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It’s Time To Normalize Wearing AirPods All the Time
The accessibility benefits alone are massive
I didn’t like Apple’s new futuristic techno-drama Swan Song very much — it was a little too emotionally heavy-handed for my tastes. One thing I loved about the film, though, was its depiction of technologies that might arrive in the very near future. In particular, the film's characters wore miniature wireless earphones nearly all the time. These served as a gateway to everything from video calls to an ever-evolving, personalized soundtrack that provided customized mood-music to enhance their daily activities.
After 13 years using Android, I recently bought my first iPhone. With the zealousness of a new convert, I’ve since kitted it out with all kinds of accessories. One of my favorites are Apple’s AirPods — tiny wireless headphones and microphones you can wear in your ear, and which connect to your phone via Bluetooth. These are miles better than the other in-ear headphones I’ve tested. They’re comfortable and unobtrusive enough that it’s sometimes easy to forget you’re even using them.
Recently, I did just that. I popped in my AirPods, and forgot that I had done so. I went about my day, only realizing later that they’d been in my ears the whole time. I immediately felt like a character from Swan Song. “Why,” I wondered, “don’t we…
