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Seems pretty mundane, the headphones can overheat while charging in rare cases and it's fixed with a software update. It's not like they're burning people's ear
by cactus2093 6y ago
Seems pretty mundane, the headphones can overheat while charging in rare cases and it's fixed with a software update. It's not like they're burning people's ears during regular use or catching on fire.
Lots of comments taking the opportunity to complain about Amazon the storefront, and issues with fake reviews, counterfeiting, etc. but that doesn't really have anything to do with this story. Amazon's hardware generally has a pretty decent reputation, from Kindle and Echo that have been huge successes and basically created brand new product categories, to amazon basics cables and batteries and whatnot that are reliable at a good price.
- rmdashrfstar 6y agoThis is an excellent DC post.
- the_jeremy 6y agoWhat does DC mean?
- sulam 6y agoJournalism in action here, the relevant line is WELL below the fold: “We recently determined that in very rare cases it is possible for Echo Buds to overheat while in the charging case." Good job as usual, HN community.
- cma 6y agoIf it overheats in he charging case, and then you put them in your ears, isn't it at risk of fire?
- akiselev 6y agoI think the bigger danger is when it's in the charging case. They're more likely to be tossed in the bottom of a bag or pocket where there will be no ventilation whatsoever. On their own, the airbuds have a much higher ratio of surface area to battery volume, increasing cooling especially when they're in-ear. Still doesn't seem like a big deal because Apple usually demands the best binned parts for their products and they have weight to throw around. Better quality battery cells are far less likely to have fires due to thermal runaway and Apple power firmware is probably good enough to stop them from reaching that point when charging.
- interestica 6y agoYour apple is showing.
- choward 6y ago> it's fixed with a software update How is it fixed with a software update? Why is it running software when charging?
- 0_____0 6y agoProbably not due to processor heating. Batteries heat up when charging. I imagine this software update reduces the charge rate to lessen battery self-heating.
- CamperBob2 6y agoEverything runs software, all the time.
- choward 6y agoEven when there is no source of power?
- schwartzworld 6y agodevices like this probably have low-level battery management software running while charging. this would be to protect the batteries and prevent overcharging.