Usable Interface Design

Intro

Design can be optimized for many things. When I want to use something, for me the most important thing is that I can make it work. Something that I want to use can be the best thing in the world but that is meaningless if I am not able to actually use it. For example headphones, I believe Apple makes wonderful sounding headphones as the sound on Macbooks is the best in the market. Sound quality is just something you would expect Apple to do well.

The fact that Apple has headphones with a beautiful sounding sound just won’t help if you are not able to listen with them.

Context

Here is a very real and not made up situation. My baby and my wife are sleeping. I finally have some time for myself. I just got the access to watch "House of the Dragon" and now have the time to do so. If I want to watch the series in a somewhat comfortable physical position I need to do it with headphones. As life dictates I am left only with my wife's Apple headphones (More specifically AirPods).

How hard can it be

What starts to be the headphones is inside an aftermarket case. Intuitively I open the leathery looking case and am greeted by a nice and accented “click”. I see the white box with very round corners. I know it is the box that holds what I understand are the actual headphones. I open the box and take out both headphones. Now I don’t know what needs to be done at all. I do know that I somehow need to connect them to my Macbook. Both products are from the same company. How hard can it be?

I remember seeing an advertisement once. The Apple headphones are held near an iPhone which magically links both devices. How cool is that? I take the actual headphones and want to rub them on my Macbook. But before I finish this action, I begin to think - Irae, you are a software developer, this is silly, it won’t work. I put the headphones on the table and begin to think. So many possibilities. It for sure knows if the case is open or closed. I am pretty certain it knows if the actual headphones are inside the case or not.

At this point I accept that help is needed. After pressing Command-Space on my Macbook I start to type “Headphones”. No luck, it did suggest to me Wikipedia and a Google search. What I was hoping for is a step by step wizard. But after some googling a very comprehensive YouTube video is found. It turns out there is actually a button on the thing. It’s just that the leather case was hiding it. I take the white boxy thing out of the case and press the button. A very small orange light goes on and after some seconds off. The first small success. But orange? Orange is not a good color and I was hoping for a white light. The confusion sets in again. I press the button once more, holding it for a short period of time, a long period of time. Nothing. No light.

At this point it becomes almost personal. I assume the thing does not have any charge. But for sure the headphones still have battery. Because I know that my wife uses her headphones all the time and therefore must keep them charged as she is - as I know - very organized. Maybe the headphones do still have battery but the box does not have any charge left. I do know from the advertising I saw that the box charges the headphones. Does this also work the other way around?

My philosophical thoughts won’t help, I most probably need to charge the thing. After examining the white smooth box with its bold rounded corners I find a hole. It looks like something could be plugged in it. A small success. I understand that I plug connectors into things to charge them. I also know that there is wireless charging. But I really don’t know much about wireless charging and am therefore happy to have what seems to be just a normal way to charge something. The hole has the form of an ellipsis. What is the only charger with the form of an ellipsis? USB-C. Most silently and on my toes I enter the room where my baby is sleeping and grab the charger for my new Macbook Air M1 - which happens to be an USB-C charger. In my head slogans pass by where I proudly recapitulate: USB-C is the new thing that all devices will use. It’s one power cable that can be used to charge everything. Neat. The surprise sets in when the USB-C charger does not fit the hole. It is very close, the hole is really just a little too small.

At this point I know I need the other charger. The Apple charger, which is the one that works for my iPhone. Unfortunately I can’t find it. I put it somewhere and it’s not there. After some searching and looking around there is not much else to do then to accept defeat. On the table there are now four distinct parts of something that are supposed to be headphones. Better pack it, else I could easily lose something.

Conclusion

The conclusion? I am sure Apple headphones are a great product. The white box looks very futuristic and lean. The case could hardly look more precious. I don’t think it’s real leather but the gold font and the gold carabiner are a nice accent. The headphones snap very nicely into the case with the help of magnets. All in all a very decent looking product. Because it’s from Apple I am sure it works very well and sounds very nice. What a fool am I who cannot use it.