Apple AirPods: An Ode to a Perfect Product
The Apple AirPods are a nearly perfect product.
Prior to the launch of the Apple AirPods I used a variety of wireless headphones during workouts, but small, light headphone would routinely break after a few months of use. The cables that attached the headphones and the charging ports appeared to be the weak links in the design. Additionally, they would occasionally fall out of my ears during runs as the mass of the cable linking the headphones would occasionally have enough inertia to pull one set of the headphones out of my ears as I ran. I just assumed this was what I would have to live with: an imperfect design that would break after a few months of use.
I decided to take a chance on the 1st generation Apple AirPods shortly after they were launched. Over four years later, my Apple AirPods are finally starting to show signs of age, with the left ear AirPod not charging consistently any more. But, what a perfect product in comparison to older wireless headphones! I’ve only once had them fall out during a workout, and that was my first or second workout when I was still getting used to the fit. And, the consistency and reliability have been amazing. Having a product work consistently when exposed to corrosive, salty sweat on a frequent basis is a challenging problem to solve. And the Apple AirPods have solved it.
The 1st Generation Apple AirPods
The World Champ Tech family of Apple Watch Workout apps were designed to fuse seamlessly with the AirPods to create a magical workout experience.
With AirPods as the main user interface, you are freed from squinting down at a tiny screen to see your data. But, that creates a burden on developers to make sure that users are provided with useful data automatically by the app - it requires that the app use artificial intelligence to identify key data that users might want to know, and provide it to them at relevant times.
To use the Apple Music app on your Watch with the World Champ Tech Workout apps you first need to download music to your Watch from your iPhone. Open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone. Select Music. You can sync recent played music, or add specific playlists or albums. The music is synched when your Watch is connected to power and placed near you iPhone.
To use the Pandora app on your Watch with the World Champ Tech Workout apps you must have a Pandora Plus, Premium, or Premium Family subscription to download music to your Watch.
To use the Spotify app on your Watch with the World Champ Tech Workout apps you must have a Spotify Premium or Family Premium subscription. Spotify is rolling out the ability to download music to your Apple Watch for offline playback over the coming weeks.
— James
