> Lastly, the contrast in overall build quality is dramatic between the genuine AirPods and their counterfeit counterparts.

That's undoubtedly true, but my anecdotal experience was that a pair of $250(?) AirPods Pro broke after a couple of months, and the $40 Chinese knockoff pair is still going after almost a year. I'm sure that, on average, the Apple ones last longer, but it's so hard for me to shell out another $250 on something that broke so quickly just because it's from a company with a headquarters that looks like a Lifesaver. And at about 1/5th the price, it's a pretty easy decision to replace the ersatz airpods if (when) they should break. Unless Apple comes out with something new and exciting, I'll stick with the fakes.