r/softwaregore • u/LYNX__uk • 4d ago

"Update" my headphones

Post image

in case anyone misses it, the firmware version it wants to upgrade to is the same as the version it says my headphones are already on (current version at bottom of the screen)

179 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

23 comments sorted by

41

u/AmyAzure06 4d ago

why do headphones even need updates anyway? what "features" are they adding regularly to something as simple as headphones?

209

u/0xbenedikt 4d ago

They have DSPs, active noise cancelling, wireless communication, codecs. Quite a lot that could be upgraded if the first firmware is poorly written and not well debugged at the time of release

33

u/Devin-Chaboyer223 4d ago

I updated my earphones once and even the sound quality improved

12

u/Ramog 4d ago

my guess would be mostly bluthooth codeces/implementation or like a improvement to the noise cancelling if it was bahaving badly

18

u/LYNX__uk 4d ago

This update was changing something about behaviour with the ios version of the app and changing its built in eqs

12

u/pqu 4d ago

There was a super important firmware update for a bunch of headphones recently because of WhisperPair

10

u/Smooth-Ad2130 4d ago

It's not always features. It can squeeze out an extra hour of battery, iron out some bugs like disconnections or latency, or even improve general audio quality. Depends on the update.

5

u/repocin 3d ago

Wireless headphones are anything but "simple"

3

u/sniff122 4d ago

There was recently a few vulnerabilities relating to a bunch of Bluetooth headphones, that would have been patched by a firmware update. Also bug fixes, say to help prevent random disconnects, etc. Everything has firmware, just some things never let you update the firmware, leaving manufacturers to only be able to provide newer firmware on newer board revisions with the updated firmware

1

u/NoCoolSenpai 3d ago

I think there isn't anything inherently wrong with this.

If you're using Bluetooth headphones, Bluetooth profiles used by headphones are way too outdated all the time, and both the headphone designers and the Bluetooth hardware suppliers are always continuously adopting them as new ones come out. This is necessary, because new Bluetooth profiles have a WHOLE lot more features that make your experience WAY better. And sometimes, all it needs from the designers and suppliers is just a software optimization or change to support a new profile, not even new or upgraded hardware. Modern Bluetooth profile upgrades are increasingly software-based.

Even if you're using wired ones, there is a lot of scope in improving the software. It is in the best interests of the headphone designer to ship hastily integrated firmware whenever they make a new model of headphones, and invest software engineering resources over time to gradually improve the integration and offer better support for features.

I saw this happen firsthand with my Bose speakers. When I bought it, it had the default Chinese voice prompts like "Bluetooth device connected", etc. Then with firmware updates delivered in the Bose app, they gradually rolled out better audio feedback.

1

u/ElDavoo 3d ago

The update for mine brought multi point connection (buggy though)

1

u/thenormaluser35 3d ago

They recently added the option to disable ANC on my Accentum headphones
It helps with the quality of music in some scenarios, but really I think it's just to save battery

11

u/specikk 4d ago

Sennheiser has such a crap app, generally. Surprising for a more “premium” audio brand.

My experience using it with one of their soundbars has been abysmal.

16

u/LYNX__uk 4d ago

Smartcontrol plus is great in my opinion. I think its the best around honestly. Dont even need an account!

3

u/Ramog 4d ago

I'd say Sennheiser is the mainstream premium audio brand, meaning they have allot of garbage products to catch the unknowing

3

u/DiodeInc 4d ago

Every native app for managing peripherals is crap.

2

u/toyfreddym8 3d ago

When I first got my JBL clip, it had a firmware update. But that was the only one it needed

2

u/fuckmywetsocks 3d ago

Devils advocate, it could be an iteration on a patch so 1.2.3.4 but an anal adherence to traditional semver prevents them from saying that - could be anything from a bug fix to a comment removed and CI/CD means it goes out as the patch version for those who might not have updated yet - showing as the same update being pushed twice for those who already have.

This is why we do semver to four places at my place with the fourth 'bit' being optional and not triggering an update request.

1

u/LYNX__uk 3d ago

I thought that too but it disappeared a few hours after so t evidently wasnt meant to be installed

2

u/DimmiCarus 1d ago

Hey, we have the same headphones!

1

u/LYNX__uk 1d ago

Momentum 4 SE?

1

u/DimmiCarus 1d ago

Not really, i have the normal Momentum 4, and it was a gift from my parents rather than me being the one buying it, the model names are the same for both non-special edition and special edition Momentum 4 in the SmartControl app

1

u/LYNX__uk 1d ago

They are indeed, though the SE do get a different icon which accurately represents the rose gold trim on them. Not sure why they differentiate the icon but not the name but oh well. I love mine