I really believe the AirPods are an amazing New platform.. I think people are far more on the go lately and so the AirPods are a perfect way to consume content, that isn’t just music and I do believe the big rise in Podcast consumption is very much due to their popularity. It started as a silly joke that everyone made fun of but now, at least where I live in NYC, seemingly everyone on every train has them on.
I am a little disappointed in Apple for not adding storage to these though, it wouldn’t be very hard to add a few gigabytes to them and then they would work even without your phone and it would be the iPod all over again. Missed opportunity by Apple for sure.
As a shameless plug I am working on what I think is the perfect companion App for iPods. My app let’s you listen to any article by using some amazing sounding Machine Learning models to grab the articles and convert them to audio. You can check it out here if you like:
https://articulu.com
Take a look at the front and back of the Airpod flexible circuit board, there is pretty much no room for anything else. Even the smallest nand flash chips take up more room than the circuit board can offer. The airpod case has more room in it, maybe there could be a storage chip added to that for on the go music (like an ipod shuffle!) but Apple would probably just rather you buy a watch.
I doubt they could fit any storage on airpods, they're already filled for batteries. Apple watch is the companion for working out without your phone and that has onboard storage
I have the Bragi Dash which has 4GB of storage. Because their bluetooth is pretty crummy, they actually work best as an in-ear mp3 player, no phone required. It's pretty nice for running because carrying a giant phone in running clothes is a nuisance.
The Samsung Gear IconX (last year's model) had 4 GB of storage. However it was useless to me as I no longer manage my own MP3 files. I use Pandora/Spotify/Google Music/etc.
If Apple adds storage, they hopefully will do it in a way where it's easy to "cache" playlists or albums easily without having to manage files.
As a slightly out-of-context suggestion: Add the ability to try the app to your website. I'd be more likely to download if I could try it without commitment first :)
> I really believe the AirPods are an amazing New platform.
Headphones have existed since 1919. The Sony Walkman was released in 1979.
> I think people are far more on the go lately and so the AirPods are a perfect way to consume content, that isn’t just music and I do believe the big rise in Podcast consumption is very much due to their popularity.
What do AirPods add to content consumption, other than expense, ease of loss and charging cycles?
> My app let’s[sic] you listen to any article by using some amazing sounding Machine Learning models to grab the articles and convert them to audio.
I … I can't tell if this is satire or not. It's definitely Peak 2019.
I’m sorry but none of those devices had a CPU in them, the H1 chip in these is actually a CPU.. it’s not satire I mean it’s like saying phones have existed since the 1970s when the iPhone came out...
I am a little disappointed in Apple for not adding storage to these though, it wouldn’t be very hard to add a few gigabytes to them and then they would work even without your phone and it would be the iPod all over again. Missed opportunity by Apple for sure.
As a shameless plug I am working on what I think is the perfect companion App for iPods. My app let’s you listen to any article by using some amazing sounding Machine Learning models to grab the articles and convert them to audio. You can check it out here if you like: https://articulu.com
Also commented on here, but the discussion seems to have split. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19441487