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Why can't we play music through the Apple Watch Speaker?
- Thread starter 212rikanmofo
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Blowing the speaker isn't an issue, I agree; but sound quality would be. What is acceptable in a voice output would not be with music and the you'd have a pretty poor experience. Apple does not want taht as people would complain about the sound of music and not be glad it can even play music.
In a pinch, I've put my iPhone in my shirt pocket upside down and played audio with the speakers pointed up. It's not a great experience, but passable for a podcast or something. And surely a lot better than the audio from an Apple Watch would be, especially coming from your (presumably) moving wrist.
I would not try that if the iPhone is under a pillow/blanket too long it could superheat and melt down.
Curiously enough, while the sound quality of speech streamed to my ReSound hearing aids is fantastic, the sound quality of music is abysmal. But sound quality when wearing both hearing aids and good-quality over-the-ear headphones is perfect. I’m reasonably (but not absolutely) confident that music would sound better played from the watch than streamed to the hearing aids.
Let me argue the other side of the coin. While I’m all for accurate sound reproduction when listening to music … as, yes, a classical musician with an university degree in performance, there are all sorts of cases where a pair of tin cans with string gives you all the sound quality you need. Anybody who would seek out, for example, recordings of Caruso originally sold on wax cylinders (including modern digitizations of the same) will not at all be bothered by the sound quality.
I grew up listing to the Met Opera’s live Saturday matinee radio broadcasts … often on AM … in a ’68 VW Camper, going down the freeway, with the windows down. Or, similarly, in the back seat of a ’55 Bug with the factory-original radio — and don’t forget where the engine is in those cars. Wouldn’t have missed it for the world.
Personally … the ideal for me would be a true seamless experience where any nearby device I’m signed into with iCloud, including the Watch as well as any Bluetooth-connected audio device, is a speaker choice from any other device. As in, yes, I should be able to stream from my MacBook Air to my Watch, or from my iPhone to my iPad. Regardless of how silly it might seem to do so. For example, I might be listening to a live broadcast on the Air, not have my hearing aids in, the phone is charging in another room, and I want to take the garbage out; I should be able to, one-click, hand off the audio to the Watch and not miss a beat.
I’ll also admit that this is a rather low priority for me. I manage to live just fine with the way things are.
b&
I see your point, but most users are going to listen to music that is not that narrow of a niche and expect similar quality to what they get from otehr devices; even If that expectation is unrealistic for a watch. A sa result, the music palyback would be panned and viewed as a negative, and not as one more feature that meets some users' nneeds.
I remember WOWO late at night when they cranked up the power...
That would be cool, at least Mac-iPhone-iPad-ATV; provided there was a way to prevent it from swapping when you still were near the main device.
Better be rooted in facts than be scared of stuff that won’t happen. iPhones don’t heat up all of a sudden when they’re on a soft cushion or underneath.
If music playback lets the iPhone melt there's something wrong. It's not like you are playing a graphically intense game while charging. My concern would be that the sound quality would be no fun. Just like music on the Watch is no fun. Even HomePod mini should be fine for going-to-sleep music.
Amazing people here argue Apple cares about sound quality, when Apple singlehandedly destroyed the wonderful, beautiful quality of sound, that everyone could enjoy, from the early 1970s, until the iPod wiped out all high quality consumer grade sound reproduction equipment practically overnight in the 2000s. And Apple continues to do it! I want my graphic EQ back!