This is my biggest AirPods complaint, and it’s not necessarily about the hardware

Michael Burkhardt | Oct 4 2026 - 12:09 pm PT

AirPods are one of Apple’s most interesting products. The demand for them was largely invented by the fact that the company removed the headphone jack 10 years ago, and now most of us carry this almost magical pair of earbuds that do so much more than just play audio. AirPods offer best-in-class noise cancellation, and also serve as a hearing aid. They get better and better almost every year.

Despite everything that AirPods do so well, I have one annoyance with them, and it’s particularly annoying because it could be such an easy software fix.

Right now, if your AirPods need to charge and you plug your iPhone in, you’ll get a notification to also charge your AirPods. This is because Apple figures that it’d probably be no hassle to charge your AirPods while you’re charging your iPhone, and that reminder has saved me from unknowingly having dead AirPods many times.

AirPods often end up dead in the case

If you’ve owned AirPods for a while, you might be quite familiar with this problem: something got in between the pins of your charging case and one of your AirPods, and you pull them out of the case with one of them dead. This can often ruin your walk, commute, or so on.

At least to me, it seems obvious to add a notification to tell users that one of their AirPods isn’t charging. If one of the AirPods is in the case, and the other isn’t detected in-ear, it’s likely safe to assume it’s in the case but not charging, and Apple could then alert the user to adjust the AirPod or make sure theres no obstruction in the case.

Top comment by RCHummin

Liked by 3 people

Mr. Burkhardt, that may be the best idea I've heard over the past twelve months for something simple Apple could do to improve the user experience, and at relatively little cost to Apple itself. Thank you. Let's hope they do this.

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It’d be such a simple fix to such a major annoyance, and it’d be yet another instance of Apple magic letting you know that one of your AirPods isn’t charging, before it’s too late.

Hopefully, Apple can implement such a feature in a later iOS update. Right now, the latest-generation AirPods Pro 3 are on sale for $179, in case you don’t own a pair.

My favorite Apple accessory recommendations:

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Author

Michael Burkhardt mbrkhrdt

Michael is a 9to5Mac Reporter, leading all of our Apple news coverage on weekends and reviewing the newest Apple products and accessories. He got started in the world of Apple news during the pandemic, and it became a growing hobby. He’s also an indie iOS developer, and started the weekly Indie App Spotlight series, which has covered hundreds of blooming new apps since it launched. In his free time, he enjoys shooting street photography around New York City on his Sony A7RV.

Michael Burkhardt's favorite gear

Anker 25K Compact Battery Bank

Featuring two built in cables, a built in display, multiple ports, a 25,000mAh capacity, and up to 100W of output - this is one of the best battery banks for recharging your entire Apple ecosystem on the go.

AirPods Pro 2 (USB-C)

Despite a new version reportedly being around a corner, I still personally believe AirPods Pro 2 are a great deal. They're already equipped with USB-C, and continually gain new software features. With them consistently going on sale, it's a great purchase to make. Features like Adaptive Audio are incredible.