Apple working on AirPods, wireless Bluetooth-based earbuds: Report

NEW DELHI: There have been speculations about Apple junking its 3.5mm headphone jack in the upcoming iPhone 7. Apple's trademark filings seem to support these rumours.

Incidentally, the trademark application is not recent. An application for 'AirPods' was filed in the United States last September by a company called Entertainment in Flight, LLC, based in Delaware.

The speculations about Apple killing headphone jack in iPhone 7 made Macrumours dig further.


And, according to the website, this company appears to be one of the shell companies operated by Apple to "hide its true identity". The USPTO trademark for the ‘Airpods’ has been signed by Jonathan Brown, a ‘manager’ in the company Entertainment in Flight.

The website claims that Apple also has an attorney with the same. On investigating further, it found out that Entertainment in Flight's manager Jonathan Brown and Apple's attorney are indeed the same person.

This clearly suggests that the ‘Airpods’ trademark filing has been done by Apple itself.

This move shouldn’t come as a surprise as the Cupertino-based tech firm has used this strategy a number of times before too, including during trademarks for ‘iPad’, ‘Carplay’, iWatch and more.

The report also claims that the amendment came just a day before the six-month deadline for responding to the trademark, meaning that Apple is not pushing the project much and is taking its sweet time.


The Apple rumoured AirPods are said to use the company’s wireless Bluetooth to connect to a device. The speculations also suggest that the AirPods will charge wirelessly. There also won't be any wires between the left and right earpiece of the AirPods.

Some reports also suggest that these AirPods may ship next year with iPhone 8. And for now, Apple users will have to settle with EarPods with lightning connector at the bottom.

Recently, the alleged pictures of Apple EarPods with lightning connector surfaced online. The accessory is said to arrive along with the iPhone 7 later this year.

So, only time will tell if iPhone 7 users will get EarPods or it will be Airpods for them.