Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple to Debut New AirPods This Year With Handsfree 'Hey, Siri' Voice Command Feature, 'Water-Resistant' Models Coming in 2019

I really really hope Apple releases a new Siri that just completely blows the competition out of the water. They have to know it’s become the butt of a lot of jokes at this point. I’m sure they have at least one team working on some kind of revamp.

They are good at keeping the software they are working on a secret, so we won’t see it coming.
 
seanrt said:
That would defeat the HomePod mic that is supposed to pick you up across the room.
[doublepost=1519313844][/doublepost]
It’s been 2 years since 2016.
Click to expand...

No it would’t Defeat the mic. What if one had two HomePods, Airbuds, iPhone, Watch in the same room. Want all of them answering to Hey Siri? No! All hear, only one answers the ideal configuration. Sure Apple working on it.
 
Guy Clark said:
The newest Apple product I use on a daily basis is a 2011 iMac and the oldest a 2005 Mac mini G4 both of which are user repairable.
Explain to me how the user is to repair a modern MacBook or iMac without sending it to Apple then being charged almost as much as it would be for a new Mac.
Click to expand...
Perhaps you are not the type of person Apple is interested in appeasing.
 
HobeSoundDarryl said:
Why not simply allow us to use the various Siri products by their generally odd names? "Hey Siri" depends on a human brain to call out the "Hey..." As such, that brain knows which device it is calling. So instead of trying to make the devices best guess which one the brain wants to respond, why not let the brain do that processing- getting it right 100% of the time- and call out a unique name either given or assignable to each device? For example,

"Hey Homepod" would not be confusing to Macs, watch, phone, tablet or AirPods. The human wants Siri on HP to respond. And- like Siri- Homepod is an odd enough name, it's not going to accidentally come up in daily conversations to then accidentily activate Siri on Homepod.

"Hey AirPods" would not be confusing to Macs, watch, phone, tablet or HPs. Same benefits.

"Hey iPhone"

"Hey iPad"

"Hey iMac"

Or, how about getting really crazy and allow us consumers to rename Siri on select devices, encouraging us to choose odd names so that we are not accidentally summoning Siri in casual conversation. "Hey Joe" might not be a good name but "Hey Rasputin" probably works. Maybe Stark's "Hey Jarvis"? "Hey KooKooKaChoo"?

Bottom line: the summoning brain ALWAYS knows which device it wants to respond. So shift that AI to just BI (biological intelligence already debugged & fully functional) and use it. No need overthinking the obvious.*


*Important disclosure: I do NOT "have $2XX Billion in the bank," nor did I stay as a Holiday Inn Express last night.
Click to expand...

Which HomePod?
[doublepost=1519316650][/doublepost]
seanrt said:
My HomePod and iPhone answer to “Hey Siri” at the same time.
Click to expand...
Are the HomePod and iPhone paired? Also, if you lay the iPhone face down it won’t respond.
 
HobeSoundDarryl said:
Why not simply allow us to use the various Siri products by their generally odd names? "Hey Siri" depends on a human brain to call out the "Hey..." As such, that brain knows which device it is calling. So instead of trying to make the devices best guess which one the brain wants to respond, why not let the brain do that processing- getting it right 100% of the time- and call out a unique name either given or assignable to each device? For example,

"Hey Homepod" would not be confusing to Macs, watch, phone, tablet or AirPods. The human wants Siri on HP to respond. And- like Siri- Homepod is an odd enough name, it's not going to accidentally come up in daily conversations to then accidentily activate Siri on Homepod.

"Hey AirPods" would not be confusing to Macs, watch, phone, tablet or HPs. Same benefits.

"Hey iPhone"

"Hey iPad"

"Hey iMac"

Or, how about getting really crazy and allow us consumers to rename Siri on select devices, encouraging us to choose odd names so that we are not accidentally summoning Siri in casual conversation. "Hey Joe" might not be a good name but "Hey Rasputin" probably works. Maybe Stark's "Hey Jarvis"? "Hey KooKooKaChoo"?

Bottom line: the summoning brain ALWAYS knows which device it wants to respond. So shift that AI to just BI (biological intelligence already debugged & fully functional) and use it. No need overthinking the obvious.*


*Important disclosure: I do NOT "have $2XX Billion in the bank," nor did I stay as a Holiday Inn Express last night.
Click to expand...
This is not really a solution, I hope people stop promoting this idea. The point is you should be able to say “hey siri, tell me the weather” in any room of your house or when you are out and have the proper device respond. I’ve been doing this for over a year with the Echo, I don’t even bother looking for a device because I know no matter where I am one will hear me. This is what the future should be, not every device having a different name.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: npmacuser5, seanrt and Krayzkat
I hope they’re working on a new BeatsX too. I prefer that form factor: silicone tips and a cord so I won’t lose them. I bought the first gen but they sounded terrible compared to my wired earbuds so I sent them back.
 
They can make new devices to listen for Siri commands all day long—but it won't actually make a difference until they improve Siri.

I would consider buying new AirPods if they could shorten up those stupid stems that stick out and make me look like a doofus or add the ability to attach fitted tips so they stay in my ears better. Right now I use a special earbud tape that I replace about once per week so it fits in the case for charging. I'd also like a black option so they don't stand out so much. I like the device itself—it sounds good, stays connected well, works with all my devices easily, and has nice features—but the fit and aesthetic appearance needs some tweaking. Even if the stems curved inward slightly it would look less weird.
 
BrettArchibald said:
What I'd really like are some soft silicone tipped AirPods. That hard plastic is just too uncomfortable for me. :(
Click to expand...
I had that problem at first, but eventually my ears adjusted to them. When just watching Youtube videos, I'd usually only put on the left side so that I can still hear my kids and SO, so my left ear adjusted first lol. This is my favorite feature of the Airpods, the ability to just use one side and not have a wire dangling.

I really only have one thing that I wish for - make them in matte black or gray please, Apple.
 
Dear Tim, yeh it's me again (heh heh), how about 'black' airpods? Matte black or piano black or both would be nice.
And I'm sure some people out there would appreciate silver or rose gold.
You gave us so many options for Apple Watch yet you only give us one single option for AirPod, whats up with that?
 
ctdonath said:
Give me longer battery life first. I'm on hours of conference calls thru the day, plus music in between, and have to alternate charging each AirPod several times daily.

I'm not big on Siri. Being introverted, I don't like talking aloud when unnecessary (with everyone else wondering why I'm suddenly saying things out of context that they don't need to hear). Also the error rate is still too high.

Water resistance is nice, given (noted by numerous anecdotes above) water happens and losing a $159 device just for a few ill-placed drops is obnoxious.

Otherwise, they're great - just give me a good solid 8 hours play time.
Click to expand...

The biggest issue with AirPods is they don’t connect consistently. So many issues. Either it’s the chime to tell you they’re connected when they’re actually not, or just huuuuge delays before connecting, or often not connecting at all till you put the AirPod back in the case and take it back out. Oy...

And no, I’ve had my AirPods replaced (one stopped charging so Apple replaced the whole set) and NOBODY I know with them tells me they have any different of an experience with reliability. They’re just not reliable enough. That said, I still love them. Once they’re connected they’re great.
 
tkukoc said:
SIRI isn't smart enough to do a lot of basic stuff so adding her to airpods hands free isn't going to help. Until Apple gets on the level of Amazon/Google with their assistant... it's not worthy of anyone's time. Apple needs to get out of software issue hell before making anymore hardware changes. Of course I know they won't.. and that's why it's easier then ever to work on projects that aren't IOS related. For me I've always loved Apple products but they've done slim to no enhancements in software. Adding some animated emoji's doesn't cut the mustard when shelling out 1k for a device. Oh but we added a new screen too.. yeah old tech.. but new to Apple. Come on fellas, time to work on something that actually makes sense! SIRI needs an overhaul.. IOS needs an overhaul.. APPLE.. needs an overhaul.

And I love Airpods, SIRI is already there.. a double tap away. I just don't use her like I do Amazon/Google.. those assistants get me more than what I need.. SIRI can't get the basics right.
Click to expand...
I’m going to quote a forum moderator (sorry, I forgot to copy over the name when I did this):

“The voice interaction paradigm will take some time to adopt, requiring human-like conversation capabilities on the part of device/ecosystem, and none are there yet.” The germane phrase to your comment is “none are there yet” so saying you want Alexa or GA skills is not really asking for anything useful.
 
KmanOz said:
How about a way to prioritise what device answers. Currently my watch answers and phone answers at the same time. I wanna buy a HomePod but will just add confusion on which Siri Im talking to.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Why not “Hey iPhone...” “Hey iPad...” “Hey HomePod...” etc.
 
  • Like
Reactions: s15119
DevNull0 said:
Most of those models are very different from each other. And the earphones didn't change all that often.

This article is talking about airpods. Then airpods that are identical except hey siri. Then airpods that are identical except waterproof. All on a nice 1 year cycle. It takes Apple a whole year to add a minor software feature but they can't waterproof it yet. Then another whole year just to add waterproofing.

It's not about upgrading hardware with new tech. It's about the minimal possible change so they can pretend there's a new model. It's a much bigger investment in marketing than in the actual tech. Read the post right above mine, there's a lot they could do with Airpods. But it's all about marketing buzz and always a "new" version.
Click to expand...
You’re leaving out the W2 chip, which in my opinion, would make them a worthwhile upgrade.
 
ersan191 said:
You can customize the left and right double tap actions on AirPods already. My left side skips the current song and the right side invokes Siri.

They could actually add triple tap support to the current AirPods if they wanted - so I assume that isn’t part of their design plan. Capacitive touch would be great as long as they find a way to avoid accidental touches. Single tap is not used specifically because it’s easy to do accidentally.
Click to expand...
Right, I was referring to going beyond what is already offered in comparison to HomePod. I have mine set up similar to yours.
 
wigby said:
Since Siri knows (or can surmise) which device you are actively using and prompting, I don't think it's an issue. Besides, in what situation would you be wearing AriPods and also want to hear music from your HomePod or iPhone?
Click to expand...
Two people in the same house?
 
WilliamG said:
The biggest issue with AirPods is they don’t connect consistently. So many issues. Either it’s the chime to tell you they’re connected when they’re actually not, or just huuuuge delays before connecting, or often not connecting at all till you put the AirPod back in the case and take it back out. Oy...

And no, I’ve had my AirPods replaced (one stopped charging so Apple replaced the whole set) and NOBODY I know with them tells me they have any different of an experience with reliability. They’re just not reliable enough. That said, I still love them. Once they’re connected they’re great.
Click to expand...
Those are new issues with iOS 11 (SHOCKING RIGHT!?). When I got them using iOS 10 they were flawless.
 
It would be really good if whenever I say "Hey Siri", my iPhone automatically hears "Hey Alexa". That way I might use it more, rather than just swearing at Siri and typing in my question/request. Just a thought.
 
  • Like
Reactions: psac
kruegdude said:
You’re leaving out the W2 chip, which in my opinion, would make them a worthwhile upgrade.
Click to expand...
What exactly is the W2 chip going to do that the W1 doesn't in the AirPods - maybe a bit better battery life? I haven't seen much about BLE audio streaming but I assume it results in pretty poor audio quality.
 
WilliamG said:
The biggest issue with AirPods is they don’t connect consistently. So many issues. Either it’s the chime to tell you they’re connected when they’re actually not, or just huuuuge delays before connecting, or often not connecting at all till you put the AirPod back in the case and take it back out. Oy...

And no, I’ve had my AirPods replaced (one stopped charging so Apple replaced the whole set) and NOBODY I know with them tells me they have any different of an experience with reliability. They’re just not reliable enough. That said, I still love them. Once they’re connected they’re great.
Click to expand...
I’ve noticed a bit of a delay myself. I suspect it’s due to network delays since these are connected to an iCloud account and maybe doing some sort of reassignment over the internet.
[doublepost=1519319135][/doublepost]
ersan191 said:
What exactly is the W2 chip going to do that the W1 doesn't in the AirPods - maybe a bit better battery life? I haven't seen much about BLE audio streaming but I assume it results in pretty poor audio quality.
Click to expand...
It has a 2 in the name. 2 is better than 1.
 
  • Like
Reactions: djlythium
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back