'Your AirPods Will Die Soon' -- The Shrinking Charge Capacities of Lithium-Ion Batteries (theatlantic.com) 250
Some of the same podcasters who first extolled AirPods are now complaining about them, reports the Atlantic:
The battery can no longer hold a charge, they say, rendering them functionally useless. Apple bloggers agree: "AirPods are starting to show their age for early adopters," Zac Hall, an editor at 9to5Mac, wrote in a post in January, detailing how he frequently hears a low-battery warning in his AirPods now. Earlier this month, Apple Insider tested a pair of AirPods purchased in 2016 against a pair from 2018, and found that the older pair died after two hours and 16 minutes. "That's less than half the stated battery life for a new pair," the writer William Gallagher concluded. Desmond Hughes, who is 35 and lives in Newport News, Virginia, has noticed a similar thing about his own set: At first, their charge lasted five hours, but now they sometimes last only half an hour. He frequently listens to one while charging the other -- not optimal conditions for expensive headphones. He's now gearing up to plunk down more money on another pair....
The lithium-ion batteries that power AirPods are everywhere. One industry report forecast that sales would grow to $109.72 billion by 2026, from $36.2 billion in 2018. They charge faster, last longer, and pack more power into a small space than other types of batteries do. But they die faster, too, often after just a few years, because every time you charge them, they degrade a little. They can also catch fire or explode if they become damaged, so technology companies make them difficult, if not impossible, for consumers to replace themselves. The result: A lot of barely chargeable AirPods and wireless mice and Bluetooth speakers are ending up in the trash as consumers go through products -- even expensive ones -- faster than ever....
Of the 3.4 million tons of electronic waste generated in America in 2012 -- an 80 percent increase from 2000 -- just 29 percent was recycled.
The article notes that Wednesday Apple announced a new generation of AirPods -- but "did not say whether the devices would have longer lives."
They also report that Apple "does allow consumers to pay for what it calls a 'battery replacement' for AirPods, but each 'replaced' AirPod is $49."
The lithium-ion batteries that power AirPods are everywhere. One industry report forecast that sales would grow to $109.72 billion by 2026, from $36.2 billion in 2018. They charge faster, last longer, and pack more power into a small space than other types of batteries do. But they die faster, too, often after just a few years, because every time you charge them, they degrade a little. They can also catch fire or explode if they become damaged, so technology companies make them difficult, if not impossible, for consumers to replace themselves. The result: A lot of barely chargeable AirPods and wireless mice and Bluetooth speakers are ending up in the trash as consumers go through products -- even expensive ones -- faster than ever....
Of the 3.4 million tons of electronic waste generated in America in 2012 -- an 80 percent increase from 2000 -- just 29 percent was recycled.
The article notes that Wednesday Apple announced a new generation of AirPods -- but "did not say whether the devices would have longer lives."
They also report that Apple "does allow consumers to pay for what it calls a 'battery replacement' for AirPods, but each 'replaced' AirPod is $49."
Shocking! (Score:5, Funny)
SHOCKING I SAY!
Why, they very notion that an overpriced product that gives inferior sound quality, and has a propensity to get lost, or ingested by toddlers, could have such a shortened service life compared to the older tech it replaced! Who could have forseen it! /s
Re:Shocking! (Score:5, Insightful)
Exactly. They bought a product with non-replaceable batteries. Have they been living under a rock? What did they think would happen?
Also... do you have any idea what the energy density of a charged lithium ion battery is? And you're willing to place it in your ear!?
Re:Shocking! (Score:5, Funny)
Exactly. They bought a product with non-replaceable batteries. Have they been living under a rock? What did they think would happen?
If only there was a way to power headphones using a cable instead of relying on batteries.
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If only there was a way to power headphones using a cable instead of relying on batteries.
It's a crazy idea but it might just work.
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Too bad their phones courageously lack a port to connect these hypothetical "wired" headphones.
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Exactly. They bought a product with non-replaceable batteries. Have they been living under a rock? What did they think would happen?
If only there was a way to power phones using a cable instead of relying on batteries.
FTFY
I don't want 2000 degrees in my ear anyway (Score:2)
> The electric energy merely heats it to above its boiling point and autoignition temperature.
I don't think I want a non-flammable substance at 2,000 degrees in my ear either.
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Not Fallout enough. It has to still work 300 years from now when the vault dwellers emerge.
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Bluetooth was never designed to transmit stereo sound.
Neither was the headphone jack. Both were later changed to do so.
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Compare them to the Samsung ones, which use a standard coin cell and are relatively easy to replace when the time comes. They got 6/10 on iFixit, not great but better than the 0/10 that the AirPods got.
https://www.ifixit.com/Teardow... [ifixit.com]
https://www.ifixit.com/Teardow... [ifixit.com]
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I've been using LG HBS-850 Bluetooth earbuds for several years now. Sadly, they're discontinued, but they're pretty easy to repair. Brand new battery life is anecdotally about a full day (12 hours), and later on, maybe about 8. They're super comfortable, have in-ear-canal buds, and are generally durable (good for rain, sweat, industrial environments, etc.). I have two good pairs right now, and I basically never take them off, just swapping them to charge.
The real reason I'm stuck on these is comfort. All th
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I have been using the https://www.rowkin.com/rowkin-... [rowkin.com] BT ear buds for over a year with no noticeable degradation in battery life (which is about 3.5 hours per charge). They don't look nearly as dorky as the airpods either...
They do tend to be a little more vulnerable to interference and drop outs than my other BT headphones, but are great for listening to podcasts on my morning bus commute since they can be worn without fuss under winter gear.
I use full circumaural wired headphones for music or when I car
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I bought some $9 BT earbuds off banggood in October 2017 and even though they sound about as clear s mud compared to my Etymotic ER-4 IEMs, they still work fine in the gym. Recently I stepped on them accidentally messing up one of the buttons, but was easily able to unclip the case and fix everything up. The battery is a standard 102040 LiPo you can get for $3.
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Well, they do break once in a while, but they also cost $10 instead of $160. If the Airpods only reliably last two years before you start having battery issues, you could shred a pair of $10 earbuds once every 6 weeks and still come out ahead. :-)
Besides, the only wired headphones I've ever had go bad have been name brand stuff from companies like Sony and Koss. The $10 Noot earbuds (who?) that I bought in bulk from Amazon still randomly disappear every few months, but I haven't had a single failure yet
Re:Shocking! (Score:5, Insightful)
He's now gearing up to plunk down more money on another pair....
Sounds like it's working as designed.
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Imagine if the TSA $7.5B budget was used for eliminating HFCS from American diets! Imagine the lives saved!
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We'll have to agree on the replaceable battery issue and disagree on on the green new deal.
These must be super-cheap li-ion cells and/or charging electronics. Normal cycle and shelf life for well maintained Li-ion is higher than this.
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Or likely limited by the form factor... These things are pretty small, barely bigger than the wired earbuds which don't contain batteries, charging circuits, bluetooth or audio decoding hardware.
Perfect Solution (Score:5, Insightful)
I have a great idea. What if you had headphones that didn't use a battery but instead plugged directly into a hypothetical Jack on a source of sound? I know it sounds crazy but it would work and could even be made universal.
Re:Perfect Solution (Score:5, Funny)
It would take a truly courageous company to invent a "Headphone Jack" such as you're proposing.
Sadly, I don't think there are any such companies around.
Re:Perfect Solution (Score:4, Insightful)
It would take a truly courageous company to invent a "Headphone Jack" such as you're proposing.
Sadly, I don't think there are any such companies around.
I'm not singling you out because you really seem to be just making a joke, but I think this is the appropriate place to insert a comment to make a critical observation about the groupthink present in this thread.
First, yes, lithium ion batteries losing their ability to hold a charge with repeated use is a weakness in the design of the Airpods. While Airpods and other wireless earphones do have other benefits, the non-repairability of Apple's product means the tradeoff is one that affects the value of the product.
But in this thread that leads commenters to
The problem with this aggressive need to fine the One True Way to hear one's audio devices overlooks the benefits of wireless headphones and that $170 for Apple's target market segment is not a lot to pay every year or so.
But more to the point, the design of Apple's current smartphones that do not have headphone jacks already has a solution to use wired headphones: a dongle that converts lightning –> 1/8" stereo. Though not a perfect solution (charging while listening), it does satisfy the use case of being mobile and not having access to a charged wireless earbuds.
So the whole premise of the joke is a fantasy that devices that do not have headphone jacks somehow need to be reinvented when these devices already have a good-enough solution in place.
Even more telling is that by all accounts, wireless earphones (and Apple's Airpods in particular) are a runaway success and consumers rate these products with high levels of satisfaction. This whole thread is sort of like the time when a prominent Slashdot user declared an mp3 player dead-on-arrival but that device ended up marking the inflection point at which Apple went on to become (for a few weeks) the most valuable company in the world.
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This whole thread is sort of like the time when a prominent Slashdot user declared an mp3 player dead-on-arrival
If by prominent you mean Slashdot founder Rob "CmdrTaco" Malda and if by dead-on-arrival you mean "No wireless, less space than a Nomad, lame."
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wireless earphones (and Apple's Airpods in particular) are a runaway success and consumers rate these products with high levels of satisfaction
Sure they rate them highly ... until the battery starts dying. That's the whole point of the article.
Re: Perfect Solution (Score:2)
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But wouldn't that increase the cost of the unit? I mean, the royalty payment to the original patent holder would be astronomical.
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I have friend who's an electrical engineer. He suggested that the minimum feasible diameter for this so-called "jack" would be around 2.5mm - about 3/32".
So never mind the cost, think of the thickness!
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Why not both? My headphones happily still work when the battery runs flat and the bluetooth function dies.
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Apple marketing thinks your idea is just dumb...
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>"I have a great idea. What if you had headphones that didn't use a battery but instead plugged directly into a hypothetical Jack on a source of sound? I know it sounds crazy but it would work and could even be made universal.""
Really. And offer better sound options, too. And cost 10 times less. And available in hundreds of different styles, weights, colors, and designed to meet just about any need. And never have any interference. And can be connected immediately to anything without pairing. And a
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I have a great idea. What if you had headphones that didn't use a battery but instead plugged directly into a hypothetical Jack on a source of sound? I know it sounds crazy but it would work and could even be made universal.
But then, how do you sell someone $5 earbuds for $200, while at the same time ensuring they'll have to buy them again within a few years?
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But then, how do you sell someone $5 earbuds for $200, while at the same time ensuring they'll have to buy them again within a few years?
1: Gold contacts
2: Carbon nanotube woven insulation
3: Get some desperate pseudo-celebrity to tout them
4: Claim the magnetic waves massage your semi-circular canals and do to your ears what jade eggs are supposed to do for that other bodily inpouching.... come to think of it:
5: Jade casing
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What if you had headphones that didn't use a battery but instead plugged directly into a hypothetical Jack on a source of sound?
- The wires would get tangled every day. Tell the person calling you to wait a minute while you untangle the headphone cords. Then you can talk to them.
- The wires would pull on your head when you exercise
- You would accidentally catch the wire with your arm or something else and pull them out of your ears once in a while
- If your phone is on the table, you'll accidentally pull it off onto the floor once in a while. Maybe you break the phone screen.
- Your phone could never be farther away from you than 2
Re: Perfect Solution (Score:3)
Ok, but the only headphones that I've ever had curl up to the point that it takes more than half a second to untangle are the Apple earbuds. It's the stupid wire design they use; it causes the cords to tangle. Good headphones never really do this under normal use.
So, it sounds like Apple sold you such a crappy product for years, you forgot what a decent one was like.
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Fine in theory, but it would never work in practice. Every manufacturer would make their own proprietary connector, so it would not be universal.
feckless French ponce (Score:3)
One, the wires break a lot more if you're a clumsy twat or are too stupid to wear the thing so it's not pulling in the wrong place.
Two, you don't know how to find the break, cut it and solder a new plug on? I could do that when I was about ten.
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I've had my Etymotic IEMs for at least 10 years now and only had to replace the plug recently. And even that was mostly my own fault since I've been coiling the cable around the Zen (yes really back then) and phone, thus putting too much stress on the plug.It was like $1 for the jack and a few minutes to solder it on.
A matter of size (Score:3)
It's also an issue with the size of the batteries: the smaller the battery, the lower the capacity.
Then, add that you insist to wear those buddies into your ears all the time (also for fashion purposes). It's clear you will run more and more charging cycles that will worsen the situation.
Use the wired ones, instead.
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Use the wired ones, instead.
Very funny! Find a place to plug them in...
Easy, just carry one of these. https://www.logitech.com/en-us... [logitech.com]
Progress \ (^_^) /
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Use the wired ones, instead.
Very funny! Find a place to plug them in...
That would be funny except that, if you're referring to Apple products such as the iPhone, you can plug the included wired headphones directly into the lightning port. My iPhone 8 also came with a 3.5mm to lightning adapter cable. I believe the "X" models don't come with that (extra cost accessory), so that sucks. But it's still an option if desired.
I can't speak to other brands that also removed the jack, however.
Not a quick learner (Score:4, Insightful)
At first, their charge lasted five hours, but now they sometimes last only half an hour. He frequently listens to one while charging the other -- not optimal conditions for expensive headphones. He's now gearing up to plunk down more money on another pair
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If repeated bad experiences would create insight in the average person, we would not be in the mess we are in....
From available evidence, most people will do the same dumb shit until they cannot anymore. And then they will blame it on somebody else.
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...until the truth dawns?
What if the truth is that headphones are of value because of the use that you get out of them rather than as something you own for 75 years and pass down to your descendants as a legacy?
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If your claim is that Apple is providing "value" on these, your conception of the truth seems to have been warped by the Reali
Replaceable batteries should be required by law (Score:5, Interesting)
I am writing this on my aging - but still fully functional - Samsung Galaxy Note 3. How can I use a nearly 6 year old phone you ask?
Why I can replace the battery! I'm on my third... (Well it was also a high end phone of the time, one of the first with 3 GB ram...)
But my point is; the reason it survive is I can change battery. And it is one of the last of its kind. Check gsmarena.com and you'll find almost no high end phones with replaceable batt from 2018 and forward.
But the are all ip 68 or whatever waterproof. Well I have yet to have a phone die of water. Most was replaced because of the battery (or because the keyboard broke). When I hear my colleagues getting new iphones, it is always the battery. My parents just bought a new one because of...
Am I the only one that believes, that the *true* reason all new devices are waterproof, is planned obsolescence?? ... Could be I'm just an old geek that doesn't care to buy a new phone that can the same (but slightly faster, of course) as the one I have. ... Or maybe you all drop phones in the toilet regularly? (really??)
If not, then spread the idea, and help save both money and the environment! Let's rebel! ... Regard my heading "by law" I mean, it doesn't have to be user replaceable, but eg that right-to-repair have an upper limit of what a new battery must cost, sufficiently low - like maybe 5% of the original price - to ensure that the can be replaced, and is not epoxy'ed inside.
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There's plenty places on this planet where being 'water' or 'weatherproof' is actually a good thing and will prolong a phone's lifetime.
But, being weatherproof and having a replaceable battery are not mutually exclusive.
The real reason for non-replaceable batteries are fail-by-design to increase profits. If you can no longer any other part of the phone break, and the user is careful enough also not to break the (rounded-to-the-edges-with-no-bevel-at-all-to-protect-it) glass, something else will have to fail
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Waterproof is the latest in a long string of dumb excuses to make the battery non-replaceable but like the others, it's a big fat lie. There is no reason that a device that is waterproof to a depth of 6 feet for 30 minutes cannot also have a replaceable battery.
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There is no reason that a device that is waterproof to a depth of 6 feet for 30 minutes cannot also have a replaceable battery.
Or, as a compromise, the device could be made waterproof with original battery, but still allow you to update battery while breaking the seals.
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It's true that it's easier, but the real motivation is that it's cheaper.
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There will always be some reasonable phones with replaceable batteries. From other observations, I would deduce that only about 10% of the customers care, but that is no small market-share and far too large to ignore.
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I once did the battery exchange with my iphone 6 plus. Want to use it as long as possible.
These batteries may not be user replaceable, but 30 minutes without
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But the are all ip 68 or whatever waterproof. Well I have yet to have a phone die of water.
I'm pretty sure that sweat killed my Nexus 4's digitizer. But really, IP68 is a pretty low bar, any phone which can't manage it at least for the expected service life is probably crap. You can get there with a coating, and little else.
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My earbuds are holding up (Score:2)
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And, you know - you never used to have to plug your headphones into a mobile phone to get music. Weird how things work out, hey?
Still prefer a 3.5mm jack for sound.
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Making the headphones wireless did not because you are still carrying both the phone, and the headphones, in close proximity to reach other.
I'm all for wireless technologies. But only where wired technologies don't do the same job better.
Don't have to die so soon (Score:2)
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My MacBook Pro is 8 years old, has done 1088 load cycles and is still at 82.2% of its design capacity. I'm quite sure that is not rare. Me and many of my friends use their smartphones for 6 years or more without having to change the battery. We consider this normal. The myth that Li-ion batteries last only 3 years has to die a fast death.
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Or maybe it has to do with the size of the batteries. Maybe big batteries have some advantage that makes them last longer.
Replace the battery for $1? (Score:2)
Lesson (Score:5, Funny)
He's now gearing up to plunk down more money on another pair...
Yeah, that will really teach Apple a lesson!
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"Teach Apple a lesson"? Is that what life is about for you people? Sad.
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Woosh...
Tollyaso (Score:2)
But would you listen? Nooooooooo!
Well (Score:2)
You sound surprised, what did you think would happen?
Ssssss (Score:2)
You guys buy their stupid shit. Is there no 3rd person repair center?
true of all captive-battery lithium gadgets (Score:4, Insightful)
This should be no surprise-- any device with a lithium-ion based battery sealed inside it will have to suffer the downsides that all common lithium-ion batteries have to suffer. Excess heat quickly damages their ability to recharge. But also normal heat, over the course of two to five years, gradually damages their capacity to recharge.
Drone battery? Better hope they produce the same form factor in three years.
Sport camera or camera gimbal? If it has the battery sealed in, the whole thing will be junk before you finally get around to using it on that big action vacation.
Thousand dollar smartphone with a case made of glass and unicorn farts? Better sign up for an appointment at the Einstein Bar to get the next magical upgrade, er, next generation smartphone.
So much for incompetent reviewers (Score:5, Informative)
This is no surprise for anybody that actually understands electronics. 2..3 years is all you get with non-replaceable LiPo batteries and daily use. One of the reasons I consider a phone or other device with a non-replaceable battery to be defective by design and will not buy it.
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You are not an Apple user. Not fanatical enough. But kudos for trying.
They should just offer a subscription (Score:3)
You pay, say, $150 per year, and every 2 years you get a new pair of them.That is if you send in your old ones. If not, you pay an extra $50.
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Are you functionally illiterate?
Yes? (Score:2)
Wow, it's almost like some people realised that batteries don't hold the same charge forever, and that being able to replace batteries in a consumer product is a desirable property.
Somebody please inform every phone manufacturer, every electric toothbrush manufacturer and anyone else who makes battery-powered items where the batteries can't be removed, therefore can't be replaced therefore can't be recycled even.
If only we'd made standardised cell sizes, voltages and properties such that we could easily rep
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Hm that's a refreshingly new idea. Let's make it mandatory.
There's a typo in the article (Score:3)
Old School Here (Score:2)
What a surprise! (Score:2)
All the other ones too (Score:2)
It's not just Apple, Ticpods, Sennheiser, Samsung, whatever also make wireless headphones. It's a common design feature...
What's the big deal? (Score:2)
It's "courage depletion" (Score:3)
It's weird how my "old-fangled" wired earbuds still sound great. They must have a hell of a battery because I've used them for years and never gotten a low battery warning.
Can I pay more to own a set of earbuds that don't sound as good and die every few months, even though there's nothing really wrong with them?
lithium batteries are trash (Score:2)
Disposable knockoffs on Amazon (Score:2)
$30 (Score:2)
Headphone Jack (Score:3)
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Um.... (Score:3)
What cracks me up is the nudnik from the article that is preparing to buy *another pair*. As my grandfather use to say, "Don't let the same dog bite ya twice."
Newsflash! (Score:2)
Expensive electronic tat with irreplaceable batteries is a bad idea.
Next up:
Deep frying your balls is
steady income (Score:2)
if anything, this was all planned in by Apple, just to make another steady stream of income.
Well, make tehm run slower (Score:2)
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Re:charge and discharge cycles (Score:4, Informative)
For Li ion you need to stay below 80% state of charge to extend the battery life. The depth of discharge doesn't matter so much (the 0% level has plenty of safety margin above the true lower limit.)
Source: https://accubattery.zendesk.co... [zendesk.com]
(Disclaimer: The data is for batteries charged to 4.25 V. It's not clear how it translates to newer high-voltage cells at 4.35 V.)
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How do you know they were ever actually talking to anyone in the first place? ;)
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"Mr. President, you hit the wrong link. This isn't Twitter."
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Well, we knew that because he bought the first pair.
Apple's marketing techniques demand a level of respect.
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The price for looking cool is high, but many are willing to pay it.
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I saw that part too and I laughed. It was basically, "These suck so obviously I'm just going to buy another pair."
Apple really, really knows their target audience: short-sighted idiots with money.