I don't know if this applies to AirPods, but Apple is aiming to have a "closed loop" product line where they get a lot of the material they need for new products from old ones: https://www.apple.com/environment/resources/
In 5-10 years we'd have the same number of "million dead and useless AirPods" even if they had replaceable batteries, because by that time we'd have the next model with new features, design, etc.
The green thing is not to expect a company like Apple to merely add batteries, but to not consume as much, and to get stuff that works long term and is not prone to such improvements (e.g. a good old pair of high quality wired cans you keep for decades). Of course they keep removing stuff like the headphones jack too. In my idea government, that move would incur a hefty environmental fine by itself.
The "Apple is Green" etc, is environment-theater, as is "recycling".
> In 5-10 years we'd have the same number of "million dead and useless AirPods" even if they had replaceable batteries, because by that time we'd have the next model with new features, design, etc.
Earbuds aren't cell phones—there's not a lot you can add. You can improve audio quality but that happens at a slow pace, and much of the public doesn't care.
I don't think all that many people would rush to replace a $200 product after two years if the original had a longer usable life.
>Earbuds aren't cell phones—there's not a lot you can add.
I can think of enough stuff. New Bluetooth standards, longer lasting charge, better audio drivers, health monitoring, embedded connection-free translation (babelfish-like), eSIM and calling/receiving directly from the AirPods (like you can do from the Apple Watch, but using Siri for the dialing). And those are just off the top of my head.
Heck, just the same model available in black too, would make tons of people replace their AirPods 3-4 years after they got them.
> New Bluetooth standards, longer lasting charge, better audio drivers, health monitoring, embedded connection-free translation (babelfish-like), eSIM and calling/receiving directly from the AirPods (like you can do from the Apple Watch, but using Siri for the dialing).
Most of these hinge on the earbuds becoming more self-sufficient computing devices, rather than pure audio devices. I think we're a long way off from that becoming practical, because battery tech is improving at too slow a pace.
> Embedded connection-free translation (babelfish-like), eSIM and calling/receiving directly from the AirPods
This all fundamentally requires a powerful computer in the Airpods, which in turn fundamentally requires a longer laster battery. Apple may try to roll them out over time, but they can't begin the rollout until battery technology fundamentally improves, which it isn't doing in the near future short of some breakthrough.
The one big improvement I could see them doing more near-term is health monitoring, though I'm not sure what it would add compared to the watch, which is more likely to be always on your person. Bluetooth upgrades and audio drivers are "easy" (relatively), but hard to sell to consumers by themselves.
A pair of Airpods and their case weigh 46 g. And the curb weight of the standard Tesla 3 is 1611 kg (all numbers from wikipedia)
So you would need 35022 sets of Airpods just to make up the mass of a Tesla 3, and you would have to recycle at least that many Airpods (likely far more) to get enough material to manufacture a Tesla 3
I wouldn't be surprised if it took more than 100000 sets of airpods to get enough battery and metal for a car. With lots of extra leftover plastic.
Were people not going to use wireless headphones had Apple not given us AirPods? They all have batteries limiting their lifespans and are generally not easily repaired.
Apple has put a lot of marketing behind its particular brand of wireless headphones. This almost certainly has had an effect on adoption of wireless earbuds as a category.
It isn't a foregone conclusion that wireless earbuds would become popular. The wire isn't all that annoying, and going wireless is much more expensive and requires recharging.
Consider also the alternate "neckbud" solution, which removes the most annoying wire while also leaving more space for a longer (and possible to remove) battery. Without the AirPods, maybe those would have become the standard.
Apple removing the headphone jack from the iPhone undoubtably helped, too.
But yes, the entire category is environmentally questionable. Although, I'm not clear that they are all truly impossible to repair like the Airpods are.