someone who loses things often, Airpods are definitely not for you. Many students swear that the recoil provided from the wires on their earbuds has saved their phones time and time again from a potentially shattering fall on a sidewalk. Without the handy little wire, your phone’s screen could crack.
Airpods also use Bluetooth, which many people dislike for good reasons. The frequency range is limited, the sounds are occasionally distorted, connecting can be difficult and audio can pause or stop mid-stream. They occasionally disconnect, so whatever you’re playing could suddenly play out loud wherever you are.
The most recent Apple update, iOS 12, included a new feature called Live Listen. Live Listen makes it easier for people to hear conversations in noisier areas. It is meant to help the hearing impaired by allowing individuals to place their iPhone close to a person they’re having trouble hearing. However, recently the internet discovered that Live Listen can also be used to overhear conversations occurring in spaces an individual may not be invited into. People can leave their phones in one room and stay nearby to listen to the room’s conversations through their Airpods. Apple has been very vocal about wanting to protect the privacy of its customers, so why would it add this feature?
Airpods are easy to lose. They use unreliable Bluetooth, and they’re unable to be fixed when broken. The fact that they enable people to eavesdrop through the Live Listening feature is a breach of privacy, and honestly, the Airpod memes aren’t even that funny. I would still pick my free earbuds over $159 Airpods. The quality of this product isn’t worth the money. If you’re going to buy an Apple product, it shouldn’t be this one. •
