Why I Still Prefer Apple EarPods Over AirPods in 2025: The Case for Wired Earphones

Cheaper, more reliable, and built to last — Call me old-school, but I always reach for EarPods instead of AirPods 🎧 Here’s why…

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Source: Apple | Silhouette iPod Poster Art

Remember the iPod Silhouette Ad?

This ad campaign gained significant traction due to its simplicity. With just three colors in the poster art, Apple was able to convey not only how iPod users look but also how they feel while listening to music on their iPods.

The poster art features three primary colors: the iPod in white, the character user in black, and a background color palette of green, pink, blue, and yellow. However, there is one more accessory in this art that was highlighted, and if it were not for this accessory, the whole poster art would resemble a campaign for some other product.

I am talking about the white EarPods plugged into the iPod.

Take away the EarPods, and suddenly, you would be scratching your head about what the poster is actually about — a hair stylist promoting their new salon? hip-hop dance classes? or hand accessories? (wrist bands, bangles — whatever people were wearing on their wrists back in the 2000s). The EarPods point us towards the iPod and give the entire Ad some character.

Source: Author | EarPods with my iPod Classic and iPhone 6S

I felt like one of these characters in the poster art for the longest time while wearing my EarPods plugged into my iPod Touch and iPhone 6S (my first-ever iPod and iPhone). Listening to music felt like a dedicated activity while wearing these earphones, plugged into a device. From the days of lonely high school bus rides to the busy Mumbai local train commutes to get to college, keeping it wired had always been my way. And it continues to this day.

Which is why today, against the contemporary, I want to make my case for my favorite wired earphones — the EarPods.

👉 Here's a glance at what I wish to cover in this case story...

My Short Rendezvous With AirPods 😒

The History of Apple's Earphones 👨🏽‍🏫

5 Reasons I Prefer EarPods Over AirPods in 2025 😍

What Is The Future of EarPods? (If Any)🔮

Hey Readers, Aditya here 🙋‍♂️.

This is the fifth story of the series, I call, Old Tech 💾, New Magic ✨ — where I focus on exploring how old technology can still be used in a meaningful way to create the same magic in our lives as the new ones or even take it a step further.

My Short Rendezvous With AirPods 😒

When it came to stereo, it was always either EarPods or nothing.

But even that changed briefly between 2018 and 2021. In 2018, I got to try out AirPods for the first time. And soon enough, EarPods became the high school sweetheart you forget as soon as you enter college. Except the AirPods didn’t like me much in return.

Source: Author | My first ever pair of AirPods (Gen 2)

I had two cases of AirPods dying on me within three years, which completely peeled the deal (in case that’s not a phrase yet, I would like to copyright it). The first pair of AirPods died after a year, when one of the pods had a dead battery issue. I continued using the other pod for a few months until it, too, decided to join its mate in Apple’s heavenly garden. The second pair, which I bought to replace the first pair, worked well for two years until the moisture & sweat from my heavy workouts ruined its charging connectors.

While I later understood how the second pair of AirPods dying on me was my fault for not keeping the charging connectors clean, I felt like two pairs of AirPods dying on me was a sign — a sign that I should probably resurrect my EarPods again — the only ones that don’t break a sweat even when I do.

And it’s not as if EarPods haven’t undergone any evolution. They have seen just as many updates until much recently in 2023, proving that Apple still considers them a worthy accessory to carry around with your Apple devices.

But before we talk about the current scenario, let’s understand the history they went through.

The History of Apple’s Earphones 👨🏽‍🏫

Source: Reddit | Evolution of Apple’s headphones over the years

Back in the days of the Silhouette iPod Ad campaign, Earpods were not called that. In fact, Apple didn’t have a particular name for them. They were introduced as “the iPod headphones” along with the first iPod. But even during the iPod era, in the 2000s, Apple created four variations of these in-ear headphones. The earbud shape, size, and speaker grill have changed multiple times in the 2000 decade.

If you were thinking that AirPods Pro was the first audio device from Apple to feature a silicon tip, you would be surprised to learn about the 2008 in-ear headphones. These were considered a premium option over the regular earbuds, featuring silicone ear tips with dual balanced armature drivers. The 2009 iPhone 3GS had another variant of these Apple headphones with a remote and mic, but without the balanced armature drivers. The variant with BA drivers + Remote & Mic was sold separately — the Pros of the wired headphones lineup. My 9-year-old self wasn’t aware of these dvelopments that were happening back then but my 24-year-old self just can’t stop talking about it, as you can notice.

Then in 2012, Apple officially debuted the EarPods alongside the iPhone 5. These didn’t feature silicone eartips but had a more universal fit (continuing on subsequent EarPod models and the first two generations of AirPods). These were plugged into iPhones’ 3.5mm audio jack until the iPhone 6S was released. Until Apple got (dis)courage and completely removed the headphone jack from iPhones in 2016.

Source: Author | iPhone 6S was the last iPhone with a headphone jack

That’s when the AirPods and EarPods with Lightning connector launched. The EarPods still came in the iPhone box but were no longer truly analog since they could no longer use the iPhone’s built-in DAC and amplifier with the Lightning connector. Speed-wise, interface-wise, as well as analog-wise — Lightning Sucked!

Even so, I wasn’t actually happy to see them leave the iPhone box in 2020 when Apple cited “environmental” reasons for selling them separately. I used my iPhone 6S back then, and suddenly, the EarPods plugged into the 3.5mm audio jack felt like a privilege. But I knew I would have to upgrade my iPhone someday, and looking at Apple’s pace of innovation, I was worried I would have to buy the dreaded EarPods with a Lightning connector.

No twists here. I upgraded to the iPhone 13 Pro in 2022 and forced the dreaded EarPods on myself. I tried convincing myself that I am better off with the EarPods than the AirPods. But as soon as I saw the iPhone 15 launch keynote and noticed them had upgraded to USB-C, I knew it was coming…

Source: Author | The USB-C EarPods

EarPods with USB-C Connector and the return to somewhat-true analog.

And I was right. The USB-C connector allows for higher-bandwidth data delivery, apart from power delivery, which inherently means higher bandwidth audio. And Apple managed to surprise us here, too — the USB-C EarPods also support Lossless Audio because of the industry-standard USB interface. That’s another point in case the USB-C connector is superior to Lightning any day.

While most people lined up outside the Apple Store to buy the iPhone 15 on launch day, I went in just for these EarPods. Even though I couldn’t use them with my 13 Pro back then or my 13 Mini now (Yes, I downsized and couldn’t be more glad), I love having these around for my Mac and iPad.

PS: I also reviewed them back when they came out. Be sure to check out that story to know how lossless audio works on USB-C EarPods.

[embed]Apple’s New $19 USB-C EarPods have Lossless Audio: How it works, Microphone quality and some other… Apple’s New $19 EarPods come with a USB-C Connector, making them compatible with the new iPhone 15 Models. They also…medium.com

Source: Author | Testing the USB-C EarPods on my iPad

Here we are in 2025, and I am still using the EarPods. I have upgraded them over time, going from the iPod headphones to the EarPods that came in the box with my iPhone 6S, the Lightning Connector, and finally the USB-C ones. I still use the 3.5mm, Lightning, and USB-C ones almost daily — the 3.5mm one with my iPod Classic, the Lightning one with my iPhone 13 Mini, and the USB-C for iPad and Mac. I am through and through an EarPods guy.

I even moded my EarPods with an extra silicone eartip, reminiscent of the 2008 in-ear headphones, for a better in-ear fit. Not only did it help with the fit but also managed some level of passive noise cancelling, which was impressive for a $3 add-on purchase.

Source: Author | My Moded EarPods with silicone eartips

However, this relationship I share with EarPods is not just philosophical but also deeply technical. As Uncle Vernon used to say, “There is no such thing as Magic!”. So let’s understand this “Magic” that EarPods created in my life through a technical lens and why I prefer them in the age of AirPods.

Before I tell you about the Magic of EarPods, I would just like to slide in a gentle reminder about the magic of claps 👏, highlights 🖍️, and comments 💬. Theses sort of engagements go a long way to help this story reach a wider audience. Everyone deserves to know about these lovely wired-earphones, don’t you think?

5 Reasons I Prefer EarPods Over AirPods in 2025 😍

1. Comfort That Doesn’t Fall Out 👂

The EarPods fit my lifestyle better — literally and figuratively.

Source: Author | EarPods are fall-proof

The current AirPods and AirPods Pro have a much better in-ear fit. But I can’t shake off the memories of my AirPods falling out of my ears and hitting the hard floor, or even worse, tracks/roads. In contrast, my EarPods, even upon slipping out, won’t hit the ground or leave my person. They are so… connected 👉👈.

2. No Battery Anxiety, Ever

I have one less thing to charge and complain about battery issues.

And I will take that deal any day. Don’t get me wrong — I have a lot of other devices that need a charge almost every day- my iPhone 13 Mini, iPad Mini & iPad Air, and others that need it once every few days — like my Apple Watch Ultra and MacBook Pro. But charging a stereo device like AirPods seems like an unnecessary pain to adopt. I like my plug-and-play EarPods, which work without any interruptions of that kind. Sometimes less is more.

3. Better for the Wallet and the Planet

I would rather replace a $19 wire than a $200 case.

Source: Apple | Cost of EarPods

I don’t remember when I had to replace my EarPods because they stopped working. That never happened. It was always because Apple notoriously removed or changed connectors. Even then, it only cost me $19 and nothing more.

As someone with two pairs of $200 AirPods dying on him, I would much rather go with EarPods anytime. For my Wallet and the Planet (I am sure, Apple would love that reason too if they were not so profit-driven).

4. Call Quality That Still Holds Up

Be it 2016 or 2025, wired mics win for clarity.

I am sure there is no doubt about this. A side-to-side comparison between an AirPods and EarPods Mic comparison will reveal how superior wired audio is to wireless transmission. AirPods, especially the Pros, have really awesome Micsnow, but here’s the reminder — it’s still artificially computed audio. It still feels like you were recording yourself in the washroom. Apple keeps tweaking them with every generation to make them perfect without telling you that perfectalready exists…

As the $19 EarPods.

5. When Simplicity Beats Smart

AirPods have features. EarPods have reliability.

Source: Apple | Side-to-side comparison of the features of EarPods (left) vs AirPods Pro 3 (right)

I guess that’s how I would sum it up. AirPods have ANC, Transparency Mode, Swipe gestures, Conversation Boost, Live Translation, and whatnot. But my EarPods just work. They have been without any battery, connection, or microphone issues, and without weighing much on my wallet.

It’s not as smart as the AirPods, but it’s definitely more loyal. I will still be reviewing my USB-C EarPods in 2035. Can an AirPods Pro 2/3 user say the same?

But above and beyond all those technical-seeming reasons, it’s also about the memories. From iPod to iPhone, Apple perfected wired audio first. EarPods are the last reminder that great sound doesn’t need to be wireless. It’s something they have been getting right for over two decades. AirPods are still a work in progress in the field of computational audio.

And then in some corner of my mind, that silhouette iPod poster remains stuck, the iPod headphones reminding us all when and how it all started.

Source: Author | An ‘AirPods Silhouette Ad’ billboard I clicked in my city

Psych. Did you know Apple notoriously reused the silhouette theme to market AirPods with the Spatial Audio feature?

But something about that new silhouette poster felt off to me. Turns out, it’s really easy to miss out the AirPods (or even believe that they are AirPods and not some cheap knock-offs) because of how tiny they look in the poster compared to the iPod silhouette poster that had an iPod and the connected headphones pointing towards the iPod.

However, in comparison to the AirPods, the EarPods haven’t received any attention from Apple’s marketing team (or any team) since AirPods launched. Almost making me wonder: Does this accessory even have a future anymore?

What Is The Future of EarPods? (If Any) 🔮

First, they removed the headphone jack starting from the iPhone 7, and then they removed the EarPods from the boxes, starting with the iPhone 12. These facts probably point towards the slow and gradual phasing out of wired earphones for good.

But I beg to differ.

Knowing Apple to be the profit-driven business that it is, one thing’s clear — it loves selling everything at a price. That would be the only reason, I believe, they took away EarPods and Chargers from the iPhone boxes. However, just like Apple continues to sell chargers (and quite great ones, I would have to say while we are at it — the 35W GaN chargers, 60W iPhone Chargers, and whatnot), they also plan to keep selling EarPods with quality-of-life updates to them. We already saw this with USB-C EarPods getting lossless audio support before the AirPods. USB-C AirPods Max just got lossless support early this year, while there’s still no news about AirPods Pro getting them in the near future (one of the biggest limitations of bluetooth as a protocol).

So what’s stopping Apple to innovate the hell out of the EarPod?

Source: Author | AirPods Pro 3 Visual Summary

Looking at the new AirPods Pro 3 that launched this fall, I wonder if EarPods could benefit from new fitness tracking features, like HR tracking. Knowing how much battery they drain, having those sensors on wired earphones would make much more sense now that all iPhones have bigger batteries and efficient chips to manage them.

Maybe another silicone ear tip variant of the EarPods with ANC at a slightly higher price than $19 would finally create hype around this dead accessory, paying its due it deserved for its last two decades of selfless service to all iPod and iPhone users.

That’s wishful thinking on my side, but I would make a case for wired over wireless any day.

EarPods are my reminder that Apple once knew the joy of audio without compromise. They remind me how Apple built its reputation on listening, not features — and that’s how I like to hear it.

This is the fifth story in a the series of mine, which I call — Old Tech 💾, New Magic ✨

This series focuses on exploring how old technology can still be used in a meaningful way to create the same magic in our lives as the new ones or even take a step further. If you liked this story and would like to read the next one in this series, then do consider following me here on Medium 🙋‍♂️ and subscribing to my Email Newsletter 📬

-Aditya Darekar