Many headphone makers these days included a cabled connection for their wireless headphones. This is to allow users to continue using the headphones via a wired connection when its battery is charging, or if they want to keep using the headphones without the wireless connectivity. However swapping between wired and wireless isn’t as smooth as it can be.However it looks like an Apple patent has been discovered in which the Cupertino company has come up with a way to make the transition from wired to wireless seamless, or at least in theory. If you have ever used Bluetooth headphones or speakers, you know that sometimes it takes a couple of seconds for it to pair/connect.
Not to mention sometimes having multiple Bluetooth devices around can also interfere with the connection. However via this patent, Apple seems to have figured out a way to make that transition seamless, so swapping between connectivity should not result in any delay. The patent suggests creating a buffer to allow audio to keep playing during the handover.
It reads, “The processor can seamlessly transition speaker control between data received via the wireless transceiver and data received via the second contact. In some embodiments, the data buffer can be sized to operate the headphone for a predetermined amount of time without the receipt of additional data via the wireless transceiver or the second contact.”
Of course whether or not Apple creates headphones with this technology remains to be seen, but given the rumors that Apple is expected to dispense with the headphone port in the upcoming iPhone 7, we wonder if this patent might have anything to do with that.
Filed in . Read more about Headphones and Patent.