Repairable earbuds are now here, so that's pretty cool. https://shop.fairphone.com/fairbuds
It's not for me because I like wired but it's much better than apples.
this post was submitted on 23 Apr 2024
488 points (93.6% liked)
Technology
56245 readers
5495 users here now
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
Our Rules
- Follow the lemmy.world rules.
- Only tech related content.
- Be excellent to each another!
- Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
- Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
- Politics threads may be removed.
- No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
- Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
- Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
Approved Bots
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
Huh, no shipping to the US it seems. I guess I'll be waiting for a while then.
They are planning to extend. I wouldn't hold my breath though until they give a solid date.
Yup. They finally released the Fairphone after years, but it's only the Fairphone 4, through a reseller, and only supports T-Mobile and its MVNOs.
So yeah, not sure if/when they'll ship the buds to US customers.
load more comments
(21 replies)
No shit. And get this - The iPhone 7 did have enough space for a headphone jack.
I'm so angry that the 3.5 jack is gone... same with microsd slots....its such BS.
load more comments
(7 replies)
I’ve got the 3rd gen and it’s lasted at least 3 years now.
It’s really nice to see what this community has to offer on lemmy. I quit Reddit because I refuse to use the Reddit app. I really do like the comments more than Reddit, and I’m a wannabe techno savvy Linux pro but I’m still working on basic motivation. Therapy included.
I’ve got Linux on Debian cause I needed the stability to handle my instability, I’ve read through the Linux command line and fell in love with emacs, and all I do on my pc is write, now. And pay bills, but that’s just Firefox. “Just the internet,” lol. It’s hard to try to contain, so I write.
Hope I don’t get banned for irrelevance. No hate here. Just rambling through.
This is how to comment effectively on Lemmy.
If you post about an Apple product working reasonably, in order to counteract the confirmation bias downvotes, you are required to supply two paragraphs praising Linux.
Hahaha true.
I also like the Airpods Pro :) I even rebought them, when I lost them. Only apple item I ever owned. But the fit is awesome and they never hurt. I could wear them all day. And battery lifetime is probably as long as the one of a smartphone battery.
load more comments
(2 replies)
load more comments
(1 replies)
anything without standardized replaceable batteries is designed to fail without recourse eventually. batteries are consumables goddamit!
Mine are still working after 5 years. I probably average 1-2 hours a day on them though which may be less than normal.
You're using them and not discharging fully which is ideal for the battery.
load more comments
(5 replies)
Surprised the title didn't say, "Apple slammed for ear pods that are designed to die".
Gluing components together so it's not easy/impossible to repair is different to 'designing to die'. In my opinion designed to die suggests the ear pods will die prematurely due to intentional design decisions. Gluing components together just means that when the ear pods die, then they cannot be brought back to life and you have to replace them.
For every article not containing the word slammed, there's a comment that mentions the lack of the word slammed. This way, we'll never get rid of it
Lemming SLAMMED for commenting on lack of this one weird word in article title (editors hate him)
load more comments
(2 replies)
Gluing components together so it's not easy/impossible to repair is different to 'designing to die'. In my opinion designed to die suggests the ear pods will die prematurely due to intentional design decisions. Gluing components together just means that when the ear pods die, then they cannot be brought back to life and you have to replace them.
But they’re designed with the knowledge that the small battery has a brief usability period. Which is like putting a time bomb in there knowing the people will probably buy more of their products. Putting something inside that can’t be removed and that has a short lifespan is designing a product to die. In other words, it’s designed to die with plenty of good parts left inside when the part that’s quickest to die can’t be replaced. They’re turning a bunch of long lifespan stuff into disposable. That’s an intentional design decision that makes the product die prematurely.
As they said in the article, they could easily make this a replaceable part. But they glue it in so that’s near impossible. Not to mention how long apple fought right to repair legislation. They know exactly what they’re doing.
load more comments
(2 replies)
The headline could have been Apple make Apple product.
Stuff like the Fairphone Buds seems like a good alternative.
Like other commenters here, I got something like three years out of my AirPods until they wouldn't hold a charge.
Gen 1 AirPods = Trash batteries that become miserable after 2 years. Good luck making it through a 1 hour call if you use them a lot. These things beg for the landfill by year 3.
Gen 3 AirPods or AirPods Pro’s = surprisingly good battery longevity. Expect these to be solid after 2 years.
I have the og regular. They still work but the battery dies after 30 minutes.
I feel like they're 7 years old.
load more comments
(2 replies)
That’s because the components inside each little white stick are glued together. Apple could use screws and latches to hold together the components. That way, if something needed to be repaired or replaced, you could easily get inside the device in order to fix it. But Apple doesn’t do this.
So as usual, they purposefully do this. This reminds me of the time with the iPhone battery 'scandal' Apple Batterygate.
I really like their Airpods Pro (1st gen), have them for about 4 years now. However not without problems. I had to replace them 5 times because of crackling sounds, muffled sound and broke-bass sounds. This even happend after my 2 years warranty but luckily (and thankfully) the Apple employees are nice people at times. When it happened (twice) outside my warranty, they told me, if I showed them my receipt - They can and will give me a new pair of Airpods Pros.
They told me ''many do not know but there's a law that forces companies (even Apple) to give a 'decent product' to the customer''.
Not sure if I will get their Airpods Pro 2 (or 3) though after all the hassle.
EDIT: As I'm not sure if this law is also outside my country, here's the official government website with their explanation of it. It is in the Dutch language though: Rijksoverheid deugdelijk product
Each to their own, but I personally can't imagine having to replace a faulty product 5 times and still wanting to use it
load more comments
(1 replies)
That's highly fucked up if you replaced them 5 times within 4 years.
My Jabra 85h Elite ANC probably isnt as good as thr Airpods ANC but only had to replace them once within 4 years of having them. First replacement was within warranty and I was given new headphones but also could keep the old ones.
Used them for as long as they could still run. Very satisfied with the service from Jabra. Just the ANC is lacking.
load more comments
(1 replies)
load more comments
(10 replies)
I didn’t get two years out of mine.
Regardless, they shouldn’t be manufacturing these like they’re disposable.
load more comments
(11 replies)
My aunt gave me a pair despite me being an Android person, I used them simply because they were free, and they died like a year later. I got some JBLs which are excellent thus far.
Any product that is a portable electronic and does not have an easily replaceable battery is considered disposable, a commodity. Every single one.
In less than two years, the rechargeable lithium-ion battery found in your AirPods is due to die an untimely death.
Bullshit. I got four years out of each of my pairs and I used them several hours a day. Also replacing the battery when it does wear out is is something like 50 bucks. Sure, you can't do it yourself but Apple will give you a refurbished pair, and they will recycle your old battery.
And they provide free recycling for all their products — you're basically paying for it to be recycled when you buy AirPods and any that go into landfill that's entirely the customer's fault.
No wired headphones I've ever owned lasted even close to that long - the cable eventually fails with several hours per day of swinging around and being packed tightly into your pocket.
That said, I've switched to bone conduction headphones now, and will probably never own another pair of airpods unless they go down the same path.
This reads so much like Apple marketing talk. Just call any criticism bullshit and let the anectodes and fanboys circlejerk. Add "Apple also gives cuddly gifts to kids sometimes", and you're golden.
🤢
The recycling plug is a little silly, but they are correct about AirPods lasting longer than that article claims.
The first gen AirPods were absolutely ready for hospice after 2 years. But the new ones are much better. Anyone that’s used some Pro 2s or Gen 3s knows what I’m talking about.
This article’s claims are kind of outdated and they feel like they were written by someone who hasn’t used one of the models made during the last 5 years.
load more comments
(3 replies)
Mine are two years and they’re working really really well. I’ve noticed a capacity drop, but it’s far more than enough for my needs.
The batteries definitely need to be replaceable. This would be trivially easy.
With that said, I’m not so convinced they are designed to fail in less than two years either. Article strikes me as sensationalist with a grain of truth.
PS: mine even come with a feature to reduce battery aging by delaying full charge until the device is expected to be used. Why bother if planned obsolescence is your explicit goal?
load more comments
(6 replies)
Lithium iOS is inherently unstable and that instability goes both ways. They designed it to only last 2 years, but there will be plenty that go beyond that, just as there will be plenty that die in , <2 years. The majority will die at about 2 years, as designed.
That being said,
bone conduction headphones
What's that? I'm intrigued lmao
Edit: ion* lmao typo stays tho
bone conduction headphones
What’s that? I’m intrigued lmao
Sound is vibration. We typically think of it as vibration transmitted through air (to get to your auditory canal), but it doesn't have to be. Sound vibration can be conducted through your bones (which your auditory canal is enclosed in) so you can hear without something being in your ears because the sound gets inside you through a different medium.
Do you have an electric toothbrush? Turn it on and bite down with your teeth on it. Notice how it gets MUCH louder? Thats the sound traveling through your jawbone (and skull) to get to your auditory canal.
load more comments
(1 replies)
load more comments
(9 replies)
Since the release of the first AirPods in 2016, countless other companies have replicated their wireless and rechargeable design.
Fuck Apple’s e-waste and all, but the trend to glue batteries inside Bluetooth headphones was well underway before AirPods came to the market.
I sent quite a few pairs of lanyard buds to the grave before AirPods came out. Batteries couldn't be repaired they couldn’t work wired. BT only.
The batteries in my awesome 49 bucks LG HBS 800 are still alive and kicking like 10 hours per day after what, 5 years now? Too bad this particular one was discontinued, but at least I have 2.
I also had 300 dollar sony buds, half the Audio quality with batteries that lasted 6 months, now I have 5 minutes of shitty audio quality before they die, yay!
Fuck these design to fail products, they should be outlawed
load more comments
(2 replies)
Tbf almost all products nowadays are made to last short periods. That’s what people are trying to change to avoid so much waste.
Apple has always been rabidly proprietary. Only in europe has any authority been able to force them to put their customers first
load more comments
(3 replies)
view more: next ›