For years I was a MASSIVE fan of Apple’s earbuds that came with iPods. I bought these back at RadioShack and then off eBay and Amazon for years to fill that void when Apple stopped making them as 3.5mm jack versions.
I’ve owned tons of average quality Bluetooth headphones, earbuds, and earphones (there’s a difference and it frustrates me they’re used interchangeably), and most seem to last me about as long as your average pair of cheap wired ones. This changed when 3 years ago I bought the first gen Raycons, which have been pretty good. However, they have some major flaws, like the case being a bottom piece with a lid, meaning that when you inevitably drop it, they WILL break apart and the earphones will fly out everywhere. Over time I’ve dropped them several times, and the earphones eventually broke open themselves. I can hold them together, but they’re not long for this world.
I’ve been checking out more Bluetooth options and I can already hear you saying “Why don’t you buy AirPods?” I would, but I use an Android phone, and they aren’t as magical on non-apple devices. I’d been looking over dozens of lists and started looking into who, if anyone, makes knock-off AirPods that aren’t garbage from a fly-by-night on Amazon.
This brought me to a pair of reviews by Unbox Therapy and Richard Tech on YouTube, and I found the Air 1 Plus by Happy Plugs. They come in two styles, an earbud and an earpod (earbuds sit in your ear like old school iPods and AirPods, and earphones go into your ear canal), for a solid $100. I’ve bought them directly from the website, and they come in WAY more colors than Apple offers. The sound quality is amazing, and though they can be a bit on the quiet side in day-to-day traffic, I’ve been incredibly happy, to the point I often forget I’ve got them in if I’m not listening to things.