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Going Wireless
Story by Emma Roberts Photos by Johan Reijm
As technology continues to improve, wired listening is becoming a thing of the past
After returning from winter break, the hallways were full of kids flaunting what seemed to be the newest fashion accessory- the Apple Airpods. It seemed almost like the entire school switched from the 5$ dollar earbuds in the Walmart checkout line and jumped on the airpods bandwagon.
Launched 2 years ago, the $160 cordless earbuds were compared and mocked across social media for looking like cigarette butts in your ears. This Christmas, however, they were number 1 on people’s gifting wish lists and even earned a trending topic on Twitter.
Airpods are not the only wireless earbuds though, there are tons of competition on the market ranging from around 30 to 300 dollars. Apple Airpods are what are categorized as truly wireless earbuds, meaning they do not have any cords attached. One of the most popular reasons for the switch from the tangled cords to being completely hands free is because of the convenience.
“The wires don’t get in the way when doing things, and I like how if I double tap on them it can pause what’s playing or if one of them falls out of my ear it pauses automatically,” Heather Gorenflo, 9, said.
For the average gym-goer, the countless times an earbud would fall out or a wire would get tangled was more trouble than it was worth. While switching to wireless earbuds would eliminate those issues, the dreaded “battery low” warning would automatically ruin your workout. Athletes and other users have found airpods to retain a good battery life and charge quickly. Apple advertises a 5 hour listening period on one charge, and 24 hours of listening time after multiple charges using the charging case.
Not everyone has 160 dollars to drop on a pair of
earbuds, but they still want to stay up to date with the newest technology. Wireless earbuds can be found for as cheap as 30 dollars, and there are even pretty close airpod dupes sold for almost 1⁄4 of the price.
While most people like the subtleness of the airpods, and not a wire wrapped behind your neck, others prefer this style of wireless earbuds. Airpods, while very small and convenient, can also be incredibly easy to misplace. Apple cleverly did connect them with the Find My iPhone app, and there even is a strap you can buy if you are afraid of losing them.
“I think that people buy airpods mainly because it’s to flex kinda to be like everyone else,” Daniel Kraus, 10, said. “But I like my Beats better personally because I feel safer having at least the one small wire since I have friends that lose airpods all the time.”
In the year of 2019, Apple and it’s consumers seem to be moving towards the “wireless future.” Airpods are continuing to sell out, are still a social media meme, and are jokingly called a status symbol for those who own them. Spending a hundred dollars on earbuds may seem outrageous to one, but nothing to another. With the wide variety of earbuds on the market, one can choose their side, wireless or wired?
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