Future authentication chip for headphones?

[contorx]

As we all know, the new chip inside of the shuffle must be distributed by apple or an apple affiliate to 3rd party manufacturers that want to make aftermarket headphones for the shuffle. This raises their costs and ultimately the consumers costs. Considering what they've done with the shuffle, speculation for the future of aftermarket accessories has risen.

My question is this: With the new iphone coming out and future generations of ipods on the way, will apple make such a chip for ALL headphones in order to keep their grip on the ipod accessory industry??

Does anyone have substantial evidence that they will do something like this?

[S2_Mac]

With the new iphone coming out and future generations of ipods on the way, will apple make such a chip for ALL headphones in order to keep their grip on the ipod accessory industry??

Tough question to answer, since you've phrased it in such an inflammatory manner...might as well ask if Apple has stopped beating its wife. From another view, the question is, "How cool is it that a tiny <$1 chip has eliminated the expense and clutter of stand-alone external remotes, allowing stereo output, voice input, USB connectivity and device control all in a single 4-conductor 3.5mm connector?"

Yes, the price of Shuffle headphones now includes a couple of bucks for a licensed control circuit. This puts Shuffles on the same footing as MP3-playing products you might buy from any of these 500+ companies (http://mp3licensing.com/licensees/index.asp) that spend upwards of €100 million each year on licenses from Thomson/Fraunhofer. License are everywhere... Ever buy a can of Coke? Part of the price goes toward licensing fees paid by the bottler. Even eat at McDonalds? Part of the price goes toward licensing fees to McDonald's HQ and its partners. Ever buy a Spiderman Pez dispenser? Pre-recorded DVD or Blu-Ray? Etc.)

Will it spread to other Apple devices? Most likely. It's a new, kick-ass technology. It's already on unibody MacBooks, and partially implemented on current-gen iPhones, and Shuffle 3G sales don't seem to have suffered at all. Will Apple profit from it? You betcha!

A more relevant question might be, "Does Apple plan to drop in-unit controls from other iPod models, making the headset the sole means of interfacing with the iPod?" Being able to ditch the dock connector and click wheel must look like a great cost-savings for Apple, provided that warranty claims from damaged 'phone jacks and remotes in Shuffles don't skyrocket....

[contorx]

That's a good point and I'm completely aware of the fact that licenses are found in every company and every industry. However, you can trace at least 20 dollars of every ipod sale directly to performing audits and keeping those licenses alive with apple. Pretty high right? Now, your points are clear and you've given a great perspective. However, with Apple holding over 70 percent of the MP3 player market share, will they exploit and capitalize on their position? Of course. Who wouldn't? But will part of that capitalization come through making proprietary chips directly associated with the 3.5 mm jack and headphones?

[S2_Mac]

However, you can trace at least 20 dollars of every ipod sale directly to performing audits and keeping those licenses alive with apple.

Sure would like to see a source on that; you're talking over $1.2 billion for 2008...yeah, that seems a bit high ;-) That's close to the Oct-Dec 2008 quarter's estimated net profit; it pretty much equals that quarter's operating expenses...doesn't seem like a real number.

But will part of that capitalization come through making proprietary chips directly associated with the 3.5 mm jack and headphones?

Sure -- Apple's doing it right now ;-) The 4-conductor 3.5mm mini has been developing since the 1G iPhone; it's apparently fully developed now in the 3G Shuffle (i.e. the patent's been granted). The dock connector is "proprietary" (but easy to reverse-engineer); there was plenty of griping about that when it first appeared.

To me, this new controller chip is not about to usurp the click wheel; it's a nice accessory for Classics and Nanos, but would be too much of a form factor shock if it replaced the click wheel. It's a tremendous feature for iPhones and Touches-as-iPods. Maybe it signals built-in voice recording features across the entire upcoming product line...?

[misper666]

that's very sony like isn't it. it does seem when they reach perfection that this is too good for us so they take a step back. there is a recording feature in the classic apparently, gawd knows how i can use it though!... plus, you have to find the definitive answer to wether a product will actually work with the new chip or not, despite the manufacturers claims. sorry, no. i have 3.5mm line-in mic that is not recognized (with dock adapter). poor, very poor. if they start this with headphones they'd be making a mistake. the DAC in ipods have their limitations, but the sound can still be improved vastly with exceptional headphones. so limiting peoples freedom in this manner won't be taken to kindly.

[S2_Mac]

I would expect that one of the first 3G Shuffle-ready accessories will be a controller with no buds/phones; users will connect their normal 'phones to an old-style 3-conductor jack and get the best of both worlds.

[ReyZero]

I would expect that one of the first 3G Shuffle-ready accessories will be a controller with no buds/phones; users will connect their normal 'phones to an old-style 3-conductor jack and get the best of both worlds.
You mean an adapter? I believe someone already has one,
http://www.scosche.com/products/sfID1/210/sfID2/343/productID/1726

But for $30, I laugh

[S2_Mac]

So there ya go -- end of the world averted once again; yay! (I'm a little curious...none of the info about upcoming 4-conductor gear at the Scosche site, like this PR piece (http://www.scosche.com/press.room/?year=2009&newsID=435), makes any noise about "Made for iPod"; wonder if Scosche is reverse-engineering the control chip....)

[contorx]

wonder if Scosche is reverse-engineering the control chip....)

Not sure if I follow what you're saying. That control chip that is part of the shuffle headphones cannot be legally reproduced. All third market headphone manufacturers have to buy that chip from apple. Otherwise, they would end up with quite the lawsuit. There are loads of low-end chinese manufacturers that have reverse engineered the chip, but no one like scosche would be able do something like that.

Again, I'm not sure if we're referring to the same thing here.

Any rumors about apple making a change to the shuffle control chip because of bad consumer response?

[contorx]

Funny..........

[S2_Mac]

Well, Apple's patent raises some barriers, but in general reverse-engineering for purposes of interoperability is not automatically illegal, provided the units being studies have been legally obtained. Sharp lawyers and deep pockets always help ;-)

Since sales of the new Shuffle are decidedly up, I would think that any rumors of bad consumer response would just be rumors. Right now, I'm more interested in the rumor of Apple thinking about buying Twitter....

[misper666]

but is this chip business all about the headphones? ok they have four-pole, i'd expect them to be cool with the adapters (like the one in that link), so surely it's for the added features like voice memo / remote?

[S2_Mac]

The four conductors are: audio-L, audio-R, mic, and ground. Apple uses the new chip to put control signals on the mic conductor; right now they're just playback instructions (play, pause, volume, etc.) for current Shuffles, next-gen iPhones and Touches, and current MacBooks. But yeah, you've got to figure there's room in the control protocols for Record on/off....