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I recently tried out wireless noise-cancelling headphones from both Bose and Sony, and (the important privacy issues aside) the user experience with these apps

I recently tried out wireless noise-cancelling headphones from both Bose and Sony, and (the important privacy issues aside) the user experience with these apps is just horrible. You unpack your Bose headphone, eager to use them. But before that, you have to download an app on the iPhone, then download a software update program on your laptop, which in turn opens a program in the browser that downloads an update, then you connect the headphones with a wire to the laptop that the update gets installed, and THEN you can start using them. I send both back and now I'm a happy AirPod user.

riquito 6y ago
I don't know about Bose, but you can connect the Sony headphones with the normal bluetooth pairing, there's no app required
- monksy 6y ago
  Good luck when internal settings get changed (as in internal volume)
  - 0_____0 6y ago
    long time user of the sony wh-1000xm2. never have had any such issue. i have noticed that it seems like the headset and phone have independent volume controls but both phone and headset have physical controls, no app required.
  - eternalban 6y ago
    I just ran into this very issue. I opted out of downloading anything. It was working fine until just now for whatever reason the volume is so low that I can hear a background hiss. The source laptop volume is maxed out. If this is Sony's way of forcing me to use their app, they guessed wrong. I just bought these and am considering returning it.
    - vladvasiliu 6y ago
      Did you try raising the volume directly on the headphones? If it's a WH-XM1000, you can do that by sliding the finger up on the right earphone. For some reason mine's volume works as expected on an iphone (phone and headphone control the same volume) but on a pc (windows / mac / linux) the controls work separately...
      - eternalban 6y ago
        Thank you, that did it!
- TedDoesntTalk 6y ago
  I have the Bose Quiet Comfort 35 II. I use them with a MacBook Pro through Bluetooth pairing. I never installed any app and never connected the headphones physically to anything. What is the OP talking about? And why would anyone install an app to use headphones?
  - Vinnl 6y ago
    Unfortunately you can't disable noise cancelling without the app. Well, you can, but you first have to enable that using the app.
  - dkdk8283 6y ago
    Why would someone buy noise cancelling headphones if they don’t need that feature? The QC II’s bluetooth range is horrible. Less than half of the QC I’s.
    - Macha 6y ago
      huh, my Sennheiser headphones can control the noise cancelling with buttons on the headphones. Some limitations were annoying (2 connected devices at once, it gets very confused by my dual boot machine) but sounds like I dodged a bullet with brands requiring custom apps
    - TedDoesntTalk 6y ago
      Exactly. If you are disabling noise cancellation on the QC II, you bought the wrong headphones. There are much nicer ones without noise cancellation for less money.
      - dagw 6y ago
        I toggle NC on and off all the time depending on the situation.
    - vladvasiliu 6y ago
      They may want to disable that feature occasionally. I sometimes wear glasses which prevent the headphones from forming a perfect seal. If I walk around with the headphones on, I get a "wow" going on which is quite tiring. Turn the NC off and they're ok. I only rarely do this, so I wouldn't have bought a dedicated pair only for this purpose.
hinkley 6y ago
So far Shure hasn’t done anything that dumb, but you have (or rather, had. They seem to have to be coming out with over the ear model) to be ok with tethered headphones. I kind of like the tether. Harder to lose them under a bookcase. And less of a problem if they plop out during exercise.
NoPicklez 6y ago
I own the Bose QC 35's and I never had to use an app at all until I decided to update them to the latest software
- cjsawyer 6y ago
  You can’t change the noise canceling settings without the phone app. They also default back to “full” after you power cycle the headset. I wanted to use them with a PC and no ANC but no luck without the clunky phone process.
  - Mandatum 6y ago
    QC35's have a hardware button on the side of the volume buttons that allow you to change ANC. Not sure which model you're using.
    - cjsawyer 6y ago
      I have the first gen, not the model II’s. It doesn’t have the button on the left side.
      - Mandatum 6y ago
        I'm a buffoon! I meant the QC30's - the in-ear ones. Sorry! It appears mk 2 of QC35 has physical ANC buttons, but the originals do not.
      - dylz 6y ago
        Even worse, on my QC35 II's, the hardware button defaulted to Google Assistant on Android, and I had to use the app anyway to set it to modify ANC on press.
        cjsawyer 6y ago
        At least that’s just a one time setup process.
  - 6y ago
fomine3 6y ago
AirPods also requires to use app for many features but the app is integrated to iOS. IMO It's worse than dedicated app.
- Consultant32452 6y ago
  I use my airpods with my Android phone. What am I missing out on?
  - gumby 6y ago
    Probably nothing. They have a feature that’s quite handy to me (the proprietary quick changing from one Apple device to another IFF it has the same Apple ID — so no good for shared hardware like a tv) but “quite handy” is far from invaluable. You can program a tap on each earbud to do certain things: again, handy but you don’t have that ability I doubt you’d be upset. Apple’s quite clever on figuring out how much “bleed out” from their own stack works for them (e.g. iPod support for PCs, which open standards to embrace, which not, etc). They are hoping you’ll switch to an iphone next, but even you don’t you are revenue.
    - twoleftfeets 6y ago
      If you're not used to it you'd probably not be upset but having an iPhone and Airpods I'd be upset going back. I switch between my Mac and my iPhone daily so if I had to re-pair to do that that would suck. My guess is many modern alternatives let you pair more than one device at a time which would be another possible solution (better or worse I don't know). Apple's switching sometimes fails for me and when it does it's infuriating since it can end up taking several minutes to fix when all I wanted to do is use the damn headphones. The tapping is pretty useful too though the features I use (pause/play/skip to next song/backup) are also part of the bluetooth headphone standard so while I can't change them to something else my other bluetooth headphones have the same standard features that I actually use. This is also one reason I didn't like the Airpod Pro's. Tap is replaced with squeeze. Squeeze requires 2 fingers, Tap works with a knuckle. I can tap with full hands. I can't squeeze it full hands so they effectively downgraded the product with pro.
flyingpenguin 6y ago
But holy crap, the process for updating AirPods without an iPhone is a real hassle. Took my bank account months to download my an iPhone to update with.
- bestnameever 6y ago
  The system requirements for Airpods includes another Mac device like an iPhone. https://www.apple.com/airpods-2nd-generation/specs/ https://www.apple.com/airpods-2nd-generation/specs/
cactus2093 6y ago
I didn’t find that an issue at all, and not sure what you mean about the laptop part I only use the mobile app to upgrade my qc 35s. I do find the Bose UX to be horrible though for another reason, which is the incredibly stupid “feature” that the headphones can be connected to multiple devices at once. Since I use it both with my phone and laptop and they’re often in range of each other, sometimes the audio control will just switch back to the other device than the one I’m trying to use, I assume because of some background process that’s still open, and I lose my sound. If one device is on the edge of connectivity range, it’ll beep every couple of minutes as it connects and disconnects even though I’m not even using it. Then if I ever want to connect a third device like a tablet, it’s made to switch back and forth between exactly 2 devices not 3 so things get even more messed up. It’s quite annoying, and I feel like I’m the only one bothered by these issues because I don’t see a lot of other people complaining. But I’ll definitely be switching to a different brand away from Bose when these headphones wear out. Probably the upcoming over ear Apple headphones, since I find airpods to not have any of these issues and generally work great at switching between two devices without being stolen back by the previous device.
- zimpenfish 6y ago
  I've had these PLT headphones swap from phone to laptop when phone is playing music and laptop makes some noise (email notification, etc.) Whilst it's handy for the rare circumstances I want to start listening on the laptop without stopping the phone, it's a massive pain in the arse the other 99% of the time. Not least because it doesn't automatically switch back and start playing again. I suspect it's the generic Bluetooth chipsets, mind, rather than anyone in particular because this happens with the PLT headphones and the Taotronics dongle I've got.
- jes 6y ago
  Same for me. You are not alone in thinking the UX is horrible.
- outadoc 6y ago
  Your comment is funny to me because I have a pair of WH-1000XM3 and the one feature I'm missing the most is Bluetooth multi-point pairing. It's super easy to switch devices with the Bose (even though yeah, it can be finicky) meaning you don't have to re-pair your devices every time you want to listen to music on your phone, use them for a Slack call or for a TV show.
charwalker 6y ago
The Jabra 85h is great in this regard. Totally fine without the app, the app itself has a ton of features and useful items including changes to side tone and auto noise cancellation. The app pulled in a firmware update when I first connected and ran that in a few minutes without me touching anything. I would like to compare my set to the top Bose and Sony sets but at almost double the price of the 85h, I can't bring myself to spend the money.
drcongo 6y ago
I have the Sony WH-1000XM3 noise cancelling headphones, didn't have to install an app at all and the noise cancelation on them is absolutely incredible. Along with the amazing sound quality, they're the best headphones I've ever owned.

riquito 6y ago

I don't know about Bose, but you can connect the Sony headphones with the normal bluetooth pairing, there's no app required

monksy 6y ago
Good luck when internal settings get changed (as in internal volume)
- 0_____0 6y ago
  long time user of the sony wh-1000xm2. never have had any such issue. i have noticed that it seems like the headset and phone have independent volume controls but both phone and headset have physical controls, no app required.
- eternalban 6y ago
  I just ran into this very issue. I opted out of downloading anything. It was working fine until just now for whatever reason the volume is so low that I can hear a background hiss. The source laptop volume is maxed out. If this is Sony's way of forcing me to use their app, they guessed wrong. I just bought these and am considering returning it.
  - vladvasiliu 6y ago
    Did you try raising the volume directly on the headphones? If it's a WH-XM1000, you can do that by sliding the finger up on the right earphone. For some reason mine's volume works as expected on an iphone (phone and headphone control the same volume) but on a pc (windows / mac / linux) the controls work separately...
    - eternalban 6y ago
      Thank you, that did it!
TedDoesntTalk 6y ago
I have the Bose Quiet Comfort 35 II. I use them with a MacBook Pro through Bluetooth pairing. I never installed any app and never connected the headphones physically to anything. What is the OP talking about? And why would anyone install an app to use headphones?
- Vinnl 6y ago
  Unfortunately you can't disable noise cancelling without the app. Well, you can, but you first have to enable that using the app.
- dkdk8283 6y ago
  Why would someone buy noise cancelling headphones if they don’t need that feature? The QC II’s bluetooth range is horrible. Less than half of the QC I’s.
  - Macha 6y ago
    huh, my Sennheiser headphones can control the noise cancelling with buttons on the headphones. Some limitations were annoying (2 connected devices at once, it gets very confused by my dual boot machine) but sounds like I dodged a bullet with brands requiring custom apps
  - TedDoesntTalk 6y ago
    Exactly. If you are disabling noise cancellation on the QC II, you bought the wrong headphones. There are much nicer ones without noise cancellation for less money.
    - dagw 6y ago
      I toggle NC on and off all the time depending on the situation.
  - vladvasiliu 6y ago
    They may want to disable that feature occasionally. I sometimes wear glasses which prevent the headphones from forming a perfect seal. If I walk around with the headphones on, I get a "wow" going on which is quite tiring. Turn the NC off and they're ok. I only rarely do this, so I wouldn't have bought a dedicated pair only for this purpose.

hinkley 6y ago

So far Shure hasn’t done anything that dumb, but you have (or rather, had. They seem to have to be coming out with over the ear model) to be ok with tethered headphones. I kind of like the tether. Harder to lose them under a bookcase. And less of a problem if they plop out during exercise.

NoPicklez 6y ago

I own the Bose QC 35's and I never had to use an app at all until I decided to update them to the latest software

cjsawyer 6y ago
You can’t change the noise canceling settings without the phone app. They also default back to “full” after you power cycle the headset. I wanted to use them with a PC and no ANC but no luck without the clunky phone process.
- Mandatum 6y ago
  QC35's have a hardware button on the side of the volume buttons that allow you to change ANC. Not sure which model you're using.
  - cjsawyer 6y ago
    I have the first gen, not the model II’s. It doesn’t have the button on the left side.
    - Mandatum 6y ago
      I'm a buffoon! I meant the QC30's - the in-ear ones. Sorry! It appears mk 2 of QC35 has physical ANC buttons, but the originals do not.
    - dylz 6y ago
      Even worse, on my QC35 II's, the hardware button defaulted to Google Assistant on Android, and I had to use the app anyway to set it to modify ANC on press.
      - cjsawyer 6y ago
        At least that’s just a one time setup process.
- 6y ago

fomine3 6y ago

AirPods also requires to use app for many features but the app is integrated to iOS. IMO It's worse than dedicated app.

Consultant32452 6y ago
I use my airpods with my Android phone. What am I missing out on?
- gumby 6y ago
  Probably nothing. They have a feature that’s quite handy to me (the proprietary quick changing from one Apple device to another IFF it has the same Apple ID — so no good for shared hardware like a tv) but “quite handy” is far from invaluable. You can program a tap on each earbud to do certain things: again, handy but you don’t have that ability I doubt you’d be upset. Apple’s quite clever on figuring out how much “bleed out” from their own stack works for them (e.g. iPod support for PCs, which open standards to embrace, which not, etc). They are hoping you’ll switch to an iphone next, but even you don’t you are revenue.
  - twoleftfeets 6y ago
    If you're not used to it you'd probably not be upset but having an iPhone and Airpods I'd be upset going back. I switch between my Mac and my iPhone daily so if I had to re-pair to do that that would suck. My guess is many modern alternatives let you pair more than one device at a time which would be another possible solution (better or worse I don't know). Apple's switching sometimes fails for me and when it does it's infuriating since it can end up taking several minutes to fix when all I wanted to do is use the damn headphones. The tapping is pretty useful too though the features I use (pause/play/skip to next song/backup) are also part of the bluetooth headphone standard so while I can't change them to something else my other bluetooth headphones have the same standard features that I actually use. This is also one reason I didn't like the Airpod Pro's. Tap is replaced with squeeze. Squeeze requires 2 fingers, Tap works with a knuckle. I can tap with full hands. I can't squeeze it full hands so they effectively downgraded the product with pro.

flyingpenguin 6y ago

But holy crap, the process for updating AirPods without an iPhone is a real hassle. Took my bank account months to download my an iPhone to update with.

bestnameever 6y ago
The system requirements for Airpods includes another Mac device like an iPhone. https://www.apple.com/airpods-2nd-generation/specs/ https://www.apple.com/airpods-2nd-generation/specs/

cactus2093 6y ago

I didn’t find that an issue at all, and not sure what you mean about the laptop part I only use the mobile app to upgrade my qc 35s. I do find the Bose UX to be horrible though for another reason, which is the incredibly stupid “feature” that the headphones can be connected to multiple devices at once. Since I use it both with my phone and laptop and they’re often in range of each other, sometimes the audio control will just switch back to the other device than the one I’m trying to use, I assume because of some background process that’s still open, and I lose my sound. If one device is on the edge of connectivity range, it’ll beep every couple of minutes as it connects and disconnects even though I’m not even using it. Then if I ever want to connect a third device like a tablet, it’s made to switch back and forth between exactly 2 devices not 3 so things get even more messed up. It’s quite annoying, and I feel like I’m the only one bothered by these issues because I don’t see a lot of other people complaining. But I’ll definitely be switching to a different brand away from Bose when these headphones wear out. Probably the upcoming over ear Apple headphones, since I find airpods to not have any of these issues and generally work great at switching between two devices without being stolen back by the previous device.

zimpenfish 6y ago
I've had these PLT headphones swap from phone to laptop when phone is playing music and laptop makes some noise (email notification, etc.) Whilst it's handy for the rare circumstances I want to start listening on the laptop without stopping the phone, it's a massive pain in the arse the other 99% of the time. Not least because it doesn't automatically switch back and start playing again. I suspect it's the generic Bluetooth chipsets, mind, rather than anyone in particular because this happens with the PLT headphones and the Taotronics dongle I've got.
jes 6y ago
Same for me. You are not alone in thinking the UX is horrible.
outadoc 6y ago
Your comment is funny to me because I have a pair of WH-1000XM3 and the one feature I'm missing the most is Bluetooth multi-point pairing. It's super easy to switch devices with the Bose (even though yeah, it can be finicky) meaning you don't have to re-pair your devices every time you want to listen to music on your phone, use them for a Slack call or for a TV show.

charwalker 6y ago

The Jabra 85h is great in this regard. Totally fine without the app, the app itself has a ton of features and useful items including changes to side tone and auto noise cancellation. The app pulled in a firmware update when I first connected and ran that in a few minutes without me touching anything. I would like to compare my set to the top Bose and Sony sets but at almost double the price of the 85h, I can't bring myself to spend the money.

drcongo 6y ago

I have the Sony WH-1000XM3 noise cancelling headphones, didn't have to install an app at all and the noise cancelation on them is absolutely incredible. Along with the amazing sound quality, they're the best headphones I've ever owned.