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Not only are AirPods very profitable, but with a non-user-serviceable battery, they are also disposable. This way users can enjoy buying new $200 AirPods every

Not only are AirPods very profitable, but with a non-user-serviceable battery, they are also disposable. This way users can enjoy buying new $200 AirPods every couple years and Apple gets the recurring revenue to pour to climate initiatives like combating the rise of e-waste.

gdulli 7y ago
Ending is better than mending!
mtgx 7y ago
Sooner or later we'll get laws saying that each electronic device MUST have a replaceable battery. In most cases, whether intentional or not, only the battery needs to be changed, but because of the way products are designed now, you have to throw the other 80% of the product in the trash. When world's governments become a little more environmentally-conscious, they'll see this solution as a no-brainer, just like the EU saw a single charging standard necessary to combat electronics waste. It's a shame to see "green Apple" spearhead the exact opposite of this movement with products that become environmental waste once their battery drops below 50% or so their original capacity.
- microtherion 7y ago
  I can't see how it would be possible to build something in the AirPods form factor with replaceable batteries. So any such device would have to be substantially larger (possibly to the point where it would no longer be comfortable to wear, or to carry the charging case in a pocket). And from my experience, wired headphones tend to break after a couple of years as well, for different reasons.
- hombre_fatal 7y ago
  I don't want one of the few gadgets I buy every four years legislated into an impossible form factor by environmental concerns. It seems like the most unfair implementation compared to, say, raising the price of things to price in externalities. For example, why is it one of my most cherished possessions, a single pair of bluetooth headphones, paying a penalty while my roommate gets 3-5 Amazon shipments a day to our house for free and eats cheap meat with every meal if we actually care about the environmental impact of things? We need to be more creative than crafting legislation for individual scapegoat products and consumer-blaming.
habosa 7y ago
People keep mentioning this point and I'm a little confused. In 2020 a non-user-replaceable battery seems to be the standard situation for all my electronics, not just AirPods. I'm not saying it's a good thing I just don't get why this criticism tends to mostly come up around AirPods.
- ApolloFortyNine 7y ago
  With wired headphones, people can keep them for years, decades even. Many of the popular sets of 'serious' headphones have been around for over a decade. So it goes hand in hand with removing the headphone jack. Remove the ability to not require a battery, and then don't allow people to replace the battery.
  - gurkendoktor 7y ago
    > With wired headphones, people can keep them for years, decades even. My wired headphones all broke after about ~2 years (100-150€ models from Sennheiser and Teufel, plus the ones shipped with phones). In my Beats Studio 3, the hinges broke before the battery even degraded. As an extreme example, my 1st-gen iPad still lasts hours, but hasn't seen a software update in many years. Planned obsolescence ticks me off, but I don't feel it has gotten any worse with non-replaceable batteries. Everything you buy breaks after 2 years, that's just how the incentives work for companies.
    - JakeTheAndroid 7y ago
      Conversely I have had multiple pairs of Sennheiser and Audiotechnicas for over 5 years now, all with wires, and they are still work phenomenally. I have used them as daily drivers (I keep the Audiotechnicas at work, and my Senn HDs are for the commute, flights, hanging out at home, etc) and they still produce amazing sound quality and I only had to replace a cable once and buy one set of ear-cups (I like over ears not in-ears). I find Sennheiser and Audiotechnica build quality products that last if you buy their higher end stuff. In the case of AT, the M50x's aren't even that expensive and they are as good as the day I bought them.
scarecrowbob 7y ago
So, my other listening equipment is a pait of senn HD280 that I have had since 2006. They're kind of a Ship of Theseus, insofar as I have replaced every element but the drivers multiple times. I'm fairly handy with a soldering iron, and have been repairing them myself with parts for the manufacturer. I think that this about the best case for repairs. One replacement of the cord generates more plastic waste than the entirety of the airpods I use. I've also been going through wired headphones at a rate of about 1 per year, as they are mechanically fragile. However, I don't think that this year I will be replacing the airpods I have been using for the last year... granted the battery will eventually fail. But to me, the lifetime on the airpods is so-far exceeding that of the wired earphones. So am I wrong in thinking that between having replaceable components that are wasteful in themselves and the increased lifespan of the device, I'm just paying a rather large premium to -reduce- e-waste?
- dwild 7y ago
  > One replacement of the cord generates more plastic waste than the entirety of the airpods I use. The battery is a much bigger issue than the cord. If it get recycled correctly sure, but most people won't recycle it... You are a pretty tiny exception.
GeekyBear 7y ago
Does an Android device that is almost immediately abandoned without software or security updates take up less space in the landfill?
- wobbly_bush 7y ago
  > almost immediately abandoned Source?
  - judge2020 7y ago
    Most android phones only receive 1 or 2 years of updates since release, not when you buy the phone. If you get it 2 years after it was originally released, chances are you have at most 1 year of security updates and little chance of getting a newer version of Android. https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/24/18019356/android-security-update-mandate-google-contract https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/24/18019356/android-securit... The only exceptions to this I know of is the Pixel lineup (Pixel 1 got Android 10) and "Android One" phones https://www.android.com/one/ https://www.android.com/one/, although this only guarantees 2 years of OS upgrades and 3 years of security updates. > Monthly security updates to be supported for at least 3 years after initial phone release
- what_ever 7y ago
  I don't think the user you replied to said anything about Android being better...
vegardx 7y ago
Nothing is going to change on that front until government mandates minimum lifetime for equipment. In Norway these devices are covered for up to 5 years after date of purchase. This follows the product, so unlike some warranties it also covers second hand purchases as well.

gdulli 7y ago

Ending is better than mending!

mtgx 7y ago

Sooner or later we'll get laws saying that each electronic device MUST have a replaceable battery. In most cases, whether intentional or not, only the battery needs to be changed, but because of the way products are designed now, you have to throw the other 80% of the product in the trash. When world's governments become a little more environmentally-conscious, they'll see this solution as a no-brainer, just like the EU saw a single charging standard necessary to combat electronics waste. It's a shame to see "green Apple" spearhead the exact opposite of this movement with products that become environmental waste once their battery drops below 50% or so their original capacity.

microtherion 7y ago
I can't see how it would be possible to build something in the AirPods form factor with replaceable batteries. So any such device would have to be substantially larger (possibly to the point where it would no longer be comfortable to wear, or to carry the charging case in a pocket). And from my experience, wired headphones tend to break after a couple of years as well, for different reasons.
hombre_fatal 7y ago
I don't want one of the few gadgets I buy every four years legislated into an impossible form factor by environmental concerns. It seems like the most unfair implementation compared to, say, raising the price of things to price in externalities. For example, why is it one of my most cherished possessions, a single pair of bluetooth headphones, paying a penalty while my roommate gets 3-5 Amazon shipments a day to our house for free and eats cheap meat with every meal if we actually care about the environmental impact of things? We need to be more creative than crafting legislation for individual scapegoat products and consumer-blaming.

habosa 7y ago

People keep mentioning this point and I'm a little confused. In 2020 a non-user-replaceable battery seems to be the standard situation for all my electronics, not just AirPods. I'm not saying it's a good thing I just don't get why this criticism tends to mostly come up around AirPods.

ApolloFortyNine 7y ago
With wired headphones, people can keep them for years, decades even. Many of the popular sets of 'serious' headphones have been around for over a decade. So it goes hand in hand with removing the headphone jack. Remove the ability to not require a battery, and then don't allow people to replace the battery.
- gurkendoktor 7y ago
  > With wired headphones, people can keep them for years, decades even. My wired headphones all broke after about ~2 years (100-150€ models from Sennheiser and Teufel, plus the ones shipped with phones). In my Beats Studio 3, the hinges broke before the battery even degraded. As an extreme example, my 1st-gen iPad still lasts hours, but hasn't seen a software update in many years. Planned obsolescence ticks me off, but I don't feel it has gotten any worse with non-replaceable batteries. Everything you buy breaks after 2 years, that's just how the incentives work for companies.
  - JakeTheAndroid 7y ago
    Conversely I have had multiple pairs of Sennheiser and Audiotechnicas for over 5 years now, all with wires, and they are still work phenomenally. I have used them as daily drivers (I keep the Audiotechnicas at work, and my Senn HDs are for the commute, flights, hanging out at home, etc) and they still produce amazing sound quality and I only had to replace a cable once and buy one set of ear-cups (I like over ears not in-ears). I find Sennheiser and Audiotechnica build quality products that last if you buy their higher end stuff. In the case of AT, the M50x's aren't even that expensive and they are as good as the day I bought them.

scarecrowbob 7y ago

So, my other listening equipment is a pait of senn HD280 that I have had since 2006. They're kind of a Ship of Theseus, insofar as I have replaced every element but the drivers multiple times. I'm fairly handy with a soldering iron, and have been repairing them myself with parts for the manufacturer. I think that this about the best case for repairs. One replacement of the cord generates more plastic waste than the entirety of the airpods I use. I've also been going through wired headphones at a rate of about 1 per year, as they are mechanically fragile. However, I don't think that this year I will be replacing the airpods I have been using for the last year... granted the battery will eventually fail. But to me, the lifetime on the airpods is so-far exceeding that of the wired earphones. So am I wrong in thinking that between having replaceable components that are wasteful in themselves and the increased lifespan of the device, I'm just paying a rather large premium to -reduce- e-waste?

dwild 7y ago
> One replacement of the cord generates more plastic waste than the entirety of the airpods I use. The battery is a much bigger issue than the cord. If it get recycled correctly sure, but most people won't recycle it... You are a pretty tiny exception.

GeekyBear 7y ago

Does an Android device that is almost immediately abandoned without software or security updates take up less space in the landfill?

wobbly_bush 7y ago
> almost immediately abandoned Source?
- judge2020 7y ago
  Most android phones only receive 1 or 2 years of updates since release, not when you buy the phone. If you get it 2 years after it was originally released, chances are you have at most 1 year of security updates and little chance of getting a newer version of Android. https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/24/18019356/android-security-update-mandate-google-contract https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/24/18019356/android-securit... The only exceptions to this I know of is the Pixel lineup (Pixel 1 got Android 10) and "Android One" phones https://www.android.com/one/ https://www.android.com/one/, although this only guarantees 2 years of OS upgrades and 3 years of security updates. > Monthly security updates to be supported for at least 3 years after initial phone release
what_ever 7y ago
I don't think the user you replied to said anything about Android being better...

vegardx 7y ago

Nothing is going to change on that front until government mandates minimum lifetime for equipment. In Norway these devices are covered for up to 5 years after date of purchase. This follows the product, so unlike some warranties it also covers second hand purchases as well.