7 ms·

I think most of these annoyances can be taken broadly from the fact that everything about any Bluetooth experience is just absolute trash. Why does it take sev

by uzbit 5y ago

I think most of these annoyances can be taken broadly from the fact that everything about any Bluetooth experience is just absolute trash. Why does it take several tries to pair sometimes? When paired, why does it sometimes auto-connect and sometimes not? Why does it just never pair at all? What's with that pair code that it says to enter, but auto fills (sometimes)? And only sometimes do you have to use that code (which is a security thing only implemented on things with screens I'm guessing). I'm sure there's more, but I've already dedicated my days frustration to this. All that being said, I was very happy to "upgrade" to a Pixel 5a for the 3.5mm headphone jack. It's been a supreme experience to live in the past and future.

davidmurdoch 5y ago
How have consumers let companies get away with "premium" phones being the ones with fewer features?
- criddell 5y ago
  Maybe they don't mind putting the adapter on their headphone cable? If you aren't switching devices a lot, it's a one-time operation that's pretty easy to manage.
- lanstin 5y ago
  Because it is, statistically, an easier and more pleasant experience. I really get tired of taking twenty minutes to configure a bunch of settings for each marginally novel piece of tech I acquire.
  - 0xedd 5y ago
  - davidmurdoch 5y ago
    I've never had to configure my wired headphones before in my life. What kind of headphones do you have?!
- GraemeMeyer 5y ago
  I think of it like USB A ports. You miss it for a few years. And then you don't. And the products generally continue to improve along other lines
  - orhmeh09 5y ago
    I’ve never had the bit snap off a USB A cable when it was plugged in yet it’s happened to me twice with USB C. I’ve also had to replace ports due to the wear on the cable futon not being able to stay in place. Furthermore, I’m less certain if a cable I have lying around is going to be fully compatible. I also have to keep USB A around so there’s this big growth in the number of cables and adapters that are necessary. In almost every way that is meaningful to me USB C has been a downgrade. I can’t think of anything that improved my experience beyond saving a minute when I plug the laptop into only the monitor and not the power cable too.
  - spopejoy 5y ago
    Haha what?? Look all over this thread, Bluetooth has just Stockholm-syndromed everybody, and the phone manufacturers are only too happy to drop the jack. My anecdata is that as an exclusively wired headphone user, my shit ALWAYS works. Meanwhile my bluetooth zoom/discord counterparties are consistently making remote work a drag because: - I can't hear the beginning or end of their sentence (some kind of bluetooth gating/noise cancellation that doesn't work) - Connection drops - 10-25 seconds of start-of-call fumbling (like in TFA) - No backup if their P.O.S. bluetooth airpod whatever is really dying or even just having a fight with their device that the user gives up in disgust. I have a backup wired $5 headset ready to go anytime (and use it like once every two years).
- Gigachad 5y ago
  Because I don't miss anything about old phones. Yes sometimes the airpods can work a little funny, but on a whole, they are so far ahead of the wired headphones I used to use that I can completely forgive the issues they have. Yeah it was cool to put an SD card in my phone, but it never worked that seamless and my phone now has more storage than I'll ever use.
  - davidmurdoch 5y ago
    Old? Phones still come with headphone jacks. They just cost less (and have slower hardware )
hbn 5y ago
Wasn't that the entire selling point with Apple's W1 chip? That it's bypassing standard bluetooth handshake protocol and handling the pairing themselves? Airpods seem to be more reliable for that than most bluetooth experiences I've had, but it's still not as good as I'd hoped given it's supposed to "just work"
jasonlotito 5y ago
> I think most of these annoyances can be taken broadly from the fact that everything about any Bluetooth experience is just absolute trash. That's not my problem. That's Apple's problem. There are solutions around this, and they made a choice to use the technology they did. End result is their product. These annoyances aren't because they have wireless headphones. It's because of the choices they made.
grishka 5y ago
Managing device connections with software is always going to result in a subpar user experience, period. When you use wired headphones, you don't have to rely on a UI to tell whether they're connected or not, and to manage that connection. To move from your laptop to your phone, you unplug them from the laptop and plug them into the phone. That simple. Impossible to mess up and works every time.
- asimilator 5y ago
  Yeah, but wires are also a subpar user experience, period. Rolling them up to store them, untangling them to use them, getting caught on things, routing them to the device, etc. There's a reason bluetooth headphones are still popular despite the downsides.
  - grishka 5y ago
    For me personally the wires are such a non-issue compared to all these software-related problems and having to run the whole thing through a noisy, unreliable, shared medium.
  - spopejoy 5y ago
    Subjective, so nope. It's more a tradeoff. Wires are reliable and "just work" (see title of TFA), so the small convenience issues you describe do not make them "sub-par". Indeed I think the terrible experience I see others having on meets/calls is "subpar" and in a remote world, IMO, unacceptable.
psychomugs 5y ago
I've found the best compromise to be a Bluetooth receiver with 3.5mm input. I feel comfortably untethered to the desk, I can still use them while charging, and I can quickly switch between other 3.5mm devices.

by uzbit 5y ago

davidmurdoch 5y ago

How have consumers let companies get away with "premium" phones being the ones with fewer features?

criddell 5y ago
Maybe they don't mind putting the adapter on their headphone cable? If you aren't switching devices a lot, it's a one-time operation that's pretty easy to manage.
lanstin 5y ago
Because it is, statistically, an easier and more pleasant experience. I really get tired of taking twenty minutes to configure a bunch of settings for each marginally novel piece of tech I acquire.
- 0xedd 5y ago
- davidmurdoch 5y ago
  I've never had to configure my wired headphones before in my life. What kind of headphones do you have?!
GraemeMeyer 5y ago
I think of it like USB A ports. You miss it for a few years. And then you don't. And the products generally continue to improve along other lines
- orhmeh09 5y ago
  I’ve never had the bit snap off a USB A cable when it was plugged in yet it’s happened to me twice with USB C. I’ve also had to replace ports due to the wear on the cable futon not being able to stay in place. Furthermore, I’m less certain if a cable I have lying around is going to be fully compatible. I also have to keep USB A around so there’s this big growth in the number of cables and adapters that are necessary. In almost every way that is meaningful to me USB C has been a downgrade. I can’t think of anything that improved my experience beyond saving a minute when I plug the laptop into only the monitor and not the power cable too.
- spopejoy 5y ago
  Haha what?? Look all over this thread, Bluetooth has just Stockholm-syndromed everybody, and the phone manufacturers are only too happy to drop the jack. My anecdata is that as an exclusively wired headphone user, my shit ALWAYS works. Meanwhile my bluetooth zoom/discord counterparties are consistently making remote work a drag because: - I can't hear the beginning or end of their sentence (some kind of bluetooth gating/noise cancellation that doesn't work) - Connection drops - 10-25 seconds of start-of-call fumbling (like in TFA) - No backup if their P.O.S. bluetooth airpod whatever is really dying or even just having a fight with their device that the user gives up in disgust. I have a backup wired $5 headset ready to go anytime (and use it like once every two years).
Gigachad 5y ago
Because I don't miss anything about old phones. Yes sometimes the airpods can work a little funny, but on a whole, they are so far ahead of the wired headphones I used to use that I can completely forgive the issues they have. Yeah it was cool to put an SD card in my phone, but it never worked that seamless and my phone now has more storage than I'll ever use.
- davidmurdoch 5y ago
  Old? Phones still come with headphone jacks. They just cost less (and have slower hardware )

hbn 5y ago

Wasn't that the entire selling point with Apple's W1 chip? That it's bypassing standard bluetooth handshake protocol and handling the pairing themselves? Airpods seem to be more reliable for that than most bluetooth experiences I've had, but it's still not as good as I'd hoped given it's supposed to "just work"

jasonlotito 5y ago

> I think most of these annoyances can be taken broadly from the fact that everything about any Bluetooth experience is just absolute trash. That's not my problem. That's Apple's problem. There are solutions around this, and they made a choice to use the technology they did. End result is their product. These annoyances aren't because they have wireless headphones. It's because of the choices they made.

grishka 5y ago

Managing device connections with software is always going to result in a subpar user experience, period. When you use wired headphones, you don't have to rely on a UI to tell whether they're connected or not, and to manage that connection. To move from your laptop to your phone, you unplug them from the laptop and plug them into the phone. That simple. Impossible to mess up and works every time.

asimilator 5y ago
Yeah, but wires are also a subpar user experience, period. Rolling them up to store them, untangling them to use them, getting caught on things, routing them to the device, etc. There's a reason bluetooth headphones are still popular despite the downsides.
- grishka 5y ago
  For me personally the wires are such a non-issue compared to all these software-related problems and having to run the whole thing through a noisy, unreliable, shared medium.
- spopejoy 5y ago
  Subjective, so nope. It's more a tradeoff. Wires are reliable and "just work" (see title of TFA), so the small convenience issues you describe do not make them "sub-par". Indeed I think the terrible experience I see others having on meets/calls is "subpar" and in a remote world, IMO, unacceptable.

psychomugs 5y ago

I've found the best compromise to be a Bluetooth receiver with 3.5mm input. I feel comfortably untethered to the desk, I can still use them while charging, and I can quickly switch between other 3.5mm devices.