¶ AirPods, Siri, and Her

If you have read this site for some time, followed me on Twitter, or have known me personally in the last few years, you know that I am a really big fan of AirPods. In fact, I think AirPods may be my favorite gadget in the past 5 years.

One thing AirPods reminded me of when they were originally released is the 2013 movie, Her — which is a strange movie in many ways, but has stuck with me ever since I watched it. My main takeaway from Her is that it is ultimately about loneliness, and how we as a society are ever-increasingly trying to substitute real connection with technology, but it isn’t a satisfactory substitute. That’s a whole essay for another day.

By far the main thing that stuck with me all these years about Her was the way everyday computing is portrayed. Computers are the size of a business card case and the primary interaction is through a small earbud. People take calls, read and reply to messages and email, and compose entire documents through voice. When at a desk, these small computers interface with a larger desktop monitor.

It’s all rather cool.

The first AirPods felt like an initial step towards this portrayed future. With a couple taps on an earbud you could summon Siri and dictate a message, among many other commands. But it was still a first step.

The second-generation AirPods have a newer chip in them, and brought along “Hey Siri” support. No more reaching up and tapping at your ear to get the attention of our favorite assistant. Just say the phrase and roll with your command, and Siri happily obliges — most of the time.

With the advent of iOS 13.2, Siri gained another new feature that brings us another step closer to the technology in Her — Announce Messages with Siri. This feature requires newer headphones from Apple that have the H1 chip. These currently include:

• AirPods (second generation)
• AirPods Pro
• Powerbeats Pro
• Beats Solo Pro

What this feature does is eerily conversational. While the AirPods (or other compatible headphones) are in your ears, and you receive a text message, Siri will fade out whatever you are listening to, give a delightful chime, and tell you something like, “Karen sent you a message: ‘Which flavor of ice cream would you like me to pick up?’”

At this point, there is just silence for a few seconds, which is your cue to say something like, “Reply. Definitely cookies and cream.”

And then she just sends it and returns your audio right where you left off. There is an option to have Siri read your reply back to you and ask for confirmation to send, just in case you don’t trust her ability to transcribe your dictation well.

But this whole process is surprisingly interactive and quick once you get the hang of it. The other day I was getting ready for a workout and carrying out a conversation via text with a friend, completely hands-free, without looking at my phone once.

For kicks and giggles I even had Siri read an email to the other day and then I composed the reply right from my AirPods. It worked great for a short reply.

I doubt this will be the last time I bring up AirPods or the comparisons to the tech in the movie Her, but it is fascinating to me how quickly AirPods and Siri are becoming a decent interaction model with the iPhone, and how the proliferation of AirPods are normalizing speaking to these little devices in our ears.

The cautionary tale, though, is the same as we see in the film: we shouldn’t let these conversations with our devices overshadow real relationships with other people. Sometimes you need to take the earbuds out, put them away, and talk to another person.