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You also can't get firmware updates if you don't install the companion app and allow them to spy on you.
by Lio 6y ago
You also can't get firmware updates if you don't install the companion app and allow them to spy on you.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- jdsully 6y agoWhy do my headphones need firmware updates? Presumably they work fine at purchase.
- throwaway8941 6y agoNoise cancellation sometimes gets better (or worse) after a firmware update.
- sascha_sl 6y agoBose also added the in-device EQ to the Bose 700 via patch a few months ago.
- WrtCdEvrydy 6y agoBecause we cut a corner somewhere to make a budget device and realized it was a lot more popular and now we have to patch it like if it was a fucking nuclear reactor....
- t0astbread 6y agoPatching a nuclear reactor sounds scary
- blackflame7000 6y agoNothing a little Gorilla Glue can't handle
- nogabebop23 6y agowhy do keyboards need firmware updates and companion apps? yet, that's exactly what my razer mech KB required for me to change the slow fade in/out to just "on". Pretty ridiculous and I too uninstalled it after, but who knows if I got it all?
- ubercow13 6y agoBecause they have complex software in for bluetooth connection, noise cancellation and other behaviours like automatically switching off when taken out for example. You don't have to update it of you prefer not to.
- aragorn9 6y agowhich is why bose for example only let you configure noise cancelling through the app.
- jsmith12673 6y agoThat's news to me. Guess I won't be ditching my QC25's soon/or ever
- kyrra 6y agoI got some Bose 700 this past week. There is still a button on these to adjust noise cancelation.
- oarsinsync 6y agoMy QC35IIs have a button on the side to adjust noise cancelling. No need for an app.
- pureliquidhw 6y agoI think you need the app to switch that to noise cancellation level from digital assistant activation.
- sascha_sl 6y agothe bose 700 has 3 buttons one for on/off, hold to pair, hold long to reset bluetooth one for noise cancellation one for assistant in addition it has the transport controls / battery response touch controls on the right earcup
- pureliquidhw 6y agoI was referring to the parent's QC35II's which has an app configurable button for voice assistant OR noise cancellation adjustments. The newer Bose 700's do have all that you have listed.
- oarsinsync 6y ago
- imglorp 6y agoOr just update your firmware and then remove the app. Not just Bose, the Sony WH* series is also guilty of this. Great cans, awful app.
- jacquesm 6y agoIt has an app?
- Shish2k 6y agoSony has the worst app I’ve ever seen[1], to the point where I legitimately don’t know how it passed the app store vetting process. Paragraphs of text have wrapping disabled so that the text goes off screen (important text, like the TOS!). Text which does have wrapping enabled wraps on character boundaries instead of word boundaries. Bullet-point lists don’t line up. I have no idea how they made it so bad, it feels like it must’ve taken effort to disable things which just work by default? [1] Circa 2018, I switched to Bose after that...
- jacquesm 6y agoIt also has two buttons. I really don't see the need for an app. Besides that I don't have a phone capable of running an app so that saves me from getting irritated at Sony. Again.
- comfyinnernet 6y agoMaybe the vetting process only applies to peasants and not the likes of Sony.
- vladvasiliu 6y agoI'm curious about the Sony App. What information does it get from the phone? The only kind of sensitive permission it asks for is location, and arguably there's a functionality related to that (change the adaptive sound reduction as a function of where you are). The other permission it asked for is Bluetooth, which I guess is expected since it uses that to talk to the headphones. It never asked for anything else. I didn't allow it to get my location and I can still get firmware updates and can use it to confirm the codec in use (that's the main reason I have it installed).
- month13 6y agoAfter the AirPods Pro noise-cancelling-regression (resolved, albeit after months), this may be a desirable feature.
- Answerawake 6y agoAre you talking about Rattlegate? From what I understand, it has been resolved by Apple replacing many people's earpods.
- lights0123 6y agoThanks for mentioning that, one of mine has been doing that for months and I'm contacting support now that I know that it's a common thing.
- BTCOG 6y agoWhy on EARTH would anyone EVER need to update firmware for a pair of headphones? That's asinine.
- sascha_sl 6y agoThe Bose 700 recently patched in EQ support, I'd say that's a reason.
- BTCOG 6y agoSo to each of you with the same response; You're totally ok being sold an unfinished product, paying too high of a price for it, and then having to opt into privacy violations to use a device which should have worked from day one out of the factory. Got it. Noise cancellation in headphones is a gimmick and a fad. High end studio monitors do not typically use it, and it distorts the experience. It makes sense if you're constantly packed in like a sardine on public transit or crowded spaces and you're simply trying to block out the surroundings, but may I suggest buying a real pair of headphones and carrying a pair of earplugs instead? To be very clear on my point. I see needing to update headphones and being conned into my headphones masquerading as a "smart device" equal to needing a smart toaster, or a connected can opener that some would justify should need firmware updates. It's senseless.
- jungturk 6y agoYou are surprised that devices can be improved after their launch via software updates? Or that people will see that as valuable? Or that people have different preferences in their products than you?
- wongarsu 6y agoI suspect they liked the device in the state they bought it in, and were pleased when it later got even better at no extra charge (except for installing the app). You can still buy dumb headphones without Bluetooth or noise cancellation of you don't like smart devices.
- ubercow13 6y ago
- Godel_unicode 6y agoI only installed the Bose app when I was going to be on a plane, as the app allows you to pair multiple Bose headphones to one source. Then you can watch the same movie with someone else. Edit: Bose also had a nice big opt-out button in the app, and asks during setup.
- Shalle135 6y agoWith the app you can also change the cancellation level, they’re pretty isolated even with the feature powered off entirely but it helps out in some situations.
- bitwize 6y agoMy Boses allow you to set the cancellation level with a button press. It cycles through three options: high, low, and off. Does the app enable more fine-grained control or something? Perhaps per-ear cancellation settings?
- egypturnash 6y agoMy QC35s don't have that button. It's only available in the app, and there is no fine-grained control or anything - just high/low/off.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- bitwize 6y agoI have QC35s too. Maybe a newer rev?
- bitwize 6y agoApparently so. I have the QC35 II, which has a button on the left ear can. Bose calls it the Action Button, and it's used to summon Alexa/Google Assistant; but if you don't configure it to use an assistant (through the Connect app?) it will cycle through the noise cancellation level settings.