The anniversary of the year when I first landed on this rock that is spinning around Sol is quickly approaching and my amazing spouse asked if I would like a pair of Apple Airpods to celebrate the event.

My initial response was “YES” though after I thought about it I heistated. Not for any lack of desire but more because I know myself. I go through A LOT of headphones; they are washed, dropped, crumpled, folded over and otherwise subjected to an amazing amount of punishment. (Around this point my spouse found my audio jack to lighting adapter for an old headphone set in the wash, which sealed the choice to NOT get the AirPods).

I still wanted a set of wireless headphones so the questions remained if not the AirPods they what set? The Wirecutter, which I love has a great section on wireless headphones and recommends the Anker Sport Soundbuds IE20 as a great set for under $50. 9to5Toys Mac also did comparisons for wirless headphone alternatives to the AirPods and clearly calls the AirPods the winner, which was too helpful.

I have decided that I want earbuds as I often wear them at my MPOW to listen to podcasts while I crunch data and it is easier to only have a single earbud (so I can still hear my coworkers) than an on ear set. However, I would still worry about losing a single earbud so I would want ones that are connected. I check a coupe of other sites, CNET and PC Mag, though I was not convinced and decided to go with the Anker IE20s. I’ll let you know how they work.