For years now, I’ve been extolling the virtues of a hardware feature that Apple has included on the Apple Watch, the crown. And now I’m quite happy to see that Apple has brought it to their new premium headphones, the AirPods Max. This is a major development. Because up until now, rumors were circulating that Apple was going to use a touch sensitive method for adjusting volume on the AirPods Max. There were even rumors that the Apple Watch was going to lose the crown in favor of touch sensitive controls.
I love using the crown on the Apple Watch so much that it’s my preferred way to control music on my AirPods. No pun intended, but you can dial in your desired volume quicker than using buttons. I hate using separate up/down buttons on my iPhone. Half the time I start with the wrong button. It seems to take a lot longer to raise/lower volume by individual pushes and then go back the other way if you overshoot.
And squeezing my phone often results in turning the screen off if I accidentally squeeze the power button which is located directly opposite the volume buttons. But I’ll resist going off on another power button rant.
I’ll reserve judgement on how good headphone touch sensitive controls can be until they are available. I remain skeptical that it can be better than using a physical control. My skepticism about touch controls arises from the fact that you almost always have to give them more attention to find them. Studies about automotive controls like on a Tesla have shown that they unduly take the attention of the drive away from the road.
I love that Apple chose to go with a crown for their newest headphones. I wish they would bring it to the iPhone. In my view it should be on anything that plays music.
And squeezing my phone often results in turning the screen off if I accidentally squeeze the power button which is located directly opposite the volume buttons. But I’ll resist going off on another power button rant.
I’ll reserve judgement on how good headphone touch sensitive controls can be until they are available. I remain skeptical that it can be better than using a physical control. My skepticism about touch controls arises from the fact that you almost always have to give them more attention to find them. Studies about automotive controls like on a Tesla have shown that they unduly take the attention of the drive away from the road.
I love that Apple chose to go with a crown for their newest headphones. I wish they would bring it to the iPhone. In my view it should be on anything that plays music.
The crown is easy to find by touch alone on my Apple Watch and it is marvelous for adjusting volume. I’ve been quite relieved since the announcement of the AirPods Max that perhaps after much testing and deliberation, Apple has come to see the crown as delivering the best customer experience.
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