I'm not so sure. I mainly used the airpods as a mic for Zoom calls so the content is voice either way. The quality degradation is drastic enough that I don't even try to use the Airpods on my computer for voice calls anymore. However, they're still my go-to for use with my phone and it doesn't seem nearly as bad there. Yes, they have different modes for mic on vs mic off but on my phone they are usable.