The Problem With (Truly) Wireless Earbuds
It’s not just the antiquated wires and tethering tiny speakers from my ears to a music player, which made me long for completely wireless earbuds for years. Really, it’s mostly the physical pain that comes whenever the wires inevitably get caught on something and are violently ripped out of my ears.
As we entered 2016 and real, completely wireless, solutions like Earin and The Dash were being delivered to people, I thought all the problems that plagued earbuds were behind us. I thought the world would be able to move on to more difficult problems, but I was wrong. Even though these untethered, all wireless, earbuds are an amazing new frontier, they still bring new challenges with them. Here are some of those problems:
- (Actually) Putting them in your ears
- Carrying them around
- Comfort
- Battery life
Trying to hold a case or capsule in one hand (see image above) while also trying to fit two, small and slippery pieces of plastic in each ear is a lot more difficult that it might seem at first. It’s also not really something that crosses your mind as a potential issue until you’re faced with it. It’s tough.
(You also wouldn’t need a battery case if they lasted more than 2–3 hours on a single charge.)
Getting each, separate, earbud in your ear presents some minor skill adjustments. After doing it for months, I’m also not sure it’s ever something that can be truly mastered because sometimes they just slip out of your hands.
That brings me to the next issue, what do you do if you need to take them out for a minute? Do you pop them back into their case? That can take time. Do you quickly stuff them in your pocket while you grab your wallet at the front of a busy store line? That can be risky and full of lint. The Dash has a cool transparency mode which means you won’t need to take those earbuds out as much as other ones, like Earin, but there’s still times they need to come out briefly and then your stuck juggling two tiny, and really expensive, pieces of technology in your hand or risk losing in a lint-filled pocket.
While The Dash earbuds are a lot more comfortable to my ears than Earin was, neither one are perfect. It’s hard to get something to stick in an ear and be almost invisible. The earbuds still need a way to stay secure and something to grip onto. I’m now realizing you probably can’t really have it every way — being comfortable, tiny, and sound good. My optimism apparently got the better of me.
#TheYearOfWireless
These are all issues and problems, sure, but I don’t hate the new wireless earbuds, I love them. I just assumed it would be all roses once the wires were gone and it’s definitely not.
It also means I’m reassessing some other wireless earbuds I had previously written off because they weren’t “truly” wireless. One new example of a company coming up with a clever solution is Normal with its Suit (leather) and Sweat (rubber) Bluetooth earbuds.
There’s a strap like other Bluetooth earbuds on the market, but Normal is playing to its strengths and in my opinion, making it look nice. The strap also has a USB adapter built in for charging so you don’t have to remember to pack an additional cable.
Plus, it seems like the company has put some thought into real-world pain-points that earbuds (wired or wireless) still have. I’d still encourage people to look at getting The Dash if they’re on the cutting edge, but just be cautious of the wireless future.
