robin huber

entropys said:

An industry ripe for disruption.  That said, I doubt AirPods are suitable for all day usage, particularly hearing impaired, and people tend to want their hearing aids to be…invisible.

 Maybe this is just a step in that direction.

Mine are invisible, and because of that are suboptimal. The trade-off is invisibility for features and function—there’s just so much you can pack into a canal only device. On the other hand, AirPods are more comfortable than a bug way up your ear canal, and wearing them is cool, doesn’t scream “old man” the way other big external devices do. Plus, the fidelity of pods is light years ahead of what I’ve got in there now. Bring it, Apple!

This is great news, but I would dispute the notion that current built-in assistive technologies are at all useful for those with moderate hearing loss. I have tried them all and find them not helpful. Also, a unified hearing loss control center is needed that includes more thorough diagnostic and prescriptive features. Current controls are buried deeply in numerous locations making it a “treasure hunt” to set up. 

The most useful accessibility feature Apple could create would be a full-on hearing aid based on the AirPod Pro platform. The current accessibility features that are built-in are basically useless to anyone with even moderate hearing loss. It’s such a natural product for such an application because many of us resist getting hearing aids out of vanity—they scream “old!” But wearing ear buds is cool. Also, bigger, more visible hearing aids have the best sound, but I got the hidden in-ear ones out of vanity. With big ol’ honkin’ AirPods I could look cool AND have great sound. 

Let them stew in their own juice. If they want to impose a virus and scam ridden store on their people. Let them. Just make Sure Apple makes it clear that you leave the garden at your own risk—warranty voided for open-marketplace damage. 

lam92103 said:

Apple keeps poking the bear and then wonders why the bear is chasing them.

I think the bear poked them first.