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AirPods don't “just work”

philip.design

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Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#771

Post by Hokusai »

marcan_42 wrote: post #758
Hokusai wrote: post #749

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> there's untold little quirks you have to deal with when using a general-purpose operating system "Though initial iterations of the software for the original Xbox and Xbox 360 were based on heavily modified versions of Windows, the newer consoles feature operating systems that are highly compatible with Microsoft's desktop operating systems, allowing for shared applications and ease-of-development between personal c…

It's not about the OS technology in use, it's about all the practicalities of how it is deployed on consoles vs. on desktops. Things like immutable OS volumes, fixed configuration tested on the hardware, the extent to which they build higher level automation to do what the user expects, etc. "The Xbox One runs Windows" ignores all these details which make it a much more seamless experience than on a PC. The PS4 runs…

> When was the last time a driver update broke game on a console? Ever had to install support software to make a game work well with a particular controller? Issues with overlays and system feature integration? Unexpected performance loss due to weird configuration? Mysterious DRM malfunction issues? Windows Update gone wrong?

I agree (I don't get why people downvotes). My argument is that a quality PC does not have that problems. The fact that you can get a very cheap PC creates many of this situations. But I get into "No true Scotsman" territory with that logic. And that is why I agree with your arguments.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#773

Post by JoeJonathan »

asdff wrote: post #718
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #47

I generally enjoy my AirPods. They are occasionally quirky, but most of the time they really do “just work” for me. The annoyances are annoying when they happen, though. The strangest part is that the annoyances aren’t getting any better over time. At first I assumed that they were growing pains of an early product launch. Yet now we’re years into the AirPods experience and they continue to be just as quirky as when…

>The strangest part is that the annoyances aren’t getting any better over time. Like most of what apple releases lately. People claim apple maps is better now, but its still missing a lot of data around the LA area especially with local business that Google maps has no issue crawling, and generally shoddy navigational asks (like unprotected lefts). Siri has also gotten no better since its release 10 years ago now (wo…

I hear you, though Google Maps still seems terrible with unprotected lefts in LA. Just yesterday, it directed me to make one one onto a six-lane road.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#774

Post by Gigachad »

Nextgrid wrote: post #141
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #47

I generally enjoy my AirPods. They are occasionally quirky, but most of the time they really do “just work” for me. The annoyances are annoying when they happen, though. The strangest part is that the annoyances aren’t getting any better over time. At first I assumed that they were growing pains of an early product launch. Yet now we’re years into the AirPods experience and they continue to be just as quirky as when…

In my experience, the annoyances actually get worse over time. I got my AirPods back when the original ones were released and the experience probably was as good as physically possible (short of including multiple radios so they can maintain connections to multiple devices in parallel and simply mix the audio client-side). They then (2 years ago?) released this new feature where AirPods could automatically switch bet…

Yeah I totally know what you are talking about with it being too slow and unreliable. But it's also the primary reason I use airpods. They are the only device I know of that let me almost seamlessly switch between my macbook, iphone, ipad, and while running they connect direct to my watch. It's worth so much to me that I don't even consider any competitors.

And I will put up with a lot of quirkyness or waiting for connection to have that.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#775

Post by marcan_42 »

Hokusai wrote: post #771
marcan_42 wrote: post #758

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not about the OS technology in use, it's about all the practicalities of how it is deployed on consoles vs. on desktops. Things like immutable OS volumes, fixed configuration tested on the hardware, the extent to which they build higher level automation to do what the user expects, etc. "The Xbox One runs Windows" ignores all these details which make it a much more seamless experience than on a PC. The PS4 runs…

> When was the last time a driver update broke game on a console? Ever had to install support software to make a game work well with a particular controller? Issues with overlays and system feature integration? Unexpected performance loss due to weird configuration? Mysterious DRM malfunction issues? Windows Update gone wrong? I agree (I don't get why people downvotes). My argument is that a quality PC does not have…

But those things I mentioned happen regardless of the hardware build quality. Hardware quality will avoid hardware issues, things like overheating or stability problems. The things I mentioned are software integration problems that are a natural consequence of the PC ecosystem being much more heterogeneous. It doesn't matter how good your hardware is.

There's just no way around the fact that when your ecosystem gives people much more choice and flexibility, it's going to be jankier than one which doesn't. It's just math. As you add dimensions to the problem space you reduce the fraction of the problem space you can test to ensure the user experience is good, and you rely on users to figure out how to reach a good point in that space, since you can't do it for them. If your dimensions are at least separable you might have a better chance (linear scaling instead of exponential), but modern systems are too complex to keep one issue from influencing others. It's a massive engineering problem.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#776

Post by Gigachad »

dannyw wrote: post #80
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #47

I generally enjoy my AirPods. They are occasionally quirky, but most of the time they really do “just work” for me. The annoyances are annoying when they happen, though. The strangest part is that the annoyances aren’t getting any better over time. At first I assumed that they were growing pains of an early product launch. Yet now we’re years into the AirPods experience and they continue to be just as quirky as when…

Apple seems to only improve peripherals (like the AirPods) with new hardware releases; not software updates. They make money based on units of AirPods moved.

They have added some things to the airpods over software updates. But I assume they are pretty limited if they are already pushing the hardware to the absolute limit on release. A lot of the stuff they push over updates seem to be things they already planned to have but perhaps didn't have the firmware polished enough yet.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#777

Post by lqr »

asdff wrote: post #718
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #47

I generally enjoy my AirPods. They are occasionally quirky, but most of the time they really do “just work” for me. The annoyances are annoying when they happen, though. The strangest part is that the annoyances aren’t getting any better over time. At first I assumed that they were growing pains of an early product launch. Yet now we’re years into the AirPods experience and they continue to be just as quirky as when…

>The strangest part is that the annoyances aren’t getting any better over time. Like most of what apple releases lately. People claim apple maps is better now, but its still missing a lot of data around the LA area especially with local business that Google maps has no issue crawling, and generally shoddy navigational asks (like unprotected lefts). Siri has also gotten no better since its release 10 years ago now (wo…

If by "unprotected" you mean "no green arrow", in what part of the LA area is it feasible to avoid unprotected lefts? They are all over the place in my neighborhood.

If by "unprotected" you mean a left from a stop sign onto a street that does not stop, then I agree. They can be almost impossible. Waze was especially notorious for them a few years ago.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#778

Post by [deleted] »

ashtonkem wrote: post #536
falcolas wrote: post #400

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Beats... how? Bandwidth? Packet loss? Latency? One, that wifi bandwidth is being shared by everyone around you. Ideally, you'll only have about 4 peers for your given hotspot, but most companies are a bit more... frugal... than that. Two, that WiFi is going through those same routers. Just sayin'.

Bandwidth is typically what I’ve measured. Never had a noticeable issue with packet loss. Or latency. Edit: the difference between my work laptop (wireless) and my gaming machine (wired) in my office is a mere 5ms to the same external server. That’s in the “meh” territory for me. Currently I have five APs inside and outside my house, and they’re averaging about 5-6 clients per AP. The really network intensive stuff i…

[deleted]

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#779

Post by 0xedd »

lanstin wrote: post #652
davidmurdoch wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How have consumers let companies get away with "premium" phones being the ones with fewer features?

Because it is, statistically, an easier and more pleasant experience. I really get tired of taking twenty minutes to configure a bunch of settings for each marginally novel piece of tech I acquire.

No post body was provided.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#780

Post by afterburner »

BugsJustFindMe wrote: post #465

It's weird to me how many people are like "yeah but every other bluetooth is worse". I have Airpod Pros and experienced every one of these issues and many more on the regular with them, but my several years old now Bose QC 35II never have any of these problems, still last like 5 times as long on battery after years of recharge cycles, interact better with two simultaneously connected devices, have better signal range…

Meanwhile my $30 versions work great. And look better IMO
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