6 ms·

> Put them in your ears and they connect immediately, immersing you in rich, high-quality sound. Just like magic. I completely disagree with this. It isn’t mag

> Put them in your ears and they connect immediately, immersing you in rich, high-quality sound. Just like magic. I completely disagree with this. It isn’t magic at all. Mine hardly ever work this smooth. Especially transitioning from my iPhone to MacBook Pro. I constantly have to go into bluetooth, manually select them, and even that usually takes a few tries. I like my Earpods from a sound quality perspective but they are anything but magic in the context of “connecting immediately.” The UX NEVER goes as smooth as they describe. I’ve even taken them to the store twice to see if they were defective, which they were not. They always claim it’s so much easier to connect than it really is.

gumby 8y ago
I disappointedly agree (just got a pair for my birthday a couple of weeks ago). It occasionally works as advertised, but most of the time it's about the same as any other bluetooth headset.
jonheller 8y ago
What do you see as being the ideal UX for switching between devices?
- jasonlotito 8y ago
  Not OP, but... Start by listening to something on my iPhone. Sit down and turn off music on my iPhone. Open up my laptop. It unlocks with my Apple Watch. I pop open iTunes or Spotify, hit play with my Air Pods still in. This could also work with my iPad as well. I open my iPad, stop playing stuff on my iPhone, and start playing something on my iPad. I shouldn't have to swap. Apple knows it's me and knows which device I'm actively using.
  - coldtea 8y ago
    >Apple knows it's me and knows which device I'm actively using. I could be using the MBP and want to hear music from the iPhone though.
    - acjohnson55 8y ago
      You gotta free your mind from being boxed into devices, maaaan.
    - jasonlotito 8y ago
      Yes, I addressed that in my comment. The common case is that if I'm playing music on my laptop and not playing music on my iPhone (or vice-versa), then I probably want to listen to that music from my laptop, not my iPhone. For example, let's address your concern with my comment. "Start by listening to something on my iPhone. Sit down and continue to listen to my music on my iPhone. Open up my laptop. It unlocks with my Apple Watch. I pop open iTunes or Spotify, hit play with my Air Pods still in. Since my iPhone is still playing music, Apple should stick with my iPhone."
      - calgoo 8y ago
        I wish they just added a simple "handoff" option in the control panel. I use spotify on all my devices, and use their device handoff a lot and it works really good. Would be perfect if i could open control panel, click audio handoff, and select the detected device from a list.
  - zaroth 8y ago
    It’s just whichever one you click play on most recently. The other one just auto-pauses. For certain short bursts of audio, or depending on the source of the audio (transient system sound, unprompted audio, ring tone, etc.) the paused device can auto-resume when the interrupter is done playing. For sitting at a new device starting the same “type”of audio stream perhaps you would not auto-resume the paused feed when the new feed stops. For something like Spotify, opening your MacBook should transfer the stream completely seamlessly from your iPhone as a way to save battery. The same song should never stop playing even for a millisecond (the switchover should be imperceptible) and the UI should sync the current playlist between all iCloud devices. When you open your Mac you should be able to see the Spotify that was playing on your iPhone right there and click pause if you want. It shouldn’t really be perceptible to the user “where it’s coming from”, it should just work.
    - jasonlotito 8y ago
      > It’s just whichever one you click play on most recently. The other one just auto-pauses. I could live with that. As long as it's consistent.
  - h4waii 8y ago
    Why swap between devices AT ALL? What's with the "concern" that your music is playing from a single device? I don't quite understand, is there some mental gymnastics being done to figure out the device you're using isn't the device playing music? Shouldn't matter anyway, since you have completely playback control either from your Apple Watch or the AirPods themselves.
    - jasonlotito 8y ago
      > Why swap between devices AT ALL? Because I'm not watching the new trailer on my iPhone when sitting at my computer. > What's with the "concern" that your music is playing from a single device? It's not. It's that I'm playing some media I want to hear on a certain device. > I don't quite understand You don't, so assuming it's some mental gymnastics is rude. Don't be rude. > Shouldn't matter anyway, since you have completely playback control either from your Apple Watch or the AirPods themselves. You don't.
- cptskippy 8y ago
  The bluetooth asics tend to be very single function oriented. They might support multiple protocols on the stack but they are generally missing things like a muxer so only one audio based protocol at a time. That means if you're streaming audio using A2DP and you receive a voice call, the A2DP stream is dropped and HSP or Handsfree is enabled. The host will then transition to streaming over the new lower bitrate connection. The asics generally don't support concurrent connections from different devices, with a few exceptions, and so there's a lot of scaffolding that has to be broken down and stood up when switching devices. It's not unlike HTTP over TCP. There probably needs to be a SPDY for Bluetooth. Some semiconductor manufacturer could really steal the market by making a bluetooth asic with an audio muxer that supports multiple concurrent protocols and can effectively blend the audio while also maintaining multiple concurrent host connections. From a UX perspective, this presents problems with situations like listening to music on a headset connected to a PC when an audio call comes from your phone. Does the headset duck A2DP? Send PAUSE over AVCTP if available? Just MUX the audio streams and let you sort it out? What do device controls control when connected to two devices? Another issue with Bluetooth is that hosts generally don't surface useful controls for prioritizing devices or protocols. So in the case of being paired with multiple A2DP devices, a host will usually only automatically connect to the last one used and you have to explicitly connect to others. This is annoying if you regularly transition between Car and Headphones. There's also an issue of multiple hosts connecting to the same client and prioritization. Hosts tend to open and hold onto a connect even when they're not doing anything because of the scaffolding involved in a connection. That means if you have two phones and one car, only one will work and if you want to use the other one then it requires terminating the other host's connection, usually on that host device.
atlasunshrugged 8y ago
Yes, I also have connection issues constantly even just on my phone with Spotify - I was wondering if it was semi-intentional on their part to push people to Apple music for a more seamless experience but looks like it's just bad UX
ricw 8y ago
Mine work perfectly. I’ve heard this being a problem from other sources as well though. Is your phone and/or MacBook older?! If so i suspect the older Bluetooth version may be causing issues here. Other issues: congested use of the Bluetooth wireless frequency. If you are next to a figurative noisy microwave (busy building, loads of people using the same spectrum), there’s nothing one can do. Or the AirPods are simply broken and need replacing.
samdixon 8y ago
I wouldn't say it never goes as smoothly as they describe, at least in my experience. My experience with the iphone xs + airpods is about: 50% as they describe 49% have to go through bluetooth menu for instant pair 1% they never connect, extreme frustration, have to completely re-pair (no different than any other bluetooth product here, just don't experience it as often with airpods). With Macbook I almost always have to go into bluetooth. There is no switching experience as they originally showed in the airpods keynote. They actually ended up rescinding the statement that they would do this after the keynote, which is super disappointing.
- iaml 8y ago
  ToothFairy provides pretty good experience on mac where you have icon in menubar with one click fast pair with minimal problems. Question remains though why you should use paid thirdparty app to achieve advertised experience.
- zachr 8y ago
  You can option-click on the volume icon in your toolbar to select AirPods without having to go into bluetooth settings.
jon889 8y ago
They say that switching between Mac and iOS isn't as smooth and you have to go to the bluetooth menus. But switching between my iPad/iPhone/aTV has pretty much always been smooth for me. I do wish they'd do this for Mac too though.
- tolle 8y ago
  Unless my memory fails me, selecting them in the volume drop down is enough. No need to fiddle with the bluetooth menu. But I could be wrong as I'm currently not at a Mac.
SomeHacker44 8y ago
And it is not even “rich, high-quality sound.” For $70 you can get a pair of (wired) Etymotics earphones that seal the ear canal and have vastly better sound quality. Their more expensive ones sound even better (I have had several sets) but I found the sweet spot at this price point. I use my AirPods because Apple forced me to by killing the 3.5. In my opinion Apple has been doing consumer unfriendly things for a long time. This, removing function keys, removing Touch ID, losing MagSafe, etc. It is disappointing that despite all this I feel locked into the ecosystem and unable to switch, because virtually all my friends and actually all my family use Apple products and iMessage and Facetime extensively.
- baddox 8y ago
  That’s very true, but my favorite thing about Airpods (and EarPods before then) is that they don’t seal the ear canal. I use mine almost exclusively while walking on urban streets or taking public transit, and I absolutely don’t want the lack of situational awareness that comes with in-ear headphones. The sound quality is good enough. When I want really good sound quality, I use my big open-ear headphones at home.
coldtea 8y ago
>I completely disagree with this. It isn’t magic at all. Mine hardly ever work this smooth. Mine always work perfectly. Now, if you were on the iPhone, and you want to use them on the Mac, with the iPhone still nearby connected to them, I'm not sure what you'd expect. For them to magically guess your intention?
- jfoster 8y ago
  Any device playing audio could recognise that it knows that set of airpods and connect seamlessly. Obviously if both devices are playing then it'll always be the one that started playing last that gets the airpods, but I think that's both a rare case and mostly in line with typical user expectation when it does happen.
- rewtraw 8y ago
  My Bose QC35s do this very well. They connect to both my iPhone and MacBook via Bluetooth, and if I am listening to a podcast on my iPhone, and get a WebEx/Slack/Etc call on my MacBook, I pause the podcast and answer the call, and it switches between the two seamlessly -- I don't need to do anything.
baddox 8y ago
I agree with you. I still love my Airpods, but the syncing isn’t consistently any better than normal Bluetooth headphones (except for the initial NFC pairing). I don’t even switch them between iOS/MacOS devices very much. I just open them up when I’m on my iPhone X and they rarely switch the audio over automatically. I generally have to swipe down control center and click the little “broadcast” icon in the top right of the Music section and select my Airpods. Sometimes I have to close and reopen that list several times before the Airpods will show up.
ksec 8y ago
On iOS Devices, it seems AirPod work most of the time. Actually I cant even remember a time when it didn't work. On MacBook though it does requires a little more intervention. I just thought that was expected on computer vs connection to an Appliance ( iOS ). On other than that, iOS AirPod was the first Bluetooth devices that actually works as Bluetooth had advertised for the past 20 years. And could be one reason why it was so popular. I never thought AirPod would have quietly changed the world, I see people with AirPod everyday and before I was AirPods would be a Gadget for Nerds. I don't agree on the sound quality though. It was not as good as I thought, at least not for its price, but I put up with it due to how easy to use it was. ( And the battery is nearly dead so AirPod will be another iPhone like accessory that I have to buy every 1 - 2 years)

gumby 8y ago

I disappointedly agree (just got a pair for my birthday a couple of weeks ago). It occasionally works as advertised, but most of the time it's about the same as any other bluetooth headset.

jonheller 8y ago

What do you see as being the ideal UX for switching between devices?

jasonlotito 8y ago
Not OP, but... Start by listening to something on my iPhone. Sit down and turn off music on my iPhone. Open up my laptop. It unlocks with my Apple Watch. I pop open iTunes or Spotify, hit play with my Air Pods still in. This could also work with my iPad as well. I open my iPad, stop playing stuff on my iPhone, and start playing something on my iPad. I shouldn't have to swap. Apple knows it's me and knows which device I'm actively using.
- coldtea 8y ago
  >Apple knows it's me and knows which device I'm actively using. I could be using the MBP and want to hear music from the iPhone though.
  - acjohnson55 8y ago
    You gotta free your mind from being boxed into devices, maaaan.
  - jasonlotito 8y ago
    Yes, I addressed that in my comment. The common case is that if I'm playing music on my laptop and not playing music on my iPhone (or vice-versa), then I probably want to listen to that music from my laptop, not my iPhone. For example, let's address your concern with my comment. "Start by listening to something on my iPhone. Sit down and continue to listen to my music on my iPhone. Open up my laptop. It unlocks with my Apple Watch. I pop open iTunes or Spotify, hit play with my Air Pods still in. Since my iPhone is still playing music, Apple should stick with my iPhone."
    - calgoo 8y ago
      I wish they just added a simple "handoff" option in the control panel. I use spotify on all my devices, and use their device handoff a lot and it works really good. Would be perfect if i could open control panel, click audio handoff, and select the detected device from a list.
- zaroth 8y ago
  It’s just whichever one you click play on most recently. The other one just auto-pauses. For certain short bursts of audio, or depending on the source of the audio (transient system sound, unprompted audio, ring tone, etc.) the paused device can auto-resume when the interrupter is done playing. For sitting at a new device starting the same “type”of audio stream perhaps you would not auto-resume the paused feed when the new feed stops. For something like Spotify, opening your MacBook should transfer the stream completely seamlessly from your iPhone as a way to save battery. The same song should never stop playing even for a millisecond (the switchover should be imperceptible) and the UI should sync the current playlist between all iCloud devices. When you open your Mac you should be able to see the Spotify that was playing on your iPhone right there and click pause if you want. It shouldn’t really be perceptible to the user “where it’s coming from”, it should just work.
  - jasonlotito 8y ago
    > It’s just whichever one you click play on most recently. The other one just auto-pauses. I could live with that. As long as it's consistent.
- h4waii 8y ago
  Why swap between devices AT ALL? What's with the "concern" that your music is playing from a single device? I don't quite understand, is there some mental gymnastics being done to figure out the device you're using isn't the device playing music? Shouldn't matter anyway, since you have completely playback control either from your Apple Watch or the AirPods themselves.
  - jasonlotito 8y ago
    > Why swap between devices AT ALL? Because I'm not watching the new trailer on my iPhone when sitting at my computer. > What's with the "concern" that your music is playing from a single device? It's not. It's that I'm playing some media I want to hear on a certain device. > I don't quite understand You don't, so assuming it's some mental gymnastics is rude. Don't be rude. > Shouldn't matter anyway, since you have completely playback control either from your Apple Watch or the AirPods themselves. You don't.
cptskippy 8y ago
The bluetooth asics tend to be very single function oriented. They might support multiple protocols on the stack but they are generally missing things like a muxer so only one audio based protocol at a time. That means if you're streaming audio using A2DP and you receive a voice call, the A2DP stream is dropped and HSP or Handsfree is enabled. The host will then transition to streaming over the new lower bitrate connection. The asics generally don't support concurrent connections from different devices, with a few exceptions, and so there's a lot of scaffolding that has to be broken down and stood up when switching devices. It's not unlike HTTP over TCP. There probably needs to be a SPDY for Bluetooth. Some semiconductor manufacturer could really steal the market by making a bluetooth asic with an audio muxer that supports multiple concurrent protocols and can effectively blend the audio while also maintaining multiple concurrent host connections. From a UX perspective, this presents problems with situations like listening to music on a headset connected to a PC when an audio call comes from your phone. Does the headset duck A2DP? Send PAUSE over AVCTP if available? Just MUX the audio streams and let you sort it out? What do device controls control when connected to two devices? Another issue with Bluetooth is that hosts generally don't surface useful controls for prioritizing devices or protocols. So in the case of being paired with multiple A2DP devices, a host will usually only automatically connect to the last one used and you have to explicitly connect to others. This is annoying if you regularly transition between Car and Headphones. There's also an issue of multiple hosts connecting to the same client and prioritization. Hosts tend to open and hold onto a connect even when they're not doing anything because of the scaffolding involved in a connection. That means if you have two phones and one car, only one will work and if you want to use the other one then it requires terminating the other host's connection, usually on that host device.

atlasunshrugged 8y ago

Yes, I also have connection issues constantly even just on my phone with Spotify - I was wondering if it was semi-intentional on their part to push people to Apple music for a more seamless experience but looks like it's just bad UX

ricw 8y ago

Mine work perfectly. I’ve heard this being a problem from other sources as well though. Is your phone and/or MacBook older?! If so i suspect the older Bluetooth version may be causing issues here. Other issues: congested use of the Bluetooth wireless frequency. If you are next to a figurative noisy microwave (busy building, loads of people using the same spectrum), there’s nothing one can do. Or the AirPods are simply broken and need replacing.

samdixon 8y ago

I wouldn't say it never goes as smoothly as they describe, at least in my experience. My experience with the iphone xs + airpods is about: 50% as they describe 49% have to go through bluetooth menu for instant pair 1% they never connect, extreme frustration, have to completely re-pair (no different than any other bluetooth product here, just don't experience it as often with airpods). With Macbook I almost always have to go into bluetooth. There is no switching experience as they originally showed in the airpods keynote. They actually ended up rescinding the statement that they would do this after the keynote, which is super disappointing.

iaml 8y ago
ToothFairy provides pretty good experience on mac where you have icon in menubar with one click fast pair with minimal problems. Question remains though why you should use paid thirdparty app to achieve advertised experience.
zachr 8y ago
You can option-click on the volume icon in your toolbar to select AirPods without having to go into bluetooth settings.

jon889 8y ago

They say that switching between Mac and iOS isn't as smooth and you have to go to the bluetooth menus. But switching between my iPad/iPhone/aTV has pretty much always been smooth for me. I do wish they'd do this for Mac too though.

tolle 8y ago
Unless my memory fails me, selecting them in the volume drop down is enough. No need to fiddle with the bluetooth menu. But I could be wrong as I'm currently not at a Mac.

SomeHacker44 8y ago

And it is not even “rich, high-quality sound.” For $70 you can get a pair of (wired) Etymotics earphones that seal the ear canal and have vastly better sound quality. Their more expensive ones sound even better (I have had several sets) but I found the sweet spot at this price point. I use my AirPods because Apple forced me to by killing the 3.5. In my opinion Apple has been doing consumer unfriendly things for a long time. This, removing function keys, removing Touch ID, losing MagSafe, etc. It is disappointing that despite all this I feel locked into the ecosystem and unable to switch, because virtually all my friends and actually all my family use Apple products and iMessage and Facetime extensively.

baddox 8y ago
That’s very true, but my favorite thing about Airpods (and EarPods before then) is that they don’t seal the ear canal. I use mine almost exclusively while walking on urban streets or taking public transit, and I absolutely don’t want the lack of situational awareness that comes with in-ear headphones. The sound quality is good enough. When I want really good sound quality, I use my big open-ear headphones at home.

coldtea 8y ago

>I completely disagree with this. It isn’t magic at all. Mine hardly ever work this smooth. Mine always work perfectly. Now, if you were on the iPhone, and you want to use them on the Mac, with the iPhone still nearby connected to them, I'm not sure what you'd expect. For them to magically guess your intention?

jfoster 8y ago
Any device playing audio could recognise that it knows that set of airpods and connect seamlessly. Obviously if both devices are playing then it'll always be the one that started playing last that gets the airpods, but I think that's both a rare case and mostly in line with typical user expectation when it does happen.
rewtraw 8y ago
My Bose QC35s do this very well. They connect to both my iPhone and MacBook via Bluetooth, and if I am listening to a podcast on my iPhone, and get a WebEx/Slack/Etc call on my MacBook, I pause the podcast and answer the call, and it switches between the two seamlessly -- I don't need to do anything.

baddox 8y ago

I agree with you. I still love my Airpods, but the syncing isn’t consistently any better than normal Bluetooth headphones (except for the initial NFC pairing). I don’t even switch them between iOS/MacOS devices very much. I just open them up when I’m on my iPhone X and they rarely switch the audio over automatically. I generally have to swipe down control center and click the little “broadcast” icon in the top right of the Music section and select my Airpods. Sometimes I have to close and reopen that list several times before the Airpods will show up.

ksec 8y ago

On iOS Devices, it seems AirPod work most of the time. Actually I cant even remember a time when it didn't work. On MacBook though it does requires a little more intervention. I just thought that was expected on computer vs connection to an Appliance ( iOS ). On other than that, iOS AirPod was the first Bluetooth devices that actually works as Bluetooth had advertised for the past 20 years. And could be one reason why it was so popular. I never thought AirPod would have quietly changed the world, I see people with AirPod everyday and before I was AirPods would be a Gadget for Nerds. I don't agree on the sound quality though. It was not as good as I thought, at least not for its price, but I put up with it due to how easy to use it was. ( And the battery is nearly dead so AirPod will be another iPhone like accessory that I have to buy every 1 - 2 years)