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Podswap: Keep airpods alive and out of the landfill

thepodswap.com

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Re: Podswap: Keep airpods alive and out of the landfill

#11

Post by polishdude20 »

denimnerd42 wrote: post #6
Etheryte wrote: post #2

As someone who gets a ridiculous amount of use out of their pods, I really hope this business pans out. I think the product is great, but batteries are consumable products. In fact, I would hope that one day it would be mandatory to offer battery replacements for all products you sell. (Do correct me if I'm wrong, I don't think Apple currently does this for pods?)

what's frustrating is that while batteries are consumable products they could last much longer if they stay between 80 and 20% capacity without overheating. (this is similar to what tesla does) I wish there was a "battery care" settings on all electronics that would respect limits like this so that I could get thousands of cycles out of my devices instead of only Apple has added a feature which tries to do this intel…

That might be what's already happening behind the scenes though. They tell you you're at 10% but that's actually 30% for example

Re: Podswap: Keep airpods alive and out of the landfill

#13

Post by azuriten »

This is a great idea and I wish we had this in the UK. I was quoted £65 to replace my failing, right AirPod and £130 to replace both of them when RRP for new ones are £160.

I'd much rather replace the batteries of my existing ones then buy a new pair but with such a small price difference to get a pair it doesn't seem worth it.

Re: Podswap: Keep airpods alive and out of the landfill

#14

Post by samatman »

bruceb wrote: post #3

I am pro refurbishing/reusing and having less waste but its hard to care about tiny airpods being tossed. Maybe they test the message and it resonated better than "Airpods should last longer than your last relationship" or "1 trick that Apple hates" etc.

It's just the Discourse in action.

For whatever reason, AirPods, of all things, have become a go-to example of environmental waste and throwaway culture.

It's bizarre to me. I'm fairly confident that for minutes of pleasure / embodied energy, AirPods score higher than almost anything else I own, certainly among things with a battery and chip. They also last multiples of the time I would get out of wired earphones, which always die in a few months from work-hardening the copper wires until they break.

My model is this: some people just hate Apple. It's an identity thing, phones are very personal and bring out tribal instincts (blue vs. green speech bubbles!), and AirPods are a visible signifier of "team Apple". So some people just, don't like 'em ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. The reasons are downstream of that.

I also think that, since the only consumables are the battery and speaker membranes, it's great that someone wants to replace the batteries when they go bad. Membranes as well! Making consumer goods last longer is virtuous.

Re: Podswap: Keep airpods alive and out of the landfill

#15

Post by samatman »

hughrr wrote: post #12
seriousquestion wrote: post #10

I've heard, anecdotally, of people losing their airpods often. I haven't yet, but curious how common that problem is?

Everyone I know has them. I haven't heard of any being lost.

I lost my first pair just recently, in four years of having them, after a redeye flight.

Knock on wood it'll be the only time!

Re: Podswap: Keep airpods alive and out of the landfill

#16

Post by agency »

seriousquestion wrote: post #10

I've heard, anecdotally, of people losing their airpods often. I haven't yet, but curious how common that problem is?

I've gotten close. One thing I have noticed is when I drop the case on the floor it's not at all uncommon for it to open and for one or both of the buds to fly out. One time this happened to me while I was in the security line at the airport and I had to awkwardly back out of the line and look around but luckily I found the errant pod.

Re: Podswap: Keep airpods alive and out of the landfill

#17

Post by stefan_ »

polishdude20 wrote: post #11
denimnerd42 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what's frustrating is that while batteries are consumable products they could last much longer if they stay between 80 and 20% capacity without overheating. (this is similar to what tesla does) I wish there was a "battery care" settings on all electronics that would respect limits like this so that I could get thousands of cycles out of my devices instead of only Apple has added a feature which tries to do this intel…

That might be what's already happening behind the scenes though. They tell you you're at 10% but that's actually 30% for example

For cars, maybe, but my org has had a long line of HP laptops with swollen battery packs within a year of use. No doubt there are companies out there that would rather have the extra hour of runtime on some journalists review fact sheet than a battery that doesn't put their customers at risk.

Re: Podswap: Keep airpods alive and out of the landfill

#18

Post by denimnerd42 »

polishdude20 wrote: post #11
denimnerd42 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what's frustrating is that while batteries are consumable products they could last much longer if they stay between 80 and 20% capacity without overheating. (this is similar to what tesla does) I wish there was a "battery care" settings on all electronics that would respect limits like this so that I could get thousands of cycles out of my devices instead of only Apple has added a feature which tries to do this intel…

That might be what's already happening behind the scenes though. They tell you you're at 10% but that's actually 30% for example

10% vs 30% corresponds to whatever arbitrary voltage they select but I doubt they are selecting for battery durability over all else since marketing max run time is so important.

Re: Podswap: Keep airpods alive and out of the landfill

#19

Post by SV_BubbleTime »

polishdude20 wrote: post #11
denimnerd42 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what's frustrating is that while batteries are consumable products they could last much longer if they stay between 80 and 20% capacity without overheating. (this is similar to what tesla does) I wish there was a "battery care" settings on all electronics that would respect limits like this so that I could get thousands of cycles out of my devices instead of only Apple has added a feature which tries to do this intel…

That might be what's already happening behind the scenes though. They tell you you're at 10% but that's actually 30% for example

Good point, and it is/does for many products. EVs beyond Tesla all do this for instance.

I do wish there was a little more of treating your users like adults though. If I have enough battery to make an urgent call, but it puts me under the 20% recommended, I want to make that call at the cost of long term battery life.

My products treat users like adults, I wish it was a more common consideration.

Re: Podswap: Keep airpods alive and out of the landfill

#20

Post by specialist »

Just guessing:

Podswap has stock of both new "blank" bud cases and batteries.

Crack open buds using some kind of jig. Scoop out the electronics. Solder to new battery. Cram it all back together.

That's how I'd do it.

Bonus points for choice of colors. I'd love clear or forest green or deep purple.

Watching a few air pod tear down videos, I find it weird the battery itself isn't part of the case. Like just use white instead of black. Have the barrel twist lock into place. Makes the battery replaceable. And that extra millimeter of diameter would probably be 50% more mAh.

I know replaceable batteries is un-Apple. But that's what I'd do.

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