Sorry for the stupid question but do the Airpods have on/off switch? If they don't that would be a huge flaw. I have also problems with iOS and Bluetooth. I have only iPad so I don't care that I leave Bluetooth always on. I would never do this on my phone though. I always switch off Bluetooth on both of my devices - phone and headset when I don't use them. I prefer to wait few seconds for the connection in exchange of better battery than vice versa.
If you are not seeing any on/off switch you can't be 100% sure it's not wasting battery,
as I proved in this post (about the 1st gen Pencil, which also uses bluetooth). I never measured the Airpods, however the explanation from my previous post tells me it never turns off, even if it's not paired and there are no bluetooth devices nearby, with BT turned on.
This reply from Apple (where it reads "
This is an engineering tradeoff") was in response to the following post:
https://pastebin.com/Vkh2djGH
Where I discovered the battery would be wasted if the Airpods spend too much time OUTSIDE their charger case. Regardless of you putting in your ears/using them or not.
Also remember that over time (after years, of course) the internal battery of these wireless headphones will not be the same, in other words it will need to be recharged even more often.
I hate devices that offer poor battery, and I think one of the reasons the iPADs suck is the fact they offer the same 10 hours since the 1st release in 2010.
I actually do think that you can find wireless headphones and earbuds with better quality and comfort than the Airpods. I have never tried the Airpods because just by seeing their design I know that they will fall off my ear every 2 minutes. For audio I rely on reviews. Basically most reviewers don't praise their audio quality. Problem is high audio quality Bluetooth headphones cost a lot more than high quality wired headphones. So not only they increase the price of the device itself (as the removal of jack is a result of the idea of having thinner iPad with less bezels which costs more) but also the headphones are more expensive.
You can, the same with wired versions, for example, a Sennheiser could offer better audio quality than the Earpods, but there are other aspects that will determine which one will be more suitable for you, comfort is only one of them, how much pressure it's against your ears, many models are bad in this regard and you won't like using more than a few hours.
You may also think a Sennheiser offers the best audio quality in the world, but it's heavier and bigger (not ideal to carry with you anywhere), and not suited for these Apple devices, where they would probably need an amp.
My point is that
you can find all sorts of headphones out there, and for some specific reason (besides the ones listed) you could prefer a wired model over a bluetooth one. That's why I think it's stupid to send a message (regardless of being able to continue using them with a dongle) that everyone should only get a wireless headphone and all the others are relics, outdated.