AirPods are nearly impossible to repair and their batteries are short-lived. Apple should design them to last.
  • lemmyingly@lemm.eeEnglish
    0·
    2 months ago

    Surprised the title didn’t say, “Apple slammed for ear pods that are designed to die”.

    Gluing components together so it’s not easy/impossible to repair is different to ‘designing to die’. In my opinion designed to die suggests the ear pods will die prematurely due to intentional design decisions. Gluing components together just means that when the ear pods die, then they cannot be brought back to life and you have to replace them.

    • TheFriar@lemm.eeEnglish
      0·
      2 months ago

      Gluing components together so it’s not easy/impossible to repair is different to ‘designing to die’. In my opinion designed to die suggests the ear pods will die prematurely due to intentional design decisions. Gluing components together just means that when the ear pods die, then they cannot be brought back to life and you have to replace them.

      But they’re designed with the knowledge that the small battery has a brief usability period. Which is like putting a time bomb in there knowing the people will probably buy more of their products. Putting something inside that can’t be removed and that has a short lifespan is designing a product to die. In other words, it’s designed to die with plenty of good parts left inside when the part that’s quickest to die can’t be replaced. They’re turning a bunch of long lifespan stuff into disposable. That’s an intentional design decision that makes the product die prematurely.

      As they said in the article, they could easily make this a replaceable part. But they glue it in so that’s near impossible. Not to mention how long apple fought right to repair legislation. They know exactly what they’re doing.

    • Donut@leminal.spaceEnglish
      0·
      2 months ago

      For every article not containing the word slammed, there’s a comment that mentions the lack of the word slammed. This way, we’ll never get rid of it

        • SoleInvictus@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
          0·
          2 months ago

          Commenter SLAMMED Lemming on their SLAMMED SLAMMING, but nothing else is SLAMMED as back in nineteen ninety-eight when the Undertaker threw Mankind off hеll in a cell, and plummeted sixteen feet through an announcer’s table

    • Niiru@feddit.deEnglish
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      2 months ago

      Kinda off-topic but their charging cables are actually designed to die. Not that people care…

  • tacosanonymous@lemm.eeEnglish
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    2 months ago

    I didn’t get two years out of mine.

    Regardless, they shouldn’t be manufacturing these like they’re disposable.

    • Jesus@lemmy.worldEnglish
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      2 months ago

      IMHO, the first generation was pretty bad. Those things went to shit after 2 years. I couldn’t get through an hour call with them.

      But the new Pros are pretty good. I’ve had a pair for 2 years, and I’m still on 3-4 hour calls with them, with ANC on.

      I don’t know what black magic is happening, but these things are doing way better than my first ones.

        • iopq@lemmy.worldEnglish
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          2 months ago

          It’s not just time, it’s discharging them fully. You only get so many cycles veggie the battery is significantly impacted

      • HootinNHollerin@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        2 months ago

        No shit. So does every battery. But 5 years in they’re still going. Not the 2 the article says. But apple should design them to be swapped or longer for environment.

  • umbrella@lemmy.mlEnglish
    0·
    2 months ago

    anything without replaceable batteries are designed to fail without recourse eventually. batteries are consumables goddamit!

  • BonesOfTheMoon@lemmy.worldEnglish
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    2 months ago

    My aunt gave me a pair despite me being an Android person, I used them simply because they were free, and they died like a year later. I got some JBLs which are excellent thus far.

  • Lad@reddthat.comEnglish
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    2 months ago

    Tbf they can’t exactly make something with batteries that is designed to last forever can they?

    Unless of course, they make the batteries consumer replaceable. But that’s not going to happen.

  • HidingCat@kbin.social
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    2 months ago

    I have earphones that are 15-20 years old (UE Triple-fi 10s and Yuin PK2s, the first wave of Chi-fi products), 2-3 year (or even 5) lifespan for audio products is insane.

    • Jesus@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      2 months ago

      Over-ear studio headphones, yeah, I expect those to last for a long ass time. But in-ear? Battery or not, a lot of those just get beat to shit after years. Even if you’re buying some nice IEMs. Been this way for as long as I can remember.

  • capital@lemmy.worldEnglish
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    2 months ago

    All that and they didn’t give one example of wireless earbuds that have user swappable batteries.

  • Audacious@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
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    2 months ago

    Any product that is a portable electronic and does not have an easily replaceable battery is considered disposable, a commodity. Every single one.

  • Jesus@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    2 months ago

    Since the release of the first AirPods in 2016, countless other companies have replicated their wireless and rechargeable design.

    Fuck Apple’s e-waste and all, but the trend to glue batteries inside Bluetooth headphones was well underway before AirPods came to the market.

    I sent quite a few pairs of lanyard buds to the grave before AirPods came out. Batteries couldn’t be repaired they couldn’t work wired. BT only.

  • Ghostalmedia@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    2 months ago

    Gen 1 AirPods = Trash batteries that become miserable after 2 years. Good luck making it through a 1 hour call if you use them a lot. These things beg for the landfill by year 3.

    Gen 3 AirPods or AirPods Pro’s = surprisingly good battery longevity. Expect these to be solid after 2 years.