It's fairly secure that it works, because it's basically setting up a VPN connection that effectively blocks every network traffic outside of the tunnel.
But if you wanna be 100% sure you need to invest either the time or root your phone.
I also like the Airpods Pro :) I even rebought them, when I lost them. Only apple item I ever owned. But the fit is awesome and they never hurt. I could wear them all day. And battery lifetime is probably as long as the one of a smartphone battery.
They do provide sth unique, because open source/privacy friendly alternatives are not supporting the same features to a full extent in one solution with a simple UX. And even Bing, as you mentioned and other competitors, fall short. I'm using Startpage (based on Google) and OSM most of the times and I'm happy with it, but sometimes I gotta check restaurant ratings or satellite view etc. Also route planning is way more convenient on gmaps even if I don't use it. There's probably more as well, which I'm not aware of.
Yes exactly, YouTube is the only google service I use almost everyday (besides Startpage).. but I wouldn't know what to do without it.
That's a stupid point to make tbh, because the most important information, knowledge and entertainment is on their platforms in a quality and quantity that is unprecedented. Meaning you can try to avoid it, but from time to time you have to use google/gmaps/yt/...
And that's coming from me.. someone who degoogled their smartphone.
Their motivation might be to get the kids hooked on the stuff early on. Sugar works like a drug in some ways by releasing dopamine in the brain and if you train your brain early on it will affect it longterm. Plus it will influence their future taste preferences. Everything else, besides Nestle's oversugared snacks will taste bland in comparison. Leading to kids crying at supermarket checkouts to get their favourite snacks :D
The girls seem to like it, so I can't complain. But you defo gotta take care of it, bc it looks creepy real quick