Technology giant
Apple has filed a new patent application for a wireless hybrid headphone system. The patent filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office, first seen by
Apple Insider, details a "headphone device and supporting hardware capable of seamlessly switching between wired and wireless listening modes."
The abstract of the patent filed says, "A headphone is disclosed herein. The headphone includes a wireless transceiver, a wired communication module, a power storage device, a speaker, and control circuitry. The wireless transceiver and the wired communication module and the wireless transceiver are connected to the speaker via the control circuitry. The control circuitry is configured to determine whether to control the speaker according to data received via the wired communication module and the wireless transceiver and to seamlessly transition control of the speaker from data received from one of the wired communication module and the wireless transceiver to the other of the wired communication module and the wireless transceiver."
There are several headphones available in the market that support both wired and wireless modes. Many of these come with a plug that allows a user to switch to wired use whenever the headphone is out of battery, or for better quality audio. However, this transition is largely not very smooth. With this patent, Apple appears to be wanting to tackle these very issues.
As the company's patent filing describes, "A method of seamlessly transitioning between data sources controlling operation of a speaker in a headphone, the method comprising: receiving data at the headphone via a wireless data path; storing the data received via the wireless data path within a data buffer; controlling a speaker according to the data stored within the data buffer; receiving data at the headphone via a wired data path; determining that the data received over the wireless data path and the wired data path are both being received from the same user device; and transitioning from storing data from the wireless data path within the data buffer to storing data from the second data path within the data buffer."
Another method described is, "The method of claim 11, further comprising determining that the data received via the wired data path is the same as the data received via the wireless data path."
The patent doesn't share much on the design front. All it says is "...can be a variety of shapes and sizes, can be made from a variety materials, and can include a variety of features. In some embodiments, headphone 102 can include, for example, a head-fitting headphone, an ear-fitting headphone, such as, for example, ear buds, or any other type of headphone."
The very first rumours about the
company's plans surfaced few months back with the speculations that
Apple may drop the traditional 3.5 mm audio jack in iPhone 7.
The audio jack, which allows phones and other devices to connect into headphones, is used in almost every audio system in the world. According to Apple Insider, "The change is perhaps inevitable, as the existing 3.5 mm industry standard jack module is already a tight fit in Apple's iOS hardware."
Apple reportedly first filed patent application for hybrid headphone switching technology in October 2014.