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AirPods libreated from Apple's ecosystem

(github.com)
1424 points moonleay | 6 comments | 16 Nov 25 00:01 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source | bottom
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isoprophlex ◴[16 Nov 25 06:17 UTC] No.45943174[source]▶
From a bit further down the page

> Bluetooth DID (Device Identification) Hook > Turns out, if you change the manufacturerid to that of Apple, you get access to several special features!

I hope Apple gets slammed hard by some regulatory body. Apparently there's absolutely zero magic reasons why their airpods are unable to connect to non-Apple devices; pretend you're an iPhone and you're in.

EDIT: read "unable to connect" => "unable to expose advanced functionality", ofc they connect just fine

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exitb ◴[16 Nov 25 06:36 UTC] No.45943230[source]▶
AirPods can connect to any device and perform on par with other Bluetooth headphones. This is about availability of special features which require a dedicated driver non-Apple devices are not expected to have.
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kakacik ◴[16 Nov 25 09:00 UTC] No.45943697[source]▶
This is patently incorrect. Wife switched from iphone 13 mini to samsung s24, and airpods pro 2nd gen immediately started behaving extremely annoyingly to the point of becoming completely useless for any serious use and she just gave them away to her sister which still is on apple, although she loved them before.

Literally all other earpieces work flawlessly with that phone including dirt cheap chinese stuff, apart from apple.

Now somebody could come and claim multi trillion company couldnt just nail that pesky bluetooth protocol well, but everybody else can do it better than them, including 15 bucks products. Its all by design. They clearly dont need hardware revenue to have products who can compete on open market, they need their closed ecosystem revenue, hence these dirty practices. There is hopefully a billion or ten lawsuit in the making by courts with balls, ie EU.

All the downvotes in the world won't change above.

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talkingtab ◴[16 Nov 25 14:33 UTC] No.45945416[source]▶
Just take apple to small claims court. If everyone who is scammed by Apple takes them to small claims they will have an incentive to change. Without this they have -0.00000000000 incentive to do anything. Even a class action suit won't help. The fundamental question is whether Apple should be able to sell products with lock in. Since there is lockin on all Apple products it is not accidental. In my humble opinion only. You, dear reader, work out your own thoughts.
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1. thewebguyd ◴[16 Nov 25 17:21 UTC] No.45946712[source]▶
> The fundamental question is whether Apple should be able to sell products with lock in.

Unpopular opinion in these parts, but I think yes, they should be able to (continue) to sell products with lock in.

Where Apple should get in trouble is specifically locking others out, rather than locking their own stuff in. If Apple wants to make a smartwatch that only works with iPhones, fine. What they shouldn't be able to do is block (either intentionally or via undocumented/private APIs and TOS violations) third parties from making a smartwatch for iPhone that can compete on the same playing field as the Apple Watch, with access to all of the same features.

Same goes for all tech companies. If you want to lock-in your own first party products, fine, but you absolutely should not be allowed to lock-out others.

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2. Wowfunhappy ◴[16 Nov 25 19:09 UTC] No.45947528[source]▶
I'm not entirely sure if the distinction you're making exists.

Let's say I'm Samsung and I want to make a phone that works with the Apple Watch. Isn't the Apple Watch locking me out? Apple is preventing third party devices from working with the Apple Watch.

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3. gdwatson ◴[16 Nov 25 19:10 UTC] No.45947540[source]▶
Could you explain your reasoning? I don’t see any moral difference between deliberately limiting compatibility from the peripheral side and doing so from the “computer” side (i.e., iPhone, iPad, Macintosh). One type of device may produce more inadvertent incompatibilities than the other, but that’s different.

Besides, I think this will create surprise and confusion for less technical users. In my experience, many will blame the incompatibility on whichever device is new, without understanding who is gating out whom. And even for technical users, consider CarPlay and Android Auto: From the phone’s perspective, the car is a peripheral, and that makes sense; but lots of people will still consider the car the “core device.”

4. thewebguyd ◴[16 Nov 25 19:28 UTC] No.45947689[source]▶
I’m saying it’s fine for Apple to make first party tech that only works either their other tech.

Samsung not being able to make a phone to work with Apples first party accessory isn’t the problem.

The problem is Samsung can’t make a watch that functions on par with the Apple Watch on iPhones.

Having first party, integrated accessories is fine. Locking out third party accessories is the issue.

Whatever Apple makes first party for the iPhone , third parties should also be able to make for the iPhone with the same level of access and functionality.

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5. Wowfunhappy ◴[16 Nov 25 19:37 UTC] No.45947750{3}[source]▶
I think the line between accessory and non-accessory is really slippery. When the iPhone was released, I think it would have been correct to call it an accessory for your computer. When did that change, exactly?

Heck, I don't really think of my Apple Watch as an accessory. Mine has its own LTE connection; it does need to be connected to an iPhone during initial setup, but after that I don't think there's anything stopping me from giving my phone away and using the watch by itself. Many of the children I teach have an Apple Watch but don't own a phone yet.

6. gblargg ◴[18 Nov 25 06:50 UTC] No.45962106[source]▶
If a company figures out how to make Apple products work with theirs, the line is between whether Apple modifies the firmware or future devices specifically to prevent this from working.