Apple's 'AirPods' to Use Custom Bluetooth Chip, Target Higher End Than Beats Brand

[Mac 128]

Right now the source audio is decoded, assuming it is encoded, compressed again and then sent to the headset, where it is decoded again. Newer codecs work a lot better than old but you still have two iterations of lossy compression. That said queuing up many songs in some sort of buffer doesn't sound workable. For one thing, many people stream from Pandora, et al. Then there is pausing, audio coming from the phone, and things like that (I am sure you wouldn't want your turn-by-turn navigation directions delayed for even a few seconds).

Back to the double compression thing; I would imagine Apple's solution here eliminates that extra round of compression which is probably going to be in the next version of Bluetooth anyway. Technically it has already been there for some now as you can have a bluetooth device do the decoding of MP3 and other formats, as long as both devices support it. In that scenario only the raw MP3 date would need to be sent, eliminating the double compression. But hardly anyone does that, and of course it would not work with DRM.



Mike

Audio DRM seems like the least likely thing to implement with this move. While it would deter casual piracy, it would not be hard to defeat. The minute the decoded stream is converted to analogue it is pirate-able, and considering the potential for higher quality headphones with better DACs and amps, not to mention adapters, the end result is going to be better than than what is currently output from the iPhone's built-in DAC and compromised amp.

It's not like video which originates in the visual realm and stays there.

I suppose that the transducers themselves could have some kind of digital feedback chip which receive the DRM signal as an ultra-high frequency pulse that authorizes them to play the audio, so when severed would terminate the reproduction, but that still won't stop just putting a stereo microphone between the ear cups and getting a pretty good recording directly from the speakers.

 

[Mattsasa]

So what do we think Apple airpods will cost ?

 

[tkukoc]

Sure: just like the Floppy Disck, the USB, ITunes, USB-C... What is getting old is you not embracing change and criticizing before experiencing the change first hand.

Again incorrect, not what I was saying.

 

[_Refurbished_]

You don't know anyone that has a large collection of photos and/or music?
1) That's a narrow group of people you know
2) Well now I know how Apple got away with a 16GB base model for so long
3) My 128GB 6S has 8 GB free right now. Wired transfer speeds matter.

A large music library is a one time transfer. Not a big deal to transfer via Wifi Sync overnight.

And no I don't know people that have 100gb of music on their phones. You're in a small minority of people.

 

[Abazigal]

Nothing is better then universal, how's that lightning connector working out? Yeah didn't think so. Should have USB or USB-C

Lightning is working great for me, and I have been benefiting from a reversible connector for at least 4 years more than the rest of the competition now.

Glad it's all about you and not for the greater good..

What greater good is there?

Without the air pods, everyone loses out. With the ear pods, at least Apple consumers benefit.

In what bizarro world is it preferable for everyone to stoop to the lowest common denominator for tech out of some misplaced sense of justice or fairness? So now Apple can't use what it seems to be a superior piece of tech until the rest of the world catches up as well?

 

[Rigby]

Back to the double compression thing; I would imagine Apple's solution here eliminates that extra round of compression which is probably going to be in the next version of Bluetooth anyway.

This is already possible and Apple may already be doing it when using BT headsets with AAC support. A2DP includes signaling protocols that let the phone determine the capabilities of the decoder in the headset for MP3, AAC, ATRAC and optional vendor-specific codecs such as AptX, so in theory everything is in place for Apple to stream AAC music files without an additional transcoding step as long as the headset supports the specific format (bitrate, sampling rate etc.).

But hardly anyone does that, and of course it would not work with DRM.

In fact, AVDTP (the streaming protocol used by the A2DP profile) has mechanisms to negotiate content protection schemes between the phone and the headset.

 

[califlorida]

I really like this idea and hope Apple can push the technology forward. As an audio guy I'm curious how they're going to combat the audio degradation that current blue-tooth speakers/headphones provide. If they can elevate the science/tech behind delivering compressed non-degraded audio through wireless devices this would be HUGE. For audiophile's the compression of an mp3 then further compressing for blue tooth is a buzz-kill. Perfecting ALAC through wireless would be a multi-billion dollar advancement of technology.

On a side note... If people wear these earbuds I assume they will talk into the air for phone calls since no more wires?? Looking forward to walking through a crowded public place and seeing hundreds of people seemingly talking to themselves and confusing the s*it out of everybody else LMAO!!

 

[TheSacredSoul]

For a whole generation that has tried nothing but those cheap Sony OEM earphones that came with the iPhone, this might be god-sent. HD for your ears™

For the rest of us who actually used decent earphones (Shure, Westone. FitEars etc... Not Beats), this is meh. If we are still going to use the new iPhone for our music needs, we'd have to use the adapter and it remains to be seen if the Lightning to 3.5" jack has any audio degradation.

Whatever Apple has cooked up with it's custom chip, I doubt it can replace physical cables with the exact quality or better any time soon.

 

[ErikGrim]

On a side note... If people wear these earbuds I assume they will talk into the air for phone calls since no more wires?? Looking forward to walking through a crowded public place and seeing hundreds of people seemingly talking to themselves and confusing the s*it out of everybody else LMAO!!

Didn't we have this debate and moved on when bluetooth earpieces became a thing last decade? Do you talk into the wire of your headphones?

 

[lordofthereef]

If we are spending 300 plus dollars on earbuds, I would still want the best protection...sometimes you can't avoid losing such tiny earbuds......sure applecare will have a field day offering protection plans on earbuds...such a mess

You think it would include loss? That would be an Apple first.

 

[Blaze4G]

Its funny when the removal of the headphone jack rumor was going around many said "Bluetooth audio is perfectly fine and quality is great". Now Apple is rumored to be developing a custom Bluetooth chip and all of a sudden " Bluetooth audio is horrible, good job Apple for trying improving it!"

Anyway, I like that they are trying to improve it. However the price being higher than beats? I'm scared Lol.

 

[califlorida]

Didn't we have this debate and moved on when bluetooth earpieces became a thing last decade? Do you talk into the wire of your headphones?

Most bluetooth earpieces are clearly visible. I also know plenty of people who still use earbuds and talk into the wire to multi-task while working.

My point was that these will be virtually invisible. Apple tech has a chance to be adopted by ALOT more people than those who may have used bluetooth earpieces in the past. (Especially if these end up being included at some point with iPhones.) A crowded mall with a bunch of people talking seemingly to themselves is definitely possible.

 

[spinedoc77]

In a report confirming rumors Apple will remove the headphone jack in the iPhone 7 to improve the device's water resistance, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today shared his predictions on how Apple will capitalize on the Bluetooth headphone market in the coming months.

First and foremost, as has been rumored, Kuo suggests Apple is working on its own Bluetooth-like communication chip and its own Bluetooth headphones. Previous information suggests the Bluetooth chip will improve battery performance for longer battery life.

The chip may be included in the wireless earbuds Apple has in development, which are said to be Bragi Dash-style wireless Bluetooth earbuds that are entirely wire free. The earbuds will be called "AirPods," based on trademark filings that have been discovered, and the product could be unveiled as early as September 7 alongside the iPhone 7.

Apple's earbuds are rumored to resemble the Bragi Dash​

According to Kuo, Apple will sell its Apple-branded Bluetooth headphones alongside its Beats line of headphones, targeting the high-end market with the "AirPods" and the mid-range market with the Beats headphones. It is not clear if that means the AirPods will be priced higher than Beats headphones are at the current time or if Apple plans to lower prices on Beats going forward.While Apple will sell multiple models of Bluetooth headphones and expects strong growth potential in the market, Kuo does not believe the company will package Bluetooth headphones with the iPhone 7. Instead, Apple is likely to ship the iPhone 7 with Lightning-based EarPods that feature a Lightning connector instead of a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Apple's Bluetooth headphone plans will become clearer starting tomorrow, following the debut of the iPhone 7. At its September 7 event, Apple will show off the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus, the Apple Watch 2, and new Beats headphones. As previously mentioned, it's possible we'll see the AirPods, but given a lack of rumors, the device may not be ready for launch.

Article Link: Apple's 'AirPods' to Use Custom Bluetooth Chip, Target Higher End Than Beats Brand

PLEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEEE give us the option of buying a black set. No way in hell I'd buy those in white. Custom Bluetooth chip, nice, hopefully will put all the crying audiophiles to rest.

 

[Mac 128]

Most bluetooth earpieces are clearly visible. I also know plenty of people who still use earbuds and talk into the wire to multi-task while working.

My point was that these will be virtually invisible. Apple tech has a chance to be adopted by ALOT more people than those who may have used bluetooth earpieces in the past. (Especially if these end up being included at some point with iPhones.) A crowded mall with a bunch of people talking seemingly to themselves is definitely possible.

Does anybody still use an iPhone for talking? That's literally the last thing I do with mine on a day-to-day basis.

 

[AFDoc]

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Glad it's all about you and not for the greater good..

When it's his/her money of course they'll be looking for the best experience for them.... why should they care about you? You're a strange bird for sure.

I'll be watching today with a smile..... will be getting a new plus sized phone and most likely updating the watches when they're available.

 

[Johnny907]

A large music library is a one time transfer. Not a big deal to transfer via Wifi Sync overnight.

And no I don't know people that have 100gb of music on their phones. You're in a small minority of people.

35GB of music, 70GB photos and video, and several GB for apps and some downloaded TV shows/movies.
Again, you're seeing the world through your eyes and not reality. People with high capacity phones regularly transfer to and from their phones, and don't have "overnight" to wait for that transfer. Were this not the case, the 256GB iPhone wouldn't even be discussed right now.
Sorry to break it to you, but there are more people in the world than you and "everyone you know," and chances are good they have much different requirements of their tech. The fact that you're expelling the energy required to argue with me about this is astounding.

 

[44267547]

So what do we think Apple airpods will cost ?

My estimate is between $150.00-$200.00.

 

[lordofthereef]

35GB of music, 70GB photos and video, and several GB for apps and some downloaded TV shows/movies.
Again, you're seeing the world through your eyes and not reality. People with high capacity phones regularly transfer to and from their phones, and don't have "overnight" to wait for that transfer. Were this not the case, the 256GB iPhone wouldn't even be discussed right now.
Sorry to break it to you, but there are more people in the world than you and "everyone you know," and chances are good they have much different requirements of their tech. The fact that you're expelling the energy required to argue with me about this is astounding.

The best selling iPhone model is consistently the entry level low storage capacity. In sure there are plenty of people that keep 70gb of photos on their phones (in at 32 myself but that has more to do with never removing them than anything lol). That doesn't change that this group of people is statistically in the minority.

That's not to say I wouldn't like faster transfers. Certainly wouldn't hurt any users.

 

[Larry-K]

Most bluetooth earpieces are clearly visible. I also know plenty of people who still use earbuds and talk into the wire to multi-task while working.

My point was that these will be virtually invisible. Apple tech has a chance to be adopted by ALOT more people than those who may have used bluetooth earpieces in the past. (Especially if these end up being included at some point with iPhones.) A crowded mall with a bunch of people talking seemingly to themselves is definitely possible.

It'll be harder to tell the schizophrenics from the truly crazy.

 

[Mac 128]

Having just transferred a 5GB video file from my Macbook to my iMac last night while they were sitting next to each other connected to the same AC router, the 12 minutes required was glacially slow. Specs are one thing, reality is another.
As it is, backing up and restoring a 128GB iPhone 6S via the USB 2.0 Lightning connection is ridiculously slow. If Apple can bring the USB 3.0 functionality they introduced in the 12.9" iPad Pro, my issue with their proprietary ports and cables will lessen significantly, but what are the chances of that happening?

No question. Just ask all those PC users when Firewire came out who boasted their 480 Mb/s USB ports were so much better than Firewire's 400 Mb/s transfer rate.

Unfortunately, I don't see the iPhone getting the same Lightning 2 connector that the 12" iPP got, which is probably waiting on iOS 10 to get activated. They didn't give it to the 9", so the iPhone probably isn't getting it either, or maybe they'll do the same thing and give it to the Plus but not the 4.7".

My best guess here is because Apple is limiting it to current WiFi transfer rates which are only just hitting USB 2 speeds reliably. And I find it really frustrating when I do backups and restores. But why? Probably to push wireless connectivity, especially if their goal really is to eliminate all ports. e.g. Why not do it wirelessly since via Lightning is not that much faster?

But they can't keep increasing storage without a faster method of transfer. And they can't offer 4K video, etc. without more storage. So they really have to do something. Inductive data transfer via the Smart Connector can't possibly compete with Lightning 2. So we're stuck with USB 2 speeds which doesn't help us either.

So I have to think Apple is putting a lot of faith in the next WiFi spec update next year. They're already offering AirDrop, so having a custom implementation of that over 802.11ay and MIMO could result in a super high speed connection between two airdrop products that leverages resources for the transfer. Anyway, that's next years problem!

 

[woodynorman]

Does anybody still use an iPhone for talking? That's literally the last thing I do with mine on a day-to-day basis.

61 phone calls made or received today. I still use my phone as a phone.

 

[Sunny1990]

My estimate is between $150.00-$200.00.

I can buy a good looking budget android phone for that money

 

[_Refurbished_]

35GB of music, 70GB photos and video, and several GB for apps and some downloaded TV shows/movies.
Again, you're seeing the world through your eyes and not reality. People with high capacity phones regularly transfer to and from their phones, and don't have "overnight" to wait for that transfer. Were this not the case, the 256GB iPhone wouldn't even be discussed right now.
Sorry to break it to you, but there are more people in the world than you and "everyone you know," and chances are good they have much different requirements of their tech. The fact that you're expelling the energy required to argue with me about this is astounding.

Sorry to break it to you but most people I know have switched to the cloud and don't keep all of their files on their phone. Clearly there are people that need large phones for various reasons, but they are not in the majority. I need 32GB for music cache / photo cache / games.

I'm astounded the amount of paragraphs you're writing attacking this notion, as it's clearly the direction Apple is going.

 

[OneMike]

61 phone calls made or received today. I still use my phone as a phone.

business or personal? Depending on your line of work I can see it. For me, other than personal. Email or text makes more sense most of the time.

Even when I got my last car I never spoke to the sales person outside of email until we met. When it's in writing you can reference it later.

 

[applefan69]

Glad it's all about you and not for the greater good..

Quit whining and smarten up.

It is pretty much Apples' foundational business model to create dedicated electronics that push technology to greater heights. Do not dare argue with me on that.

Of course Apple would logically continue this path that bud you quoted desires. Use their know-how to make something better than average.

You want universal? Go buy a phone with more universal parts. No one will miss you. This is not complicated.