Apple's $19 Wired EarPods Still Find a Niche as AirPods Near Their 10th Year
Apple continues to sell its wired EarPods for $19 even as AirPods approach their tenth anniversary. Engadget says the wired model wins on price, zero charging and reliable wired audio, while AirPods remain better on features such as noise cancellation.
AirPods have become close to ubiquitous since launching a decade ago, and the current lineup carries noise cancellation, health sensors and built-in live translation. Even so, Engadget says a niche of users keeps buying wired earbuds, and it lays out the situations in which EarPods can beat Apple's wireless models.
The comparison is not simply wired versus wireless. AirPods Pro 3, for example, can track heart rate during a workout, and the family offers Spatial Audio and other features aimed at sound quality. EarPods have none of that. They are ordinary earbuds without gestures or voice commands, Engadget notes.
Where EarPods hold an advantage is upkeep. There is no battery, so there is nothing to charge and they are ready whenever the user is; AirPods left off the charger for a few days greet the owner with a red battery icon. The cord also removes Bluetooth pairing problems, including the need to re-pair when an earbud is handed to a friend. According to Engadget, the built-in EarPods microphone also delivers better voice quality, because Bluetooth audio still does not match wired audio despite Apple's improvements.
EarPods come in three connection types — 3.5mm, Lightning and USB-C — which makes them compatible with a wide range of devices, and their price is low enough that a buyer can keep separate pairs for different gadgets. The tradeoff on modern iPhones is that, with no headphone jack, occupying the Lightning or USB-C port means the phone cannot be charged at the same time. An adapter that splits the port into two solves the problem, though Engadget calls it less convenient to carry around.
Engadget's assessment is that AirPods are better in many respects, and the absence of noise cancellation on EarPods alone is a strong argument for the wireless models. Sometimes, though, simplicity outweighs high-end technology, whether because a user does not want to manage a charge or because their earbuds tend to die during an important meeting. Moments like those, the report says, make it sensible to keep a wired pair around.
Price is the other factor. The cheapest AirPods cost $129 and are not even the best ones Apple sells, while EarPods cost $19. Engadget notes that $19 is far less than the $69 or more needed to replace a lost AirPod, and suggests that some buyers may simply own both and use whichever fits the situation.