If you're connecting to one device most bluetooth headphones will work just fine, the biggest pain point is when you have multiple devices to switch between. I've got some nice noise cancelling headphones I like to switch between my TV and ipad, where you've got to dig into the settings of both, disconnect it from one before connecting it to the other (which takes an unlock and 4 clicks on the ipad and about 10 clicks on the TV).

The biggest pro of the airpods for me though is the non-pro version, for whatever reason I just cannot stand in-ear headphones. The gripes in the article are all valid though, personally I'd really like to be able to pair bluetooth headphones to as many devices as I like then have a button in the system tray (or anywhere where it'd be a couple of swipes/clicks maximum) that is the equivalent of "I want sound from this device now"

Some of the complaints OP lists are related to using the Airpods with multiple devices. While the complaints are correct, the Airpods are miles better than any bluetooth earphones I've ever used when it comes to switching sources. The dance to get my old earphones to move from my phone to my tablet was annoying and brittle by comparison.

Additional anecdote, I have Sony XM3s and they are constantly having issues on both Android and Linux while being expensive and having excellent noise cancelation. They just worked for like the first 2-3 months but after a year, they've seemed to have gotten worse in basically all aspects (although interestingly switching from Sony's app to GadgetBridge for pairing and config, I seem to get better battery life). The connectivity has gotten so bad and I've caused so many interruptions in telemeetings that I bought a new pair of wired IEMs because I know analog actually just works (though my laptop lacks a headphone jack because of OEMs follow Apple's trends regardless of if the idea was good or bad).

No noise cancellation is better than bad noise cancellation. The ANC on every set of earbuds and headphones under $200 I've tried is just a blast of white noise that makes it feel like someone is ramming cotton balls into my ears with a jackhammer.