So, this past weekend I’m outside mowing my lawn, fumbling with my headphones, trying to press them further against my ear to stop the sound from cutting out. There’s an awesome song blaring, and I’m feeling great, albeit drenched in sweat.
My efforts are for naught as the unit in my right ear completely falls out. I’m not able to take my hands off the lawnmower in time to catch it, so it plummets, and the cord wraps multiple times around the handle of the mower. I stop, yet the mower continues a few feet yanking the cord and wrenching the remaining earbud from my ear. At this point, I’m a bit agitated, and my left ear is in a bunch of pain.
I spend about five minutes trying to untangle the headphones cord from the mower, plug it back into the phone in my pocket, and run the cord down inside my shirt to prevent further snags. Only it’s at this point; I realize there’s no longer any audio coming from the headphones despite the fact they are plugged in. My little mishap broke them, most likely because of a rip in the cord somewhere.
I toss them out and spend the rest of my morning mowing the lawn, listening to the rumbling sound of the mower slicing through the grass. It wasn’t bad, but it definitely would have been more enjoyable with my music.
This entire story led to me finally making a trip to a nearby electronics store, where I picked up my first pair of true wireless’ earbuds. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, and here’s why.
What True Wireless Earbuds Can Do
As you might say, the big’ or numero uno’ is that they have no wires, anywhere. You don’t have to worry about plugging them in, and you have free reign so long as you remain within the local vicinity of whatever device they are connected to. Most, if not all, wireless earbuds connect through Bluetooth, which has a decent range.
Even for the most affordable earbuds, battery life is exceptional, and many come with a dual-use carrying case that also serves as a portable power pack. If you’re on a plane or something and you need to juice up, you can plug the headphones into the case. The most iconic pair is, of course, Apple’s AirPods, which you likely know about already, unless you’ve been living under a rock.
But many other brands offer ‘true wireless’ earbuds, too, including Motorola, Sony, Jabra, and more. There are plenty of options to choose from, and some even include additional features. Samsung’s icons have a built-in fitness coach. The Headphone by Bragi has a unique “audio transparency” feature that still allows you to hear what’s happening around you without dampening your audio experience — this is great if you’re crossing a busy street and need to hear vehicles or events.
All in all, if you’ve had an experience like me — or you don’t want to have one — spring for something truly wireless and eliminate the need for cords.
