Looking back through some of my previous articles, I was shocked that it had been nearly a year to the date since I acquired my latest Bluetooth headset. In the article “New Headset Tech” I gave an open opinion on what was then one of the first generations of Apple Airpods. I was impressed at that time with their performance and was curious as to how they would hold up in the rigors of daily trucking life. Well, like everything Apple I have purchased in my life, they did not disappoint!
So, miracle number one in this yearlong use of a non-trucking specific headset is that I lasted a year without having lost any of the three small components that make up the Airpod System! Of all my concerns in the beginning, this was of my greatest fears, knowing dang well my knack for losing things like keys and wall chargers. I will say that the tiny charge case offered a great place to store one of the two earbuds when not in use, while not occupying much room in a pocket so that I wouldn’t lose it by leaving it somewhere charging. Being the most comfortable and lightweight of all my past headsets, I would even often find myself having left it in my ear even after having left the truck.
Durability was another of my concerns when first dropping the kind of coin you typically expect for attaining something with the little Apple sign on it. Believe me when I tell you that I did not baby these things one bit! On several occasions, probably more than I have fingers to count, the entire charge case took a spill from above waist-level. Shoot, they even took one spill out from my lap in the truck cab down to the black asphalt ground below and even though they took a lickin’, they kept on tickin’! Through daily use, conference calls and more customer/broker calls than I can count each day, the Apple Airpods still hold a charge as good as they did the first time I popped one in my ear and enjoyed the sound of crisp, clear calls on these lightweight pieces of gold.
Though not as pretty as they once were in my intro blog of them, they continue to perform above and beyond what I would have expected from what I considered a non-rugged product at first glance. I will continue to enjoy clear calls and music through these wonderful earbuds until they decide they don’t want to do their duty any longer. With a year on them now, they have held their own against even the best of headsets I had the privilege of destroying previously. Once these finally do give out I would imagine I’d be getting another pair of the same ones, unless a newer replacement for them has been released by then by Apple. Definitely worth the investment for what I needed in a headset that would last!