You’re sitting at your desk, doing some homework while jamming out to your favorite tunes with the aid of your simple, classic earbuds. In the middle of a pre-calculus problem, you accidentally throw your notebook across the room in frustration. As it comes time to pick up that object of disgust, you walk away from your desk, only for your phone to follow, inches from the floor, saved by a single thread knows as the wires of your earbuds. Your phone is saved from a harsh impact against the floor, and after your heart resumes beating normally after that adrenaline rush, you declare the event a victory.

However, imagine a world where there is no thread of life for your about-to-be cracked phone screen. This world has become a reality, due to the introduction of AirPods.

AirPods are Apple’s innovative take on typical earbuds, released at the end of 2016 following the removal of the headphone jack on the iPhone 7(we still refuse to switch to Android though). They are wireless headphones which allow users to listen to their phone from a distance. Despite the product being released over a year ago, it only recently soared in popularity.

On Christmas Day, the hashtag “#airpodsforchristmas” was trending on Twitter. This trend did not skip over Pascack Hills, as the return from winter break allowed countless students to show off their favorite holiday present. Not only did these AirPods appear and spread like the bubonic plague, but they also took over the internet by storm, having numerous jokes spread around various social media sites; AirPods separated people into two groups, described as the “haves” and the “have-nots.”

“I never really wanted AirPods, but then I got them as a gift and still didn’t really see the whole fuss about it,” said Pascack Hills junior Annika Patel. “After using them for a while, I found them to be very useful and easy to use, and can see why people really liked them. Overall, they’re very trendy and convenient but they’re just as good as regular headphones, people just think they’re ‘cooler’ than regular ones.”

With a price tag of around $150, it’s no doubt that this popular product sparks some controversy. AirPods are admittedly awesome, but when cost is a factor, something awesome can become less awesome in a matter of seconds. Furthermore, seeing classmates use and display AirPods all the time is quite tiresome, and most definitely can drive a teacher insane. Also, they are pretty tiny, and losing them means throwing a sizable amount of money out the window.  Therefore, there are plenty of mixed opinions on the new and improved earbud.

“I love my AirPods,” said junior Sofia Papadopoulos. “I legit refuse to listen to music or watch YouTube without them. Also, I always thought the wire looked dumb, so AirPods make me feel better than regular headphones.”

Pascack Hills junior Tiffany Georges also agrees that AirPods are “amazing” and that “it makes it easier to listen to music and watch Netflix with them.”

While AirPods may be admittedly great, they are still not better than sliced bread. Yet, there are AirPods users out there who wake up every morning blessed to be in the presence of the earbud. Unfortunately, no trend lasts forever, and soon they may fade into the oblivion of past American obsessions.