Black iPhone 4 with a black bumper looked like a slab of black glass in a shipping wrapper. The sleekest possible design while still being protected against the real world. Loved it. Would love to see Apple do an official bumper for the iPhone 12.
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AirPods Studio Rumored to Come With U1 Chip, Ultra-Wideband Said to Be Vital to Future Apple Ecosystem
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I reckon we are going to first see:
1. A consumer headphone to replace the Beats Solo line.
2. A Pro Headphone which will be aimed at DJ's and bedroom producers. A Beats Studio successor.
I doubt that either are going to be a particularly flat response.
Line 100 people up in a room and I'd guess that 90% will prefer a smiley face EQ for their day to day listening. The majority of my buddies absolutely hate the sound on my 7506's and Amperiors unless I EQ them ALOT.
I think that true Studio headphones are too small and finicky market for Apple to pursue successfully at the prices they would need to sell them at.
1. A consumer headphone to replace the Beats Solo line.
2. A Pro Headphone which will be aimed at DJ's and bedroom producers. A Beats Studio successor.
I doubt that either are going to be a particularly flat response.
Line 100 people up in a room and I'd guess that 90% will prefer a smiley face EQ for their day to day listening. The majority of my buddies absolutely hate the sound on my 7506's and Amperiors unless I EQ them ALOT.
I think that true Studio headphones are too small and finicky market for Apple to pursue successfully at the prices they would need to sell them at.
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Could this mean new AirPorts all with U1 chips, Zigbee, BLE mesh? Please let these be new Apple home networking hardware.
Agree - I very much doubt Apple is aiming at the "studio" market, despite the purported labeling.
I wondered as well if this could be tied to AR or VR and placing audio sources at the correct range and direction. You could walk around a scene and experience the sound related to where you are located with accurate direction and distance information. It would be an enhancement of the just introduced surround sound with AirPods.
We're actually starting to have a decade of serious user preference research experience in terms of headphones frequency response.
What most users tend to prefer are target curves that land somewhere near what has been termed the Harman target, at least for over / on ears (in ears are still debated), with more variation in user preference below 200hz (sub and low bass).
Most headphones, regardless of price, are incapable of landing within 2-3 dBs of these curves for the entire spectrum. That also applies to the HD25 and 7506. That will only happen thanks to the use of EQ and DSPs... provided headphones manufacturers actually care about user preferences, which is something the current crop of ANC BT headphones makes me doubt. Apple / Beats is starting to have a pretty OK-ish track record in terms of adhesion to these targets and improving so there's a pretty decent chance that the Studios will be a little more respectful of the research that's been done.
Lol everyone loves commenting on how ugly a leak is and then when it’s revealed everyone’s tune changes. Like clockwork.
I believe that none of the actually leaked photos / videos showed the ear-side of the cups, so it's likely that the render makes an assumption instead of relying on actual visuals.
Given the size of the charging port vs cup, I think that it remains entirely possible that these are over-ear with a typical cavity for the ear.
In addition all of Apple's patents so far depicting various solutions for left vs. right ear detection are incompatible with an on-ear design anyway.
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Why would one want a over the ears headphones with U1 that is part of internet of everything? That pertains to interacting with people, process, data, and things so goes the rumor?
Compare a AirPod Pro. You can tell Siri to do some things, use a microphone/ear transducer to listen to music and conduct phone calls.
But a headphone is not like a watch or a phone, unless the intent is to make wireless headphones be able to control or interact with your wearable iPhone eco system. Not sure that is worth it, as the headphones would distract from a minimalist system of technology people wear now.
I could see something that melds with other devices where Airplay 2 is involved.
Most people don't walk around with clunky headphones. It more of a stationary pastime, watching videos, listen to music or riding transportation where you need the headphone with noise reduction.
It will be interesting to see how they make this rumored product fit, as well as what it does to their beats line.
Compare a AirPod Pro. You can tell Siri to do some things, use a microphone/ear transducer to listen to music and conduct phone calls.
But a headphone is not like a watch or a phone, unless the intent is to make wireless headphones be able to control or interact with your wearable iPhone eco system. Not sure that is worth it, as the headphones would distract from a minimalist system of technology people wear now.
I could see something that melds with other devices where Airplay 2 is involved.
Most people don't walk around with clunky headphones. It more of a stationary pastime, watching videos, listen to music or riding transportation where you need the headphone with noise reduction.
It will be interesting to see how they make this rumored product fit, as well as what it does to their beats line.
I bet their sound will be amazing! I always look towards computer companies for my headphone needs.
Yes, and there’s a good reason for that, you’re probably well aware. To many people, if you can’t feel the thump in your chest, there’s not enough bass, by definition lol.
That’s never gonna happen with cans, and many prefer unrealistically boosted bass anyway. (The original “Beats” sound.)
re: the highs, many have simply caused so much (permanent) damage to their hearing from using headphones at SPLs that are way too high, and for much too long a time. They would require similar EQ in the hearing aids they need.
Louder always sounds “better”. When EQing, sound/mixing engineers push the EQ down “too far” and then bring it up to where they want it. If you start with too much, you’ll end up higher than if you’d started with a cut.
This. It’s going to be nice that most of your Apple devices already work with Apple glasses on day one too. Also why I think airtags are more than just locators, think about having one on your wallet that shows your banking info when looking at it. Or one on a remote that brings up entertainment options. Or one on your fridge that shows your grocery list. Simple way to make your dumb items smart and really build a precise AR experience.
No doubt you’re right. If they were to use it, the name “Studio” will just have been a transplant from the Beats line.
What Harman’ research tends to demonstrate is precisely that a majority of people actually don’t like the “Beats” sound. It’s a preconception but not the reality.
Besides the latest Beats actually measure decently if that means trying to adhere decently well to target curves that consumers tend to prefer, at least relative to their typical alternatives, and have little to do sound wise with their forebears.
When Harman did blind tests by simulating various headphones’ frequency response, the Beats came dead last in terms of user preference (cf video above).
If earlier Beats sold well, it isn’t because their FR corresponds to what most people like, but in spite of it.
Harman’s curve supposedly ressembles what a pair of speakers that measure flat in an anechoic chamber produce in a well designed listening room BTW.
Yet, they couldn’t keep up with demand and it’s been one of the most successful products they have vet launched
Thought the main page headphones were a set of P5's at first. & in the Harmon vid, bit surprised to see a MB given such prominence at a Samsung event! 🤣
The beauty of Apple is, you really don’t need to worry about the technical side of things
Apple has a decades-long history of extremely good sound quality, often reasonably priced and getting the major things correct without the audiophile fussiness.
- Original Airport Express - bit perfect wireless music since 2006
- iPods and iPhones - almost universally built with high end amps and DAC’s with perfectly flat response and very low output impedance.
- Lightning to 3.5mm adapter - a $9 dongle in an almost unbelievably compact size that puts almost the entire category of “portable amps/DAC‘s” (many costing hundreds of dollars) to shame.
- Homepod - extremely high end sound from a compact device that automatically adjusts to the space its in with no user input
- Airpod Pros - sound that matches or exceeds most wired in-ear monitors anywhere near the price category - yet with all the convenience of wireless.
I suspect I’m missing a bunch of others.
Even with a solid 5-figures in my “audiophile“ rack, when Apple does audio, I listen.
AirTags, AirPods Studio, MacBooks with Apple Silicon? Oh my! I haven't been this excited about new Apple products for a long time!