Something is changing in portable audio. In the past year, several well-known audio brands have made a design commitment that sounds almost quaint in the age of sealed, glued-together gadgets. They put a battery in their speakers and headphones that you can actually take out and swap yourself.
That’s environmentally responsible, consumer-friendly and adds much longer life to premium products.
So Apple, take note: Marshall, Sennheiser, Philips, JBL and Noble Audio all embraced user-replaceable batteries in recent products. AirPods Max and Beats speakers and headphones still don’t. But they should, for the good reasons above — and to not lose out to competitors following this positive trend.