AirPods — Design Critique. Affordances Automatically discoverable…
By: Dhruvi Patel
Tags: Design Critique, Design, User Centered Design, UX Research, Interaction Design

Affordances

Automatically discoverable and connectable, pause music when removed from the ear. Double tap on them to activate Siri, increase or decrease volume, change tracks etc. The affordances work pretty well except that the AirPods connect to any iPhone in its range. Another use is that it can be used to over hear conversations if the phone is left in the vicinity of the people talking. Missing affordances are that it does not provide silicone ear tips. So if it doesn’t fit in your ears then the money is well lost and also they are not a 100% seal so the noise often leaks out.

Signifiers

There aren’t many signifiers present on the airpods so one often has to take an intuitive approach to them. They do not have any button, the user has to slide/tap to make any volume changes. Yes the affordances force the need for signifiers but they aren’t present. Additional signifiers could be a couple of more buttons on the airpods and the case. So if by chance the airpods don’t get connected automatically you can use the buttons to connect them and also to pick up or decline a call. There should also be a signifier to check the battery of the AirPods.

Discoverability & Understanding

Many new users find it difficult to understand the pairing process of AirPods with a device. It a user is not familiar with Apple products then this might be a diffcult task. If a user has worked with iOS products before they find the pairing process discoverable and easy to understand. The charging case has a usb slot which can be found easily and the case opens by a simple pull. The left and the right airpods are marked clearly and so is the amount of battery left. The only weird thing is a small white button on the case whose purpose can be misunderstood for various things. Its actual function is to connect to non-apple devices. Users do have a tendency to press buttons and it can create connection problems if the user does not know its function.

5 Areas Of UX

Usability: The airpods do live up to its function and ease to usage. The overall result is pretty satisfactory.

Utility: The airpods do not fare well in utility. The complete wireless earphone market is still to be penetrated well and technology is still to be developed. A user might be better off with wired Bluetooth headphones rather. Also there is always a sense of fear that what if one of the airpods fall out of the ear.

Functional integrity: The main purpose of the airpods is to seamlessly stream music and calls to the user which it does well so it’s a 10/10 in functional integrity.

Visual design: The airpods are not appealing to the eye, it has a thin stick with a silver tip protruding out, they are built up of plastic and they do not have any silicone to make them sit comfortably in the users ear. There are also not available in different colors.

Persuasiveness: The product because of apple is pretty persuasive, like apple has always been with all its products. But the sleek casing, clear white glossy finish are not as persuasive as apple’s marketing strategy.

Does this product violates any guidelines for thoughtful product design?The product does follow almost all the guidelines for a thoughtful product design but it still needs some improvements.

Is The Product Well Designed?

When it comes to design, yes the product is ‘well designed’, but are they as usable and functional? No. They look good, sleek and elegant but if well designed means that apart from looking good are they as usable, then no they are not. They have gambled with one-fit-for-all design, they do not sit comfortably in everyone’s ears. All plastic and no silicone means there is a good chance of them falling out. And yes the do fit in the completely wireless bluetooth earphones but with an antenna protruding out. They could have done much better for its functionality and usage, like Bose or Sony.

Improvements

I believe there is room for a few improvements and changes. Starting with adding a button to pick up or disconnect a call and to connect the airpods to the phone. Secondly, to add silicone tips so the user can use the ones which snuggly fit in their ears. To remove the protruding antenna/stick and design them to fit inside the ear itself. Siri being the only option for volume and media control and that it currently needs an internet connection is less than ideal to put it lightly and needs major improvement.