One of the biggest challenges manufacturers face with wireless earbuds is battery longevity, and Apple is no exception. Lithium-ion batteries like the ones in AirPods typically get roughly 300 to 500 charge cycles before significant battery degradation kicks in — that's about two to three years. If your AirPods haven't hit that lifecycle stage yet, you need to check Apple's battery-life rating for your specific model. For instance, Apple rates AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation (ANC) at four hours of listening time with ANC on and five hours with it off.

If you have a habit of leaving the earbuds out of their case, that explains a lot. Each bud continues consuming power so long as it's connected to a device or searching for one. Get into the habit of putting them back in the case when you're done. Over time, the case's battery will wear out as well, losing a bit more capacity with every charge cycle, though your AirPods may still charge to 100 percent. The more features you have enabled, the more strain on the battery. Spatial Audio is a great listening experience, but it isn't energy-free.

Before you dive headlong into Settings and start tapping toggles on and off, make sure the buds are charging. All it takes is a little bit of dust or earwax to block the tiny contact points inside the case. Then, even when your AirPods slide into place, the circuit won't close, and the earbuds won't charge. But junk doesn't build up in your case equally, at least not most of the time.

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