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It’s pretty uncommon to actually see wired earbuds in the wild these days, but many still bemoan the lack of a headphone jack. It’s a scam motivated by greed! It’s capitalism run amok! And while I do understand the points made, I’m personally not going back to cords. I refuse.
Untangling Wires Sucks
Up until a few years ago, I was still listening primarily using weird earbuds. As easily as I spend money on tech, earbuds are long an exception. I didn’t want to drop money on buds, and my wired ones were both cheaper and good enough.
But even when they were all I knew, it was a nightmare to untangle the cords. They balled up into knots in my pocket or while I was sleeping, and they regularly got caught on my arm if I was working in the yard or doing anything else active.
I switched to wireless buds a couple of years ago, but I still dealt with wired earbuds in the past year. That’s because we started our son off with wired headphones and a good old-fashioned MP3 player. If my knots were a nightmare, his were a horror show. I don’t miss it.
Wireless Takes Up Less Space
I rarely ever used headphones in the past. They take up enough space as it is. Add a wire to the mix, and they can easily occupy much of a table or drawer.
Wireless earbuds fit nearly into a convenient travel case. This case easily slides into the same pocket as my car keys without becoming a jumbled affair. They fit even more nicely next to my phone.
Yet it’s not primarily their portability that speaks to me about their size. It’s how neatly wireless buds rest in a drawer or on a side table. I don’t have to learn how to tie them just right or come up with some system to keep them organized. I can just pop them wherever.
Pairing Is Faster Than a Headphone Jack
Pulling wired buds out of a pocket, untangling the cord, and plugging it into a headphone jack isn’t the worst thing in the world. I’m not going to pretend that it is. I did it for decades and it was fine.
But pulling my wireless buds out and having them connect to my phone in just a second or two is just so much better. It’s the kind of thing that, after experiencing it just once, I immediately look back and wonder about how I was living before.
I Can Connect to Multiple Devices at Once
My appreciation for doing away with wires isn’t just about convenience and aesthetics. Bluetooth technologies opens up possibilities that just weren’t doable before. My buds can now be connected to multiple devices at once.
There is something next level about listening to music on my phone and then pausing it to play audio from a laptop or tablet instead. Sometimes the transition happens automatically if you’re within an ecosystem like Apple’s or, in my case, Samsung’s. Other buds and headsets make this happen using multipoint Bluetooth. Even when either feature is absent, switching just requires a few on-screen button taps.
Now I hear you. If you don’t mind dealing with wires, swapping the cord from a phone to a laptop was not a particularly difficult thing back when all our devices had headphones jacks—but wireless connections enable us to work differently and with less disruption, both to our own workflow and to those around us, when we aren’t continously fiddling with cables or having our phone buzzing away.
I Can Listen to Devices That Are Father Away
I’m sure there was a way to connect headphones to a TV in the past, but I never did it, nor did I see anyone do it. Neither sitting that close to a big screen not dragging an extra long cable across the floor sound particularly appealing.
Now I watch TV with earbuds in quite often. I can pair buds to my TV as easily as any other device and enjoy the big screen without the sound disturbing others. Quite frankly, this one feature alone is enough to sell me on wireless buds.
It’s also ready to drop my phone on a charger and listen to a podcast or music while I do dishes. The phone no longer has to remain in my pocket.
My Wired Earbuds Never Lasted That Long Either
Bluetooth buds and headphones have one big sin, and that’s the fact that their batteries are designed to fail—and it won’t take them all that long. Earbuds in particular have miniature batteries, and they live in cases that keep them charged to 100%. This is battery abuse.
Yet it’s not like I used the same pairs of wired earbuds for a decade either. The wires sometimes split. Connectors grew loose and unresponsive. Sometimes one earbud would stop working. Maybe premium wired earbuds would have served me better. I don’t know. My wired buds just felt like they, too, were designed to be disposable.
There are things about wireless buds that need to be addressed, for sure. I’d like to see widespread recycling of their batteries and other components, primarily. As far as costs, well, they offer enough value that I’m now willing to replace them every couple of years if need be. For the amount of use I get it if them, that seems a fair exchange. I wouldn’t go back to wired earbuds and headphones any sooner than I’d go back to a wired mouse, and I know I’m not alone.
