Apple Wants to Remake the Audio Jack [Apple]

Simply put, Apple wants fewer holes in its devices. Headphone jack-that’s a hole. Microphone-that’s a hole. In keeping with a recent patent filing , Apple is asking to consolidate by combining the functionality of the two into one unified jack.

The patent argues that ” besides using housing real estate, sound input apertures and electrical connectors introduce openings within the housing and breach the barrier that protects components throughout the housing.” So, fewer holes inside the device itself, fewer ways for dust and other gunk to search out their way inside. It also jibes completely with Apple’s obsessively minimalist design ethos. Another potential perk of the two-in-one design can be enhanced voice quality, as a result of the addition of a further noise-snuffing microphone-what Apple calls ” audio beamforming.”

With recent attention aimed toward some of Apple’s grander patent plans, this filing seems more immediately actionable, and speaks to the company’s engineering meticulousness. [ New Scientist ]
Image courtesy of Yutaka Tsutano

Source

This post is tagged: Apple, Audio, jack, REmake, Wants