672: Wi Hyphen Fi

What It Covers

Accidental Tech Podcast explores AirPods Pro comfort solutions with Comply foam tips, Apple Contacts management limitations, Wi-Fi seven's disappointing implementation gap between marketing promises and actual hardware capabilities, particularly the absence of simultaneous multi-link operation in consumer routers.

Key Questions Answered

• •AirPods Pro 3 Comfort Fix: Comply TrueGrip Max foam tips with smart skin technology resolve fit issues better than upsizing Apple's stock silicone tips. The foam provides softer compliance while maintaining secure placement, addressing the common problem where AirPods Pro 3 fit differently than Pro 2 models for many users.
• •Contacts Archive Workaround: Creating filtered contact lists in Apple Contacts provides partial archiving functionality but fails to prevent archived contacts from appearing in Siri commands, autocomplete fields, and system-wide search. True contact archiving requires Apple to implement system-level exclusion across all contact access points, not just list visibility.
• •Wi-Fi 7 Implementation Gap: Zero of 25 tested routers support simultaneous multi-link operation, the headline Wi-Fi 7 feature enabling concurrent use of 2.4, 5, and 6 GHz bands. Most implement alternating MLO with placeholder timing values, delivering minimal real-world benefit despite Wi-Fi 7 marketing claims of superior performance and latency reduction.
• •Wi-Fi Certification Confusion: Wi-Fi Alliance releases standards in waves, with release one devices lacking features marketed for that generation. Wi-Fi 7 release one hardware typically delivers Wi-Fi 6 release two capabilities, not the full IEEE 802.11be specification. Only three of 25 tested routers achieved Wi-Fi Certified 7 designation.
• •Audio App Background Complexity: iOS audio subsystems use decades-old Objective-C APIs with special exceptions for background execution and system integration. Apple frequently modifies audio behavior in point updates, creating unpredictable changes to AirPlay switching, control center integration, and now-playing selection that audio app developers cannot control or debug effectively.