Apple’s AirPods are a $159 set of wireless Bluetooth earbuds designed for use with Apple products (although they can also be used with any device that supports Bluetooth audio).
While Bluetooth headphones are nothing new, the AirPods are one of a handful of “truly wireless” earbud products that don’t have any wires at all. There’s not even one connecting one earbud to the other. Each is an independent item that you can place in your ear.
Worried that’ll make it easy to lose an AirPod if it falls out of your ear and into a toilet or sewer grate? Spigen has a solution: the company’s new AirPods Strap is a small strap that attaches to the end of your AirPods, holding them together. The AirPods Strap has a list price of $20, but it’s up for pre-order for $10.
Here’s the idea: If one falls out of your ear, it shouldn’t fall too far, thanks to the cable holding it to the other earbud.
Makes sense, right? But it also kind of defeats the purpose of spending $159 on a fancy pair of truly wireless earbuds. Because while AirPods are cheaper than Bragi’s Dash or Samsung’s Gear Icon X earbuds, they’re actually pretty expensive compared to a whole bunch of other wireless earbuds. I’m a big fan of Mpow’s Cheetah headphones (about $22 – $24), but other people really seem to like Aukey’s Sport Bluetooth headphones ($22). And that’s just scratching the surface.
In other words, if you’re tempted to spend $10 on Spigen’s new strap for Apple’s new $159 AirPods, maybe you should think first about buying a cheap pair of Bluetooth earphones. Sure, they won’t support Siri and they’ll take a few seconds longer to pair with your iPhone. But you could use the money you’d save to buy earbuds for everyone else in your family.
via Geek
