I am on my third "generation" (Airpods, AP wireless, Airpods Pro) of Airpods and have never been otherwise in the Apple ecosystem. I use Android. I think there are probably some advantages like quick pairing and being able to see battery level quickly, but so far haven't specifically needed this information. Really love the Airpods, previous had several pairs of in ear earbuds like the Google Pixel Buds, Beats, and over ear stuff like the Bose QC35. The Airpods were nearly perfect, even without an iPhone, and the Airpods Pro have made me totally replace even my Bose over the ears.

I think it's an amazing product even without the integration and software and integration.