I think that's a fair question. My understanding is that when airpods are talking to an iphone, they are not acting as merely BT devices, but use some propriet

I think that's a fair question. My understanding is that when airpods are talking to an iphone, they are not acting as merely BT devices, but use some proprietary apple juju that's "better." And I'm sure it's better, if wirelessness is your priority. But the drawbacks and price are far too much for me. I like being able to have all my computers, devices, mixers, and headphones be compatible without worrying about software. It's just two analog signals going through a wire, and it's easy. And as a bonus I don't have to have two separate sets of headphones to accommodate the non-bluetooth things like my electric piano.