Do you remember how terrible the old wired Apple headphones were to put in your ears? They were hard plastic that was the wrong shape and size, and it was hard to believe how they could be so uncomfortable so quickly. Most companies have found a way to make earbuds comfortable to wear for at least a couple hours, but Hoey has done their best to recreate that classic experience of discomfort. I can't give them quite as much flak for their design around "controls", but only because most other companies are also doing a terrible job. Most earbuds have moved to having some sort of capacitive touch sensing instead of buttons, and Hoey is no exception. Now I imagine this helps longevity because there are no moving parts and with a button there would be a little crevice for dust to get in; an earbud with a button probably couldn't last more than 25 or 30 years. However, with a cheap touch sensor instead of a button, you can't operate the controls if you are wearing a winter hat (which classically covers one's ears) or one of many types of gloves. We all know that most electronics companies actively hate their users, and Hoey is no different. This is a bad product, almost undifferentiable from the sea of terrible products it is competing with.