5 ms·

The reason is simpler than that. Battery will inevitably wear out, and it is a very deliberate planned obsolescence move.

filoleg 5y ago
I don't know about that. I still have my original AirPods, and they had no noticeable battery loss, and it's been over 3 years by now. They might have lost some battery if I tried to measure it empirically, but I have no way of knowing without measuring it explicitly, as I cannot really catch a battery loss of less than 5-10% with normal use over the course of 3+ years. But I use them all the time interchangeably with Airpods Pro, and both deliver on battery so far. Airpods Pro have already hit the 2-year mark for me as well, no issues either. I had to replace one of the OG airpods because I lost it (around 2 years ago), but replacing a single airpod was only like $50.
- newaccount74 5y ago
  I got the original Airpods and after less than two years the battery lasted like 15 minutes in one of the pods. They are a disposable product.
  - Anther 5y ago
    I have two pairs of originals. Both have trash batteries now. I bought the new Sony XM4s. Remarkable headphones.
  - filoleg 5y ago
    Are you claiming that this is a common experience? You sure you didn't dunk yours into water or something? Because out of all people I know irl who had airpods for 2+ years, no one has reported any noticeable battery loss, let alone something as extreme as "only lasts 15 mins". I would be livid if mine lasted anywhere even close to that, but so far I am solidly in the advertised battery life range, even after 3 years of use. Also, just fyi, it seems like your unit might have been defective, in which case Apple offers free replacement (regardless of whether you have any additional warranties or not)[0]. If you have AppleCare+ and your battery lasts less than 80% of advertised range, it is also free replacement (even if it wasn't a defective unit). And just the regular replacement regardless of warranty or anything like that is $49. 0. https://support.apple.com/airpods/repair/service#battery https://support.apple.com/airpods/repair/service#battery
    - newaccount74 5y ago
      > Also, just fyi, it seems like your unit might have been defective, in which case Apple offers free replacement Where did you hear that? That's not my experience at all. Apple denied that there was anything wrong with my iPhone 6S that suffered from sudden shutdowns for more than a year, before they introduced the iPhone 6S battery exchange program. That was a pretty frustrating experience. > And just the regular replacement regardless of warranty or anything like that is $49. In Europe it's 55€ per Airpod, so the total cost would have been 110€ (the second Airpod lasted a bit longer but still not enough to make it through a movie). 110€ seemed like a steep price to pay for two new Airpods with an old charging case that will cost another 55€ when its battery inevitably dies.
- gnicholas 5y ago
  Interesting! After 2 years, I'm down to 1 hour of battery life in my second generation AirPods. Fortunately I use one at a time, so I just swap back and forth between them when one dies. My bigger issue is that my AirPods no longer give a warning when they're getting low on battery. The first time the sound chimes marks 3 seconds until it's about to die. I'm left scrambling to get my other one out as my phone reverts to handset audio (in my pocket).
  - genewitch 5y ago
    My android garbage phone pauses media if Bluetooth goes away. The only thing that won't is a literal LTE/4g call, that goes to handset.
    - gruez 5y ago
      I was baffled at that comment too. iOS should pause playback on headphone disconnection (wired or otherwise) as well. My only guess would be some sort of rogue app that doesn't respond to OS notifications, so it continues to play sound even after disconnection. In that case the OS would obligingly send the audio stream to the default device (ie. on device speakers). That said the default apps (eg. music or podcasts) should be fine.
      - gnicholas 5y ago
        This happens most often on calls, since battery life is much worse (60%?) when speaker and mic are being used. That’s why I’m left scrambling to get the other earbud in — someone is talking whether I can hear them or not.
93po 5y ago
I disagree - it's clearly what consumers want. There are a million phone options, including ones with replaceable batteries, and overwhelmingly people choose the smaller form factor with nonreplaceable batteries.
- wanderr 5y ago
  I haven't seen a flagship phone with replaceable battery in forever. I absolutely want that and would pay more for it, but I won't compromise on performance and camera quality either. But Airpods I don't care about the battery being replaceable. Maybe because I expect to have to replace the pods before the battery is useless.

filoleg 5y ago

I don't know about that. I still have my original AirPods, and they had no noticeable battery loss, and it's been over 3 years by now. They might have lost some battery if I tried to measure it empirically, but I have no way of knowing without measuring it explicitly, as I cannot really catch a battery loss of less than 5-10% with normal use over the course of 3+ years. But I use them all the time interchangeably with Airpods Pro, and both deliver on battery so far. Airpods Pro have already hit the 2-year mark for me as well, no issues either. I had to replace one of the OG airpods because I lost it (around 2 years ago), but replacing a single airpod was only like $50.

newaccount74 5y ago
I got the original Airpods and after less than two years the battery lasted like 15 minutes in one of the pods. They are a disposable product.
- Anther 5y ago
  I have two pairs of originals. Both have trash batteries now. I bought the new Sony XM4s. Remarkable headphones.
- filoleg 5y ago
  Are you claiming that this is a common experience? You sure you didn't dunk yours into water or something? Because out of all people I know irl who had airpods for 2+ years, no one has reported any noticeable battery loss, let alone something as extreme as "only lasts 15 mins". I would be livid if mine lasted anywhere even close to that, but so far I am solidly in the advertised battery life range, even after 3 years of use. Also, just fyi, it seems like your unit might have been defective, in which case Apple offers free replacement (regardless of whether you have any additional warranties or not)[0]. If you have AppleCare+ and your battery lasts less than 80% of advertised range, it is also free replacement (even if it wasn't a defective unit). And just the regular replacement regardless of warranty or anything like that is $49. 0. https://support.apple.com/airpods/repair/service#battery https://support.apple.com/airpods/repair/service#battery
  - newaccount74 5y ago
    > Also, just fyi, it seems like your unit might have been defective, in which case Apple offers free replacement Where did you hear that? That's not my experience at all. Apple denied that there was anything wrong with my iPhone 6S that suffered from sudden shutdowns for more than a year, before they introduced the iPhone 6S battery exchange program. That was a pretty frustrating experience. > And just the regular replacement regardless of warranty or anything like that is $49. In Europe it's 55€ per Airpod, so the total cost would have been 110€ (the second Airpod lasted a bit longer but still not enough to make it through a movie). 110€ seemed like a steep price to pay for two new Airpods with an old charging case that will cost another 55€ when its battery inevitably dies.
gnicholas 5y ago
Interesting! After 2 years, I'm down to 1 hour of battery life in my second generation AirPods. Fortunately I use one at a time, so I just swap back and forth between them when one dies. My bigger issue is that my AirPods no longer give a warning when they're getting low on battery. The first time the sound chimes marks 3 seconds until it's about to die. I'm left scrambling to get my other one out as my phone reverts to handset audio (in my pocket).
- genewitch 5y ago
  My android garbage phone pauses media if Bluetooth goes away. The only thing that won't is a literal LTE/4g call, that goes to handset.
  - gruez 5y ago
    I was baffled at that comment too. iOS should pause playback on headphone disconnection (wired or otherwise) as well. My only guess would be some sort of rogue app that doesn't respond to OS notifications, so it continues to play sound even after disconnection. In that case the OS would obligingly send the audio stream to the default device (ie. on device speakers). That said the default apps (eg. music or podcasts) should be fine.
    - gnicholas 5y ago
      This happens most often on calls, since battery life is much worse (60%?) when speaker and mic are being used. That’s why I’m left scrambling to get the other earbud in — someone is talking whether I can hear them or not.

93po 5y ago

I disagree - it's clearly what consumers want. There are a million phone options, including ones with replaceable batteries, and overwhelmingly people choose the smaller form factor with nonreplaceable batteries.

wanderr 5y ago
I haven't seen a flagship phone with replaceable battery in forever. I absolutely want that and would pay more for it, but I won't compromise on performance and camera quality either. But Airpods I don't care about the battery being replaceable. Maybe because I expect to have to replace the pods before the battery is useless.