Opinion post by

Aamir Siddiqui

Smartphones were once the hot product every manufacturer jumped on, but now everyone is making pretty great earbuds. Chances are, you have one in your pocket right now. But you may not have realized that you will have to buy a new one again very soon.

If you look at things a little cynically, manufacturers have shifted to another product with a better churn than phones, and they’ve found that in earbuds, much to your disadvantage as a consumer. Whether high-end, mid-range, or budget buds, chances are they will last you for just over a year. If you’re lucky, you’ll get good use out of them for some more months. But beyond the two-year mark, we bet they won’t last.