In 2019 I bought a pair of Bose NC700 headphones. After unwrapping them, I found that they were an AR-enabled device. I downloaded the relevant apps and had a great time changing the storyline with a head movement in Earplay. Another notable was AudioJack which layered hundreds of audio elements to play a speechless film. It was non-linear and the direction of the audio film could be altered with head movement. Both apps were novel, but I stopped using them once I had explored all the stories in Earplay and all the free audio movies in AudioJack. In 2020 I decluttered my phone, removing apps I was no longer using. When looking at this assignment for the first time, my first thoughts were to review an interactive eBook, a narrative-based game and something else of which I was not sure.

Reviewing an online meeting in the late hours one night, I recalled an app that used AR to progress the story. Specifically, I recalled playing a secret agent in Earplay’s Codename Cygnus (although I couldn’t recall the title at the time). I almost gave up after over an hour of searching and finding multiple articles outlining that Bose AR had died. But I persevered and finally found AudioJack, though this wasn’t the app I was searching for and the Bose AR functionality in it no longer works. Further searching finally revealed a list of published apps that were certified by Bose AR; within this list Earplay.

I redownloaded Earplay and got to work immediately only to find my headphones wouldn’t connect. After removing the Bluetooth connection from my phone and reading it, I finally had it working. I looked at the clock, 12:45 am. As I have work the next day, it’s probably time to call it a night. A successful night.