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The headphones my parents purchased in the 1970s still work perfectly fine, actually. They haven't handed them down, though, as they still have them. This was e

by Vrondi 6y ago

The headphones my parents purchased in the 1970s still work perfectly fine, actually. They haven't handed them down, though, as they still have them. This was extremely common in the past. There are plenty of people's grandparents now who bought nice cans in the 1970s or 1980s, many of which still work fine.

BoorishBears 6y ago
This is a pretty narrow view of things. How many people do you think are part of the economic strata that have the money to buy heirloom headphones? The real problem is: For every pair of even $100 headphones, how many $10 headphones do you think are sold? The waste isn't coming from AirPods, it's coming from the $10 set that wasn't designed to last longer than an airline flight (and yes I'm sure someone will link some cult favorite cheap headphone that's a drop in the bucket compared to how many at the price point are practically disposable)
- smoldesu 6y ago
  The waste is coming from disposable products, which is what Apple specializes in producing these days. Pre-2015, Apple had a reputation for creating long-lasting products that can be maintenance by the layperson easily. Even if their software was a bit long in the tooth and the pricing seemed a little insulting, Apple at least had the consumer-friendly card in their hands. This is no longer the case. I see people literally throwing out 16 inch MBPs when they break, simply because the price to repair them is far higher than the price of simply buying another laptop. And sure, maybe Apple does make their devices easier to recycle, but there are still 2 R's that are more important: reusing and reducing. If you can reduce the amount of times someone needs to replace their product, you are having a much greater environmental impact than slightly more recyclable aluminum. That's why my Thinkpad x201 is still a more eco-friendly choice than the M1: it's carbon footprint is inherently lower. --- Also, a quick bit on the economic strata comment: I come from a relatively lower-income family, but we still did cherish the few nice things we had. My dad passed me down his pair of AKG open-backs with a new DAC for my 13th birthday, and I never really thought of it as that weird. I think your optics are a little out of tune.

by Vrondi 6y ago

BoorishBears 6y ago

This is a pretty narrow view of things. How many people do you think are part of the economic strata that have the money to buy heirloom headphones? The real problem is: For every pair of even $100 headphones, how many $10 headphones do you think are sold? The waste isn't coming from AirPods, it's coming from the $10 set that wasn't designed to last longer than an airline flight (and yes I'm sure someone will link some cult favorite cheap headphone that's a drop in the bucket compared to how many at the price point are practically disposable)

smoldesu 6y ago
The waste is coming from disposable products, which is what Apple specializes in producing these days. Pre-2015, Apple had a reputation for creating long-lasting products that can be maintenance by the layperson easily. Even if their software was a bit long in the tooth and the pricing seemed a little insulting, Apple at least had the consumer-friendly card in their hands. This is no longer the case. I see people literally throwing out 16 inch MBPs when they break, simply because the price to repair them is far higher than the price of simply buying another laptop. And sure, maybe Apple does make their devices easier to recycle, but there are still 2 R's that are more important: reusing and reducing. If you can reduce the amount of times someone needs to replace their product, you are having a much greater environmental impact than slightly more recyclable aluminum. That's why my Thinkpad x201 is still a more eco-friendly choice than the M1: it's carbon footprint is inherently lower. --- Also, a quick bit on the economic strata comment: I come from a relatively lower-income family, but we still did cherish the few nice things we had. My dad passed me down his pair of AKG open-backs with a new DAC for my 13th birthday, and I never really thought of it as that weird. I think your optics are a little out of tune.