True wireless earbuds don't necessarily have to end up as electronic waste when their batteries reach the end of their lifespan. Fairphone demonstrates this with the Fairbuds 2, whose batteries can be easily replaced. The earbuds also offer active noise cancellation and support for Sony LDAC.
I don’t care, I still won’t use overpriced earbuds with subpar converters and speakers, just because techbros really liked an anime cyberpunk girl art who happened to have them, and then reposted it to 9gag million times with the text “Apple needs to make this now!”.
You will wear ze buds
Gotta defend wireless earbuds a bit. They do add a lot of convenience for everyday activities. I’d never want to go back to wired for running, the cable flapping around is just too annoying. I also like them more for commuting and (grocery) shopping, I just kept getting tangled up when putting a bag or backpack on and off.
But nobody is forced to use them. If you’re on a budget, get an adaptor that isn’t clunky. For audiophile needs, adaptors, different cables, mobile DACs or dedicated music players are usually used, the latter usually with headphone jacks.