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The issue is that you have tiny chemical batteries inside and they deteriorate with use and time, so it will hardly hold any charge after 3 years (some report m

The issue is that you have tiny chemical batteries inside and they deteriorate with use and time, so it will hardly hold any charge after 3 years (some report much faster deterioration). Does Apple replace those batteries? How much does it cost? And can it be done outside of US? (e.g. in EU countries with no official Apple Store presence). Otherwise it's pretty expensive to pay $200 for a pair headphones and throw them away after 3 years.

stetrain 8y ago
https://support.apple.com/airpods/repair/service https://support.apple.com/airpods/repair/service $50 per airpod for new batteries. I'm guessing they don't literally give you yours back with new batteries, but instead give you replacements and then send yours for refurbishing.
- jeron 8y ago
  I doubt they have replaceable batteries and thus are not refurbishable, they're probably scrapped for metals
- dajohnson89 8y ago
  Love how the cost of replacing the batteries approaches the cost of buying a new set. Are there any tips to make the batteries last longer?
  - reaperducer 8y ago
    Love how the cost of replacing the batteries approaches the cost of buying a new set $100 < $200. I wouldn't call half the price "approaches."
    - dajohnson89 8y ago
      That's the earbuds. now throw in the case. also -- $150 approaches the retail cost of the older model.
      - achompas 8y ago
        The case battery is a different beast. It is not outputting iPhone levels of power or recharged nightly.
  - asdff 8y ago
    >Are there any tips to make the batteries last longer? Extend battery life by substituting them with wired earpods when possible.
lskopwol 8y ago
Yeah the price doens’t really scale but if you consider your time worthwhile, then add up the total amount of time it has saved you from having to untwist a jumbled mess of earphones / roll up earphones into some easily tangled roll.
- rajataghi 8y ago
  you should also consider the time it takes to charge the case and the times when you want to listen to music but alas, you forgot to charge your earphones! The jumbled mess of earphones don't need to be charged.
  - lojack 8y ago
    The airpods are the only wireless headphones I've owned where this is pretty much a nonissue in practice. It's easy to develop the habit to put the case on the charger when not on the go and to put the headphones in the case when not listening. At least for me those two things is sufficient to pretty much guarantee I'll always have charged headphones.
    - navigatesol 8y ago
      >It's easy to develop the habit to put the case on the charger when not on the go and to put the headphones in the case when not listening. Except the original post said to "count the time you spend untangling the cord" (which, for most good, flat-wire headphones is almost zero). Habit or not, charging takes more time than properly rolling the cord on wired buds.
      - huehehue 8y ago
        That's an understatement. If your fine motor skills aren't impaired, you should spend maybe a few minutes each year rolling and unrolling your wired headphones. I'd argue it takes nearly as long to put your AirPods in their case and set them down on a charging station.
theonemind 8y ago
I’ve had my AirPods for a while. The battery life has indeed degraded, but they’re pretty good for an hour of listening, and I never really do more. I’d be more disappointed as a heavy user. They’re also the only earphones I can stand while exercising. Before the AirPods, the annoyance of the wire flopping around or on my skin, etc. made me mostly just not listen to anything. So, I don’t really compare them to anything wired, because I don’t consider them an actual alternative. I just won’t listen anymore.
- Bahamut 8y ago
  Interestingly, I seem to be one of the few people the AirPods don't work for when it comes to exercising - they don't fit well in my ears, so they'd fall out if I tried to exercise in them :( . Love them in general though, they are good enough for the price & what they do.
  - swasheck 8y ago
    i thought i was the only one.
  - lylo 8y ago
    I have the same problem, clearly I have weird ears. They're a little cumbersome but I bought some EarSkinz and the problem is 100% solved. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0741CXH71/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0741CXH71/ref=oh_aui_se... The audio quality is also massively improved because of the better fit. The downside is you have to take the skins off before putting the AirPods back in the case. I also bought one of these pouches to keep the AirPod case and EarSkinz in. Works well, all in all
    - tunesmith 8y ago
      If you get the old foam slip-on covers that used to come with all Apple headphones, they might stay in your ears a little better, and you can close the case over them.
- reaperducer 8y ago
jasongill 8y ago
I pre-ordered my Airpods the first day they were available at the end of 2016 and have used them almost exclusively for conference calls. I use them maybe once every day or so, and they sit in their charging case the rest of the time (which gets recharged periodically) I had a call yesterday and the Airpods were beeping that they were dying at the 20min mark, and didn't make it to 30min on the call. I love the form factor, and I just ordered the "new" Airpods, because I am hoping the battery life has improved - the old ones are basically a disposable item after the first year, from my experience.
- yourduskquibble 8y ago
  Fool me once...
  - metafunctor 8y ago
    Yeah, just had an amazing two years of trouble-free wireless audio conference calls. Never again!
    - yourduskquibble 8y ago
      > I had a call yesterday and the Airpods were beeping that they were dying at the 20min mark, and didn't make it to 30min on the call. > I love the form factor, and I just ordered the "new" Airpods, because I am hoping the battery life has improved - the old ones are basically a disposable item after the first year, from my experience. The OP complained about battery life and the $200 "disposable" headphones he bought a year ago, but happily bought the next iteration, hence my comment. Fool me once...
      - achompas 8y ago
        Or OP likes them so much they're willing to replace them despite the flawed battery life. Also, OP said they purchased them in 2016 - not a year ago.
      - jasongill 8y ago
lm28469 8y ago
You're not expected to keep them that long, it's targeted to people who buy the new generations pretty much as soon as they are released. Who's going to pay 30%-50% of a new version to replace his airpods or apple watch battery ? [0] It's the same with all these hi tech gadgets relying on tiny glued/soldered batteries. You can't replace them yourself because it's either proprietary hardware or you need to literally break the product to get to the battery. And companies either don't offer replacements or charge insane amount of money for them. Apple can boast all day long about ecology and using 100% recycled aluminium, at the end of the day they're shipping unfixable gadgets. [1][2] But it's thin and slick looking so I guess most people don't give a damn. The first time I saw a bose QC25 with AA batteries I almost burst out laughing but it's actually much more convenient than proprietary battery packs. Compare that to the new QC35: > As you were correctly advised, battery replacement is not a service that is offered. [3] We'll drown in these gadgets way before we drown due to the sea level rising. [0] > Run through your battery, and it’ll likely cost you $138 to replace both year-old batteries, which is nearly the cost of a new pair. https://www.inverse.com/article/49363-airpods-battery-warrantly https://www.inverse.com/article/49363-airpods-battery-warran... [1] https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Apple+Watch+Battery+Replacement/41080 https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Apple+Watch+Battery+Replacement... [2] https://ifixit.org/blog/8690/airpods-are-disposable/ https://ifixit.org/blog/8690/airpods-are-disposable/ [3] https://community.bose.com/t5/Headphones-Archive/Bose-Quietcomfort-35-battery-question-for-prospective-buyer/td-p/32431 https://community.bose.com/t5/Headphones-Archive/Bose-Quietc...
- Angostura 8y ago
  > You're not expected to keep them that long, it's targeted to people who buy the new generations pretty much as soon as they are released. I really don't think that's the case. I was really quite tempted by them, but was put off by the lifespan.
  - jakemoshenko 8y ago
    I think that's literally the point they were trying to make. You're not the target market so you didn't buy them.
- 8y ago
zeveb 8y ago
It's all about conspicuous consumption. AirPods are not a lot less conspicuous than the long earlobes of the Dayaks[0] (nor in my opinion a lot less ugly), but in order for them to fulfill their signalling function they must be consumed. I really, honestly believe that in a decade we're going to look back at AirPods as our generation's bell-bottoms. Only bell-bottomed trousers at least have some function: AirPods are a style & sustainability own goal. 0: https://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/where_we_work/borneo_forests/?339150/The-Last-Long-Earlobes https://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/where_we_work/borneo_for...
- unkulunkulu 8y ago
  That’s just not true, you have to support your words. They are exacly earpods minus the wires, completely honest product that had to have been made!
- jmull 8y ago
  I don't think so. First, the form factor of AirPods are integral to their function. There is no separating them. Wires are a major design tradeoff. Also, the function (multiple actually) -- social communication, gaining knowledge, entertainment -- is of high importance to many. So even small improvements are valuable. I really don't think you're understanding this correctly.
willio58 8y ago
I’ve had mine since they were released and have experienced very little deterioration. I even left them outside and out of their case for A MONTH! During summer I was house sitting, left them outside at my house for a month by complete accident, came back home and found them. Once I charged them up they worked like a charm. During this month it rained a few times too.
- dawnerd 8y ago
  That’s not really the deterioration people are talking about. Using them every day multiple times will destroy them quite quickly. Seems to be around the year and a half mark.
  - jclardy 8y ago
    I've used mine everyday since launch, so a little over two years. They now only hold a charge for about 45 minutes, so I end up doing one ear at a time for longer voip meetings. The case held up fine, I charge that like once every two weeks. I'd say they were generally fine for my purposes until about a month ago when they started cutting out at the end of hour long meetings. Even still, I ordered the new ones. The convenience is easily worth it for me since I am primarily in the Apple ecosystem.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
rickyc091 8y ago
Having used my airpods 2-3 hours every day, since release. I've found the talk time to drop to a little over an hour. It hasn't been too much of an issue for me as I just charge one bud in the case when it's low and swap it out with the other.
Canada 8y ago
3 years? These things are consumables. Toss them at least annually, they won't sound as good as new by that point. [edit: Really? You guys expect 3 years life out of your socks and underwear too? If you use the hell out of it, even a wired pair that's a year old doesn't sound as good as a pair fresh out of the box.]
csomar 8y ago
I'm fine with 3 years replacement. 3 years is a very long time for a particularly small and useful device. Also $200 is not a lot of money. Inflation is under-rated in the USA.
gnopgnip 8y ago
Modern battery chemistry lasts longer, and after three years they will still hold a charge.

stetrain 8y ago

https://support.apple.com/airpods/repair/service https://support.apple.com/airpods/repair/service $50 per airpod for new batteries. I'm guessing they don't literally give you yours back with new batteries, but instead give you replacements and then send yours for refurbishing.

jeron 8y ago
I doubt they have replaceable batteries and thus are not refurbishable, they're probably scrapped for metals
dajohnson89 8y ago
Love how the cost of replacing the batteries approaches the cost of buying a new set. Are there any tips to make the batteries last longer?
- reaperducer 8y ago
  Love how the cost of replacing the batteries approaches the cost of buying a new set $100 < $200. I wouldn't call half the price "approaches."
  - dajohnson89 8y ago
    That's the earbuds. now throw in the case. also -- $150 approaches the retail cost of the older model.
    - achompas 8y ago
      The case battery is a different beast. It is not outputting iPhone levels of power or recharged nightly.
- asdff 8y ago
  >Are there any tips to make the batteries last longer? Extend battery life by substituting them with wired earpods when possible.

lskopwol 8y ago

Yeah the price doens’t really scale but if you consider your time worthwhile, then add up the total amount of time it has saved you from having to untwist a jumbled mess of earphones / roll up earphones into some easily tangled roll.

rajataghi 8y ago
you should also consider the time it takes to charge the case and the times when you want to listen to music but alas, you forgot to charge your earphones! The jumbled mess of earphones don't need to be charged.
- lojack 8y ago
  The airpods are the only wireless headphones I've owned where this is pretty much a nonissue in practice. It's easy to develop the habit to put the case on the charger when not on the go and to put the headphones in the case when not listening. At least for me those two things is sufficient to pretty much guarantee I'll always have charged headphones.
  - navigatesol 8y ago
    >It's easy to develop the habit to put the case on the charger when not on the go and to put the headphones in the case when not listening. Except the original post said to "count the time you spend untangling the cord" (which, for most good, flat-wire headphones is almost zero). Habit or not, charging takes more time than properly rolling the cord on wired buds.
    - huehehue 8y ago
      That's an understatement. If your fine motor skills aren't impaired, you should spend maybe a few minutes each year rolling and unrolling your wired headphones. I'd argue it takes nearly as long to put your AirPods in their case and set them down on a charging station.

theonemind 8y ago

I’ve had my AirPods for a while. The battery life has indeed degraded, but they’re pretty good for an hour of listening, and I never really do more. I’d be more disappointed as a heavy user. They’re also the only earphones I can stand while exercising. Before the AirPods, the annoyance of the wire flopping around or on my skin, etc. made me mostly just not listen to anything. So, I don’t really compare them to anything wired, because I don’t consider them an actual alternative. I just won’t listen anymore.

Bahamut 8y ago
Interestingly, I seem to be one of the few people the AirPods don't work for when it comes to exercising - they don't fit well in my ears, so they'd fall out if I tried to exercise in them :( . Love them in general though, they are good enough for the price & what they do.
- swasheck 8y ago
  i thought i was the only one.
- lylo 8y ago
  I have the same problem, clearly I have weird ears. They're a little cumbersome but I bought some EarSkinz and the problem is 100% solved. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0741CXH71/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0741CXH71/ref=oh_aui_se... The audio quality is also massively improved because of the better fit. The downside is you have to take the skins off before putting the AirPods back in the case. I also bought one of these pouches to keep the AirPod case and EarSkinz in. Works well, all in all
  - tunesmith 8y ago
    If you get the old foam slip-on covers that used to come with all Apple headphones, they might stay in your ears a little better, and you can close the case over them.
reaperducer 8y ago

jasongill 8y ago

I pre-ordered my Airpods the first day they were available at the end of 2016 and have used them almost exclusively for conference calls. I use them maybe once every day or so, and they sit in their charging case the rest of the time (which gets recharged periodically) I had a call yesterday and the Airpods were beeping that they were dying at the 20min mark, and didn't make it to 30min on the call. I love the form factor, and I just ordered the "new" Airpods, because I am hoping the battery life has improved - the old ones are basically a disposable item after the first year, from my experience.

yourduskquibble 8y ago
Fool me once...
- metafunctor 8y ago
  Yeah, just had an amazing two years of trouble-free wireless audio conference calls. Never again!
  - yourduskquibble 8y ago
    > I had a call yesterday and the Airpods were beeping that they were dying at the 20min mark, and didn't make it to 30min on the call. > I love the form factor, and I just ordered the "new" Airpods, because I am hoping the battery life has improved - the old ones are basically a disposable item after the first year, from my experience. The OP complained about battery life and the $200 "disposable" headphones he bought a year ago, but happily bought the next iteration, hence my comment. Fool me once...
    - achompas 8y ago
      Or OP likes them so much they're willing to replace them despite the flawed battery life. Also, OP said they purchased them in 2016 - not a year ago.
    - jasongill 8y ago

lm28469 8y ago

You're not expected to keep them that long, it's targeted to people who buy the new generations pretty much as soon as they are released. Who's going to pay 30%-50% of a new version to replace his airpods or apple watch battery ? [0] It's the same with all these hi tech gadgets relying on tiny glued/soldered batteries. You can't replace them yourself because it's either proprietary hardware or you need to literally break the product to get to the battery. And companies either don't offer replacements or charge insane amount of money for them. Apple can boast all day long about ecology and using 100% recycled aluminium, at the end of the day they're shipping unfixable gadgets. [1][2] But it's thin and slick looking so I guess most people don't give a damn. The first time I saw a bose QC25 with AA batteries I almost burst out laughing but it's actually much more convenient than proprietary battery packs. Compare that to the new QC35: > As you were correctly advised, battery replacement is not a service that is offered. [3] We'll drown in these gadgets way before we drown due to the sea level rising. [0] > Run through your battery, and it’ll likely cost you $138 to replace both year-old batteries, which is nearly the cost of a new pair. https://www.inverse.com/article/49363-airpods-battery-warrantly https://www.inverse.com/article/49363-airpods-battery-warran... [1] https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Apple+Watch+Battery+Replacement/41080 https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Apple+Watch+Battery+Replacement... [2] https://ifixit.org/blog/8690/airpods-are-disposable/ https://ifixit.org/blog/8690/airpods-are-disposable/ [3] https://community.bose.com/t5/Headphones-Archive/Bose-Quietcomfort-35-battery-question-for-prospective-buyer/td-p/32431 https://community.bose.com/t5/Headphones-Archive/Bose-Quietc...

Angostura 8y ago
> You're not expected to keep them that long, it's targeted to people who buy the new generations pretty much as soon as they are released. I really don't think that's the case. I was really quite tempted by them, but was put off by the lifespan.
- jakemoshenko 8y ago
  I think that's literally the point they were trying to make. You're not the target market so you didn't buy them.
8y ago

zeveb 8y ago

It's all about conspicuous consumption. AirPods are not a lot less conspicuous than the long earlobes of the Dayaks[0] (nor in my opinion a lot less ugly), but in order for them to fulfill their signalling function they must be consumed. I really, honestly believe that in a decade we're going to look back at AirPods as our generation's bell-bottoms. Only bell-bottomed trousers at least have some function: AirPods are a style & sustainability own goal. 0: https://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/where_we_work/borneo_forests/?339150/The-Last-Long-Earlobes https://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/where_we_work/borneo_for...

unkulunkulu 8y ago
That’s just not true, you have to support your words. They are exacly earpods minus the wires, completely honest product that had to have been made!
jmull 8y ago
I don't think so. First, the form factor of AirPods are integral to their function. There is no separating them. Wires are a major design tradeoff. Also, the function (multiple actually) -- social communication, gaining knowledge, entertainment -- is of high importance to many. So even small improvements are valuable. I really don't think you're understanding this correctly.

willio58 8y ago

I’ve had mine since they were released and have experienced very little deterioration. I even left them outside and out of their case for A MONTH! During summer I was house sitting, left them outside at my house for a month by complete accident, came back home and found them. Once I charged them up they worked like a charm. During this month it rained a few times too.

dawnerd 8y ago
That’s not really the deterioration people are talking about. Using them every day multiple times will destroy them quite quickly. Seems to be around the year and a half mark.
- jclardy 8y ago
  I've used mine everyday since launch, so a little over two years. They now only hold a charge for about 45 minutes, so I end up doing one ear at a time for longer voip meetings. The case held up fine, I charge that like once every two weeks. I'd say they were generally fine for my purposes until about a month ago when they started cutting out at the end of hour long meetings. Even still, I ordered the new ones. The convenience is easily worth it for me since I am primarily in the Apple ecosystem.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

rickyc091 8y ago

Having used my airpods 2-3 hours every day, since release. I've found the talk time to drop to a little over an hour. It hasn't been too much of an issue for me as I just charge one bud in the case when it's low and swap it out with the other.

Canada 8y ago

3 years? These things are consumables. Toss them at least annually, they won't sound as good as new by that point. [edit: Really? You guys expect 3 years life out of your socks and underwear too? If you use the hell out of it, even a wired pair that's a year old doesn't sound as good as a pair fresh out of the box.]

csomar 8y ago

I'm fine with 3 years replacement. 3 years is a very long time for a particularly small and useful device. Also $200 is not a lot of money. Inflation is under-rated in the USA.

gnopgnip 8y ago

Modern battery chemistry lasts longer, and after three years they will still hold a charge.