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Show HN: I made earrings that work like earphones
- mgkimsal 6y agoGiven the size of these, my initial thought was that these were containers that could hold a couple of different types of ear buds. Having "stylish earring" containers that could hold the google earbuds, for example, would let you swap out various earring styles, and probably cost a fair bit less. That said, the 'integration' - giving access to buttons or whatnot - might be trickier. All that said, this looks like a good idea, and you've executed. Good job! AND... "Our audio module is interchangeable between earrings, so you can match your look to the occasion!" That didn't seem to catch my eye up front, but it's there.
- Aurum197 6y agoOur modules work just as well with tiny ear studs. BUT then you see the module. Which is still fine because here was one of the big drivers for making this: - earrings are at the ear all day. Unlike AirPods and other earphones. So you don't have to reach for them when you need them. - even in transparency mode, not all of us like the idea of something blocking our ear canal. - Smart Assistants are getting powerful, but most of us don't use them anywhere close to their capability because we don't have our AirPods handy all the time, which means we have gotten into the habit of "Siri, what's the stock price of Apple?"
- errantspark 6y agoI feel like the value prop would be better if they looked good. I feel like for the purpose of signalling status with ear-accessories Airpods Pro are gonna do a better job these days. It's a neat idea, I maybe you could do something with an industrial or similar piercing and take advantage of vibrating the actual cartilage of the ear? Maybe I just have bad taste but I wouldn't wear these, I hope there's leeway in the design to make something more attractive.
- baxter001 6y ago"signalling status with ear-accessories Airpods Pro are gonna do a better job these days." Excellent point, one doesn't need an earphone that looks like traditional jewellery if the earphone is already fulfilling the purpose of traditional jewellery.
- elhudy 6y agoJewelry isn't always for signaling status. Some people appreciate the art and craftsmanship of it.
- tengbretson 6y ago"I'm the type that appreciates art and craftsmanship" is signalling.
- airstrike 6y agoAssuming that whoever bought it did think / say that sentence to begin with. A lot of the time the purchase is driven by the desire to find self-actualization, to borrow from Maslow. Even if it's driven by a need for esteem, who's to say that's not a worthwhile goal?
- elhudy 6y agoI have paintings hanging in my house, in rooms that literally nobody will ever see. But I enjoy having them there. Is that practical? No. Is it signaling? Also no. But I enjoy them for whatever inexplicable reason. Not everybody chooses what they wear with other people's opinions in mind. Some people might find this incomprehensible, but I'm not sure how to convince them otherwise.
- lovemenot 6y agoNow that you've told us all, job done! Sorry, I couldn't resist. In fact I admire and agree with what you said.
- millzlane 6y agoIt would be cool to see a diagram of of they work.
- chmod775 6y agoThere's a few applications for this in places where you want to inconspicuously listen to music without appearing rude (having headphones in can be pretty damn rude). But I feel like where this can really shine is hearing aids. These would sell like hotcakes with about 50% of the population. Hearing aids nowadays generally just don't look too great. Which is why they tend to go the camouflage route instead. Making them look pretty could go a long way.
- Aurum197 6y agoWe are looking into that as well as other wellness type applications.
- GordonS 6y agoHearing aids that don't look like hearing aids sounds like a great idea. Almost too obvious (only now you've said it, of course!) - I wonder if any companies already do anything along these lines?
- germinalphrase 6y agoThey simply put them inside the ear canal.
- dirtnugget 6y agoYou can barely spot the good ones.
- bduerst 6y agoIts actually a surprise to see one these days, they're that good.
- nlitened 6y agoDo you know if AirPods Pro could be used as hearing aids? I know nothing about hearing disabilities, but this sounds like a good idea.
- crazygringo 6y agoIt looks really cool and innovative, so congrats. However, it's pretty hard to evaluate since there's nothing concrete on the site and it's hard to imagine how they work. What buttons do they have? How do they charge? How do you actually hear the audio when it doesn't actually go in your ear? Since it doesn't go in your ear, can someone next to you hear your audio -- is it private? What part swaps out? What's the battery life? What's the price? How much is the base price, and how much for each swappable part? Etc. etc. etc. From the website alone (ignoring your HN title), I'd assume you haven't made these yet and you're just trying to gauge demand. But assuming you actually have made them... please show them off not just on the fashion side, but on the functionality side! Give us all the info please. :)
- Falling3 6y agoThey do sit in the ear like a low-profile earbud. You can kind of tell from some of the photos (but the video makes it more obvious) that these aren't using the pierced hole of the model's ear. They're sitting on the ear canal opening. The video also shows some of the interaction similar to an airpod tap. edit: Yea, I assumed wrong as several commenters pointed out.
- psidex 6y agoAre you sure? To me in the video it definitely seems like they are using an actual piercing, @ 1:05 you can see it swing away from her ear edit: In the pdf link above it states > "Ear Jewelry with Wireless Audio Device" provides a headset apparatus in which the audio device extends through the piercing in the wearer's ear, with the signal path passing through the piercing of the ear itself from a wireless communications device at the first end to the sound production unit at the opposite end.
- shaftway 6y agoAt 1:10 you can see someone attaching the backing to the earring
- scott_s 6y ago
- gpas 6y agoAre they earrings that make sound like earbuds, or are they earbuds with earrings glued on?
- scotu 6y agoGreat concept, I don't wear earrings but it would definitely want to try them if I did (in fact I would like to try them anyway :) )
- caseyf 6y agoI love this idea! I'd miss all of my earrings terribly though :( Maybe someday the components could be small enough that a cute cuff would be possible.
- Aurum197 6y agoOur earrings make a statement in size as well as literally :) WThe audio module can be worn with tiny stud earrings, but then the audio module shows. It still retains many of its advantages, except the tech is obvious in that case.
- easton 6y agoDo you have a patent number?
- klyrs 6y agoI searched for "peripherii" and found: https://patents.google.com/patent/WO2017049261A1/en https://patents.google.com/patent/WO2017049261A1/en
- meigwilym 6y agoGreat idea. Although did you consider making classier looking earbuds?
- Aurum197 6y agoEarbuds are still earbuds. And everyone's trying to one-up each other in that space. Anyway, we were trying to make an alternative for those occasions when an earbud would be a social no-no.
- worldmerge 6y agoNice job!
- Aurum197 6y agoThanks worldmerge
- unnouinceput 6y agoThis is an ad. Why is it at top of HN?
- _trampeltier 6y agoShow HN is allways a kind of an ad. And HN is also about startups. It's a cool idea, seems nobody did think about it before and is a kind of cool. So I think to be almost on top of HN is totaly OK for this.
- Aurum197 6y ago_trampeltier, thank you! We are genuinely looking for feedback! Anyway, this would be the wrong place for an ad (very few women?)
- reyqn 6y agoA quick search shows lots of people thought of this before https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/7/12/17563846/airpods-swings-earbuds-headphones-earrings-fashion https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/7/12/17563846/a... https://thegadgetflow.com/portfolio/combination-earbud-earrings/ https://thegadgetflow.com/portfolio/combination-earbud-earri... https://teqnizan.com/ https://teqnizan.com/ https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/scandi/swings-bluetooth-earrings https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/scandi/swings-bluetooth...
- Aurum197 6y agounnouinceput, what makes you say this is an ad? How is it different from others showing what they have made?
- ebg13 6y agoThe woman in the demo video (not the narrator) uses upspeak in every single utterance, and I found it pretty offputting.
- Aurum197 6y agoebg13, I hadn't noticed, but will pay attention to that the next time we record :)
- withinboredom 6y agoThat’s the only way Siri understands me, so I didn’t even notice.
- nottorp 6y agoI'm sure the earring wearers would appreciate this but the way their shop is handled screams "If you have to ask, you can't afford it". Also, I hope the actual BT headphone part is made by someone who knows what they're doing, or they'll be more trouble than they're worth.
- Aurum197 6y agoYikes. I didn't realize that's how it comes across. We have version that are cost a lots less than a pair of AirPods, and the customer gets an earring plus an audio module. We are doing invite only because ours is still an MVP, and we are only doing short production runs.
- bobsmooth 6y agoNeat idea. But I would make it clear on the shop page that the product isn't ready.
- Aurum197 6y agoWe have an mvp, and we have been selling the earrings in batches.
- nottorp 6y agoWell it's jewelry and there's a lot of expensive (not always justified) stuff that's only sold in cult format. As in you have to be a cult member to buy. It's only logical :) But then I'm not the potential customer, the missus may be and I didn't ask her opinion yet.
- nottorp 6y agoUpdate: I asked the missus. At first she said "WANT". When I told her you have to join the club to order the "WANT" changed to "I don't need, thanks" :)
- 6y ago
- mmtauqir 6y agoI have a cheesy tagline for you: "Are these earphones or earrings? Yes!"
- Aurum197 6y agoWe have used it in our insta :) More than once. Great minds &c &c
- rootsudo 6y agoReminds me of what the Bajorans wore on Deep Space 9.
- Aurum197 6y agoAh, the lovely Kira! Theirs was all chains though, no?
- seph-reed 6y agoIt seems like some modularity would go a long ways here. Perhaps we need a standard mechanical connection so that jewelry can be made to attach to any brand of ear pod.
- Aurum197 6y agoThere are some interesting gadgets out there that anchor the Airpod to the ear. But the trouble with One Size Fits All solutions is that often One Size Fits No one. Especially in the case of jewelry, it is very easy to end up making something gimmicky. Still, I do agree with what you are saying: perhaps.
- Ptrulli 6y agoGreat job on this and the idea itself is genius. It does look like the earring uses the piercing itself to stay in place. To be honest visually the top portion does look awkward, but I am sure it's just a matter of getting used to the look. Nonetheless, great job and goodluck!
- the_arun 6y agoWhat about men? :)
- gregorymfoster 6y agoAre you assuming men can’t wear earrings?
- tartoran 6y agoIt’s quite common. Many men wear plug earrings. It’s true, hanging earrings are rare for men. When i was a teenager I was wearing one in my left year. Looking back it makes me cringe, I dont know why.
- Aurum197 6y agoThat was the time to experiment! I am sure you are glad you took the fashion risk. Who are we without our stories and adventures!
- bbarnett 6y agoI've been in meetings where people have been upset ; our product only targets 1/2 the planet, how can we convince the other sex to wear/use it? If you break the (mild for some) earring stigma, and even further the dangling earring fashion stigma for men, you'd be making history. And a tech product might just do that.
- peteretep 6y agoI have had my ears pierced and would happily re-pierce them for the right wearable, but their current designs absolutely would look clownish twinned with most masculine outfits.
- Aurum197 6y agoWe spent this wonderful afternoon with a team from one of the top audio companies in the world. Their team lead, a man in his 40s, happily wore our earring! It was our teal statement earring which is very unisex.
- samatman 6y agoHmm. To me, these are uncanny. They look like earrings, except earrings just don't cover any part of the ear canal like that. I don't think I've ever seen that before. I expect if I saw them in the wild, I'd spend a lot of time trying not to stare at them, trying to figure out what's up with the weird earrings. Maybe I'd get used to it? They don't look bad just... yeah, uncanny.
- Aurum197 6y agoSamatman, we've had at least a few people tell us that. But fashion earrings do also sometimes go all the way upto the ear canal. Anyway, a world that accepts the look of AirPods should be fine with "high-reaching" earrings :)
- samatman 6y agoBest of luck to you! This is my impression.
- bbarnett 6y agoIf anything, it will 'get people talking'. I suspect the most powerful thing you could do, is end up with someone commenting in the media 'What's she wearing?' Problem is, if that happens? Now you'll have 1M orders overnight. A good, if stressful problem to have.
- Aurum197 6y agoThat'd be a good problem to have :)
- ijidak 6y agoDo you have any plans to let affiliates sell these? I would love to offer this product to my audience.
- Aurum197 6y agoLjidak, can you tell me more? Who's your audience?
- rriepe 6y agoGreat idea and great start. I expect the "They don't look as good as Airpods" comments here to rank very highly in bad Show HN takes in the future.
- Aurum197 6y ago:)
- withinboredom 6y agoLooks like a perfect Christmas/birthday present.
- brian_herman 6y agodamn that’s cool i would definitely invest in your company unfortunately i don’t have a significant other to buy these for otherwise i definitely would
- Aurum197 6y agoThank you :)
- tartoran 6y agoLooking forward to seeing folks talking to their earrings, walls, wrists, speakers, showerheads, kitchen appliances as if the phone wasn’t enough of an intrusion in our lives. Im certain it’s a passing thing. The earrings look great, one can’t even tell they’re borg. The only problem that I see is that they won’t be kept for as long as regular earrings, a generation or two and hop in the landfill. The same is true for a lot of technology things nowadays. Any idea how to change the trend and make things more lasting?
- Aurum197 6y agoSince the earrings are interchangeable, and can be worn without the module, someone who buys a pair in gold (and we have that too) would keep it for generations! (Granted the module will end up in the landfill though.)
- tartoran 6y agoThats great news. Hope to see some technology that works with existing earrings and is removable/upgradeable so less goes to waste on next gen
- zhte415 6y agoMicrophone in a necklace or choker? Sounds good.
- blkhp19 6y agoHere's the thing, Apple, for better or for worse, dictates what looks good and what doesn't. These are clearly a technical downgrade from AirPods, but I'd also argue these are a fashion / status downgrade as well. To me, this is the kind of thing you'd see in a kid's spy kit toy. It's tacky, and in my opinion, destined to fail hard - if they even make it to market.
- printfn 6y agoThis is such a great idea! I’ll definitely be interested when they come out.
- bonoboTP 6y ago> Whether you are at a picnic, a party or a meeting, your SmartEarrings™ will make sure you don't miss a call or a notification. Sounds terrifying.
- Aurum197 6y agoAh, ok, "provided you don't want to miss them" :) It mirrors your phone settings.
- randycupertino 6y agoThese are awesome! I used to work in call centers and have suggestions for you on audio quality and also design earrings on the side for fun and whimsy. Will send you an email re: partnering/ideas.
- Aurum197 6y agoWe did think of call centers as potential customers! Happy to hear from you about audio quality, etc!
- Aurum197 6y agoHere is an early prototype. This should help you see how we approached the issue. This prototype, btw, weighs nothing! It was an encouraging start. The best part was our model's reaction. When the earring was done pairing, it spoke in her ear, and she shrieked in delight :) That was unexpected validation. https://youtu.be/aAUIfNSVauY https://youtu.be/aAUIfNSVauY
- gregordv 6y agoAurum197 - Mrs. Gregordv has been looking for this since 1999. We've been waiting for someone to make BT headsets that can be real jewelry for semiformal affairs. We figured someone would make a bluetooth version of Elektra King's ear cuff (https://ibb.co/xJbkQs8 https://ibb.co/xJbkQs8), and make an absolute mint. The market has been slow to catch on. While I'm sure you have some good design acumen, I'm with others in making sure that the visible part is an easy-to-integrate standard so you're not a blocker on the fashion side. I'll happily pay a premium price for the BT side of it, but you're not going to be able to produce enough variety to suit everybody's tastes. If I can have my jeweler create custom fittings, then I can make them whatever I want.
- Aurum197 6y agoGregordv, by "the visible part", you mean the earring, right? Aside from the size constraint (driven by the size of the battery and the height of the speaker,) the number of earring styles is not an issue (since the module is detachable.) Does that address what you were saying or did I completely miss what you were saying? Our plan is to introduce several styles on an ongoing basis much like any fashion brand. These earrings can be worn with our without the module.
- gregordv 6y agoYes, I did mean the earring. But - the missus is fond of wearing white gold, gold filigree, maybe some earrings with sapphires. I don't expect that she's necessarily in the initial market you'll be addressing. While I can imagine you'll have a variety of styles, you won't be able to produce enough styles to match the breadth of the market. It would be a shame if your growth were capped by how many axes of preference you could address with your limited resources. You definitely want enough to bootstrap the market (and you mentioned that part of your business plan was to be able to sell additional earrings to repeat customers), but I suspect the long game is in creating and licensing the standards for mating the active components and the earrings. Other companies may be taking part of the pie, but as long as it keeps growing exponentially, there's plenty for everyone.
- pabs3 6y agoWhat software runs on these? Is it open source?
- Aurum197 6y agoFor our mvp we just went with the standard firmware.
- ternaryoperator 6y agoYou might want to correct this: In the bottom picture on the home page, the model is wearing her watch upside down. [0] [0] https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0250/9396/3866/files/Pink_720x.png https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0250/9396/3866/files/Pink_...
- Aurum197 6y agoEep! Good catch, thank you :)
- Lvl999Noob 6y agoThis looks really good! Since these don't plug into the ear canal, they won't muffle the ambient sounds right? I get scolded on the reg for not responding to (physical) calls when wearing my earphones. Do you have any plans for something on men's fashion side too?
- Aurum197 6y agoMuffled sound is one of my pet peeves; so no, ours, don't block out sound. Do you have any thoughts on what men might want in largish earrings?
- idorube 6y agoFile patent for "idea" so nobody can steal it... Am I the only one who feels this is just wrong?
- Aurum197 6y agoWell, you can't file patents for ideas. You have to show how they work.
- donjoe 6y agoA couple of years ago, I met a startup in Munich which did exactly the same and had a working prototype. Their product landing page is still online [0], I never heard of them since. [0]: https://www.nova-audio.com/ https://www.nova-audio.com/
- Aurum197 6y agoAre you sure they had a working prototype? I don't see how they could fit a circuit board and a battery and everything else in that form factor. Also the images don't look like product images.
- jmarchello 6y agoMan there’s a lot of mansplaining going on in this thread. Good work! This is really cool!
- Aurum197 6y agoThanks Jmarchello!
- deepGem 6y agoLooks very cool. Can you possibly make the dangling part swappable so that you have amazing combinations of mix and match possibilities. Somewhat like the Apple Watch. All day wearing comfort is another factor I'd focus on. This opens up a whole new market - you could go bananas with the materials and options. Gold, precious stones and what not. Kudos !
- Aurum197 6y agodeepGem, the earrings are swappable!
- kevinhq 6y agothat makes me remember about my favorite manga, Meitantei Conan (Case Closed) by Gosho Aoyama. it's now become closer to the reality: https://www.detectiveconanworld.com/wiki/Earring_Cellphone https://www.detectiveconanworld.com/wiki/Earring_Cellphone
- Aurum197 6y agoThere was also an Alistair Reynolds book in which the protagonist wears earrings that are earphones. I read that after I started working on my idea.
- MrDrDr 6y agoI think this is a great idea. But why just aim this as women? There are a lot of 'out there' earring designs you could consider that might make your product both technically simpler and more gender neutral.
- Const-me 6y agoThat was my first thought as well. But it might be actually reasonable. They have to start somewhere. If they’ll deliver, and sell enough of these, and unless they’ll be acquired by Apple and shut down, pretty sure we’ll see gender neutral models to follow.
- Aurum197 6y agoYes :)
- Aurum197 6y agoI am intrigued about "technically simpler." Can you elaborate?
- MrDrDr 6y agoSo - am way out of my depth here and I agree with the comment above - but I had imagined, given the fashion aspect you could consider something similar to the ear cuff design e.g: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PO5tT-NZ-zI/UYnN0LqO7_I/AAAAAAAAByA/DjuHX9kYE7Q/s1600/Gold-Rhinestone-Spider-Ear-Cuff-Stud-Wrap-Earrings-03.jpg http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PO5tT-NZ-zI/UYnN0LqO7_I/AAAAAAAABy... .. as worn in many asian countries. I imagine more of the design could be aesthetic, it could allow you to place the microphone closer to the ear canal (and potentially hide components behind the ear?)addressing some of the other comments about sound quality. - very happy to be wrong about all of the above :) - just some thoughts.
- Aurum197 6y agoThanks MrDrDr, that's a pretty edgy design! Our first attempt was an Octopus, holding on to the ear with its tentacles! But here's the problem with the spider web design: if you put a circuit board + battery front and center, sticking forward, it looks like a gigantic tumor on the ear. There's no way to avoid that. Which is why we focused on designs that hid the board behind the earring. We also wanted the earrings to be swappable (because I don't see most women wanting to wear the same look every day.) Our challenges were: hiding the circuit board, positioning the speaker near the canal, and allowing swappable looks. We spent months just figuring out how to solve these design issues.
- reportgunner 6y agoSo when using these you would have to take your earrings off when talking to someone ?
- parisianka 6y agoWhat about the audio quality?
- Aurum197 6y agoDepends on the use case. For instance, it is just barely ok for music but I honestly find most earbuds inadequate when it comes to listening to music. For phone calls, podcasts, etc (basically spoken word) which is what we designed our earrings for, the audio quality is just fine. Keep in mind that this is just an MVP. We will improve the sound quality as we make progress.
- parisianka 6y agoGot it, thanks
- Aurum197 6y agoSome reasons why we made these: 1. Earbuds are easy to lose for two reasons: they are not attached to your ear and they spend a lot of time in your pockets or messenger bag or purse. Our earrings are at your ears, and attached to your earlobes (albeit loosely!) 2. Earbuds/Airpods are a social faux pas in many situations: meetings for instance. Earrings, even statement earrings, are usually acceptable everywhere. 3. Earbuds/Airpods, however cool they may be, would look wrong with a party outfit when you still want to be connected, and be handsfree. An extreme example would be the Met Gala or a Red Carpet event. For us non-celebs, a dance party. 4. Many of us don't like the idea of putting anything inside the ear. It's uncomfortable. And the "lint" that sticks to the bud is just gross. Our earrings solve that problem. 5. Earbuds can be dangerous by blocking all sound. Transparent mode is a solution. Open-ear (like our earrings) is a more natural solution. Ultimately, there are specific use cases for our earrings, but even though they are specific, they are not at all uncommon.
- jrexilius 6y agoThis is a great concept and approach! The need is definitely there, but the devil will be in the implementation details. Good luck!
- Aurum197 6y agoThanks jrexilius!
- vaccinator 6y agoLooks a lot better then Apple's version (even for men, maybe)
- Aurum197 6y agoThanks vaccinator!