I'm with you on Skullcandy headphones. It's not just that they're cheap, there's better ones for the same or less. Anker soundcore are my go to - pretty good and very affordable. Mpow honestly weren't bad, I'd get them before Skullcandy. My low-mid range Sony's have been great and shockingly durable.
But my skullcandies all sounded like listening through a pair of socks, and the controls were awful when they did work, which wasn't very long.
I've had 3 pairs of them so far. First one held up really well (I think it was their cheapest model), until the connection got a bit shitty. Second pair, the Casette, lasted for about 2-3 years, until it broke around the side. (y'know, the weakpoint of any pair of headphones?). I'm on a Hesh Evo rn and have no complaints currently. That is subject to change, however, as I've only had them for less than a year.
What headphones would you recommend? From what I've seen, they all have a weakpoint, making them susceptible to breakage pretty easily.
Agreed. I have a pair of Sennheisers and I love that the cables disconnect from the headphones themselves-- that way if the cable ever gets pinched, I don't have to replace the whole unit. The ear cups and head band are also replaceable and have a large 3rd party market.
I have an Amazfit Bip 5 with Gadgetbridge and for the most part it works just fine. It even accurately recognizes my bicycle workouts, something my Apple Watch Series 5 could never manage to do. For $80, I am very satisfied.
On the flip side, the Sleep and Do Not Disturb modes let through calendar notifications and sounds no matter what, which is mildly infuriating.
I also deleted the Zepp app after the initial pairing, so maybe that's part of why my experience is different?