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Apple Working on Wireless Earbuds With Custom Bluetooth Chip for Longer Battery Life

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Apple is working on wire-free earbuds built around a custom Bluetooth radio chip that will result in a longer battery life than is possible with traditional Bluetooth chips, reports Forbes.

Citing a source with knowledge of Apple's plans, Forbes says Apple has spent the last several years working on a custom Bluetooth chip that's designed to solve the battery life problems that plague existing wireless earbuds.
The low-power Bluetooth chip comes from technology developed by Passif Semiconductor, a startup Apple purchased in 2013. But the project has hit performance snags. Apple originally planned to launch the Bluetooth gadget in 2015, but Bluetooth performance issues stalled the release, the source told FORBES. "The way it works at Apple is if it doesn't work 100%, it gets cut," the source said. Whether Apple's wireless earbuds arrive with a custom Bluetooth chip by Apple, or instead use a third-party supplier is still unknown.
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This isn't the first time we've heard about Apple's work on wire-free earbuds. Back in January, a rumor unveiled Apple's earbud plans, pointing towards Bragi Dash-style wireless Bluetooth earbuds with a battery life of approximately four hours. According to that rumor, the earbuds will also charge through an included carrying case that serves as a rechargeable battery, further extending battery life.

bragidash-800x488.jpg

In recent years, Apple has delved into developing its own chips to reduce its reliance on third-party vendors, cut down on supply chain issues, and drive technology improvements. Apple has been developing its own ARM-based CPUs for mobile devices since 2010, so a move into other chip categories is unsurprising.

Rumors indicate Apple will remove the headphone jack in the iPhone 7, pushing consumers towards wireless headphones and Lightning-based headphones, so the timing is right for the release of new wireless earbuds. According to Forbes, the earbuds could potentially launch in September alongside the new iPhone 7, but the site's source was not able to confirm a launch date.

Based on trademark filings discovered by MacRumors, Apple may be planning to name its rumored wireless earbuds "AirPods."

Article Link: Apple Working on Wireless Earbuds With Custom Bluetooth Chip for Longer Battery Life
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2016/08/04/apple-wireless-earbuds-custom-bluetooth-chip/
Still sounds dreadful. I thought that maybe they'd invent something better than BT. Does this do anything to alleviate the delay all Bluetooth devices have? Will it not have the weird shuffle bugs I've experienced with car BT syncing? Do they expect to drastically improve on that amazingly terrible 4-hour battery life mentioned in the article?

Perhaps Apple will impress us with a good product this fall, but so far there are zero rumors pointing to it.
 
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Small White Car said:
Still sounds dreadful. I thought that maybe they'd invent something better than BT. Does this do anything to alleviate the delay all Bluetooth devices have? Will it not have the weird shuffle bugs I've experienced with car BT syncing? Do they expect to drastically improve on that amazingly terrible 4-hour battery life mentioned in the article?

Perhaps Apple will impress us with a good product this fall, but so far there are zero rumors pointing to it.
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This is V1.0. V2.0 arrives with iPhone 8 10th anniversary. By then they will be tolerable.
 
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Asarien said:
I hope Apple's also prepared to sell each channel separately. These will get lost.
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Implement iBeacon in each one to help find them. The beacon should continue to operate long after there's not enough power to run sound.
Also, they should be locked down so they cannot be relinked to another device without the current device's iCloud permission, otherwise they'll be a hot item to be stolen.
 
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Small White Car said:
Still sounds dreadful. I thought that maybe they'd invent something better than BT. Does this do anything to alleviate the delay all Bluetooth devices have? Will it not have the weird shuffle bugs I've experienced with car BT syncing? Do they expect to drastically improve on that amazingly terrible 4-hour battery life mentioned in the article?

Perhaps Apple will impress us with a good product this fall, but so far there are zero rumors pointing to it.
Click to expand...

I've experienced some devices that have an audio delay. But a few pair of bluetooth headphones I use daily have never had an issue, going on several years now. Along with that, you'd have to assume it is something Apple is working on to work even better than standard bluetooth A2DP.
 
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djcerla said:
Shocker!

These will come bundled with the next iPhone, a great selling point for the new device, and a turning point for the headphones market.
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It's hard to believe they will bundle wireless technology with the new iPhones. That's still pretty expensive even at the scale they may expect to sell. Then again, they're allegedly not making that many changes to the iPhone 7, so who knows, maybe they are diverting money from improvements to showcase this new technology.

On the other hand, there are those who simply aren't interested in wireless headphones. And I'm not sure wireless headphones would satisfy European regulations, etc.

A an included Lightning headphone seems a much more likely option still.

But what this does hint at is the increasing likelihood that Apple will drop the 3.5mm jack as they have likely made wireless quality at least comparable with 3.5mm wired headphones, if not the need for less frequent recharging.

On standard headphones, the ability to plug in a wire when the juice runs out is a no-brainer, but I wonder if wireless earbuds could also have such an option ... maybe some kind of magnetic cords that snap onto the exterior of the buds to establish an inductive connection?
 
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Mac 128 said:
It's hard to believe they will bundle wireless technology with the new iPhones. That's still pretty expensive even at the scale they may expect to sell. Then again, they're allegedly not making that many changes to the iPhone 7, so who knows, maybe they are diverting money from improvements to showcase this new technology.

On the other hand, there are those who simply aren't interested in wireless headphones. And I'm not sure wireless headphones would satisfy European regulations, etc.

A an included Lightning headphone seems a much more likely option still.

But what this does hint at is the increasing likelihood that Apple will drop the 3.5mm jack as they have likely made wireless quality at least comparable with 3.5mm wired headphones, if not the need for less frequent recharging.

On standard headphones, the ability to plug in a wire when the juice runs out is a no-brainer, but I wonder if wireless earbuds could also have such an option ... maybe some kind of magnetic cords that snap onto the exterior of the buds to establish an inductive connection?
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It will be shipped with the new iPhone. They will sell a wired (lightning) earbud as a backup
 
webbuzz said:
1. Don't let the Beats people anywhere near the development.
2. Please be sweat proof.
3. Don't let the Beats people anywhere near the development.
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Haha ... don't you think that once Apple focuses on audio exclusively as they seem to be with this next iPhone, that they will finally absorb Beats and restructure the division to fall under direct Apple supervision? I mean they've slowly folded Beats under their brand, so the hardware would be the last of the company they would absorb and "improve"?

So there will be Apple Beats, Apple Pods, Apple Buds, etc.?
 
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profets said:
I've experienced some devices that have an audio delay. But a few pair of bluetooth headphones I use daily have never had an issue, going on several years now. Along with that, you'd have to assume it is something Apple is working on to work even better than standard bluetooth A2DP.
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I have confidence that they can make a good pair of BT EarPods. Especially with how well the Apple Watch and Apple Pencil sync with their devices.
 
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If they've spent this much time and money to develop things they won't ship included with the iPhone.

Maybe "Pro" model we've been hearing so much about.

4 hours is terrible, my Beats get 7-8 which to be fair is pretty good.
 
But I gotta say, I love the name AirPod and am probably going to buy them by Christmas if they'll be compatible with the 6.

For now I use these 30$ Skullcandy, they work yes, but even if I move my head around just a little bit, connection gets dropped or you'll get a beep or two for a second and then reconnect. But for the price, I guess they're alright for now.

I just hope Apple's AirPods won't be too expensive.
 
As long as bluetooth is an option and there is some wired alternative, this is fine. Keeping a radio transmitter next to your head, no matter how tiny, just seems like a bad idea long term.

(And I use wired ear pieces in order not to have the phone right next to my head either!)
 
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Small White Car said:
Still sounds dreadful. I thought that maybe they'd invent something better than BT. Does this do anything to alleviate the delay all Bluetooth devices have? Will it not have the weird shuffle bugs I've experienced with car BT syncing? Do they expect to drastically improve on that amazingly terrible 4-hour battery life mentioned in the article?

Perhaps Apple will impress us with a good product this fall, but so far there are zero rumors pointing to it.
Click to expand...
Anything is better than a 3.5 jack.
Get rid of those damn things already. The sooner we get away from wired old technology the sooner improvements will come.
The past belongs in the past.
 
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