With completely wireless earbuds, the rule is: when the battery fails, they have to be disposed of. Not so with the Fairbuds, that allow you to replace batteries in just a few seconds. Combined with a repairable design, the earbuds should therefore have an extremely long lifetime.
When you plug in in to charge, the device is at rest. When you plug in headphones, there’s a high chance it is in a pocket or otherwise in a state where the device is moving which will be a lot more wear than just idling charging.
Wow - would never have considered that! Great insight.