One of the best features of the airpods is seemingly not advertised: in transparency mode they automatically switch to active noise cancellation if there is some excessively loud/harmful noise.
I live in a city where I walk everywhere. The audio landscape of a city can be incredibly harmful. Notably the shrieking of brakes in need of replacement and the many awful sounds of construction. Walking around with transparency mode on, even when not listening to anything, has immeasurably improved my quality of life. I can still be aware of my surroundings without having to deal with anything but the first few fractions of these hostile noises.
I live in a city where I walk everywhere. The audio landscape of a city can be incredibly harmful. Notably the shrieking of brakes in need of replacement and the many awful sounds of construction. Walking around with transparency mode on, even when not listening to anything, has immeasurably improved my quality of life. I can still be aware of my surroundings without having to deal with anything but the first few fractions of these hostile noises.