When Cheap Tech Is Good Enough

Four bottom-of-the-barrel tools I love

7 min readNov 13, 2023

On a black background there are three close-up images of Airpod-style earbuds. They appear to be x-rays — the external shell of the earbuds is dark-to-invisible against the back background, while the internal electronics glow in blue, yellow, orange and red — Via Lumafield

Are Apple Airpods worth the cash?

A set of the cheapest second-gen Airpods are $130, and the third-gen ones are $180; a “pro” set, $249. One can buy knockoff brands for much less! But it’s clear that Apple’s engineering is far, far superior to cheapo brands.

When Cheap Tech Is Good Enough

Four bottom-of-the-barrel tools I love

Written by Clive Thompson