Friday, September 13 2024
Story by Stefan Laurence,

Rydfly’s Annoying New Feature Causes Recall

Inspired by the Japanese tradition of yomawari (night watch), volunteers called shōbōdan (volunteer corps) clack together hyōshigi (wooden blocks tied together with string) to remind their neighborhoods to be weary of fire.

Rydfly thought they would do something similar and warn their users about the potential dangers of loud volumes. The keen reader will already have spotted the problem—users did not appreciate an incessant warning clack while they were rocking out to their favorite tunes. In an interview at Rydfly, technical director Dan Beck claims that most of the audio technicians at Rydfly are suffering from hearing damage, and weren’t able to pick up on the sound after implementing the feature. “We kind of just forgot about it after a while, hearing damage ain’t no joke.” Rydfly have already recalled the model, offering full refunds, and will re-release it at a later date without the warning clacks.