Amaya Toman Long awaited new generation AirPods are finally here. On the occasion of the launch of their sales, Apple's chief designer Jony Ive gave an interview to the magazine GQ, in which he commented on how AirPods gradually transformed from a popular technological accessory into a pop culture phenomenon.
When Apple released its wireless headphones in 2016, the interested public was divided into two camps. One was enthusiastic, the other did not understand the hype surrounding the relatively expensive, in no way revolutionary sounding and strange looking "cut Earpods". Over time, however, AirPods became a sought-after product whose popularity peaked at last Christmas.
Customers quickly got used to the unconventional appearance and discovered that AirPods are among the products that "just work". The headphones have gained popularity for their seamless pairing and features such as ear detection. While their public appearance a year after their release was a rather unusual phenomenon, last year we could already meet their owners regularly, especially in a number of metropolises.
The development of AirPods was not easy
According to Jony Ivo, the headphone design process was not easy. Despite their seemingly simple appearance, AirPods have been proud of quite complex technology since the first generation, starting with a special processor and communication chip, through optical sensors and accelerometers to microphones. According to Apple's chief designer, these elements create a unique and intuitive user experience. Under the right conditions, just remove the headphones from the case and place them in your ears. A sophisticated system will take care of everything else.
AirPods completely lack any physical buttons for control. These are replaced by gestures that users can customize to some extent. The rest is completely automated – playback pauses when one or both headphones are removed from the ear, and resumes when they are placed back.
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According to Ivo, the design of the headphones also plays a key role, to which – according to his own words – great attention needs to be paid to similar objects. In addition to the color, shape and overall structure, Jony Ive also names properties that are difficult to describe, such as the characteristic sound made by the lid of the case or the strength of the magnet that holds the case closed.
One of the things that concerned the team the most was how the headphones should be placed in the case. "I love these details and you have no idea how long we've been designing them wrong" Ive stated. The correct placement of the headphones does not make any demands on the user and at the same time is an inconspicuous but very significant benefit.
The new generation of AirPods does not differ much in design from the previous one, but it brings news in the form of Siri voice activation, a case with support for wireless charging or a new H1 chip.
Who took a picture of such a dirty headphone? ?