Apple Is Reportedly Making Its Own High-End Noise-Cancelling Headphones (bloomberg.com) 87
Apple is planning to push into the high-end audio market with the launch of noise-cancelling, over-ear headphones. The cans are expected to launch at the end of this year and will rival headsets from market leaders like Bose and even the company's own Beats by Dre brand. Bloomberg reports: Work on the Apple headset has been on-and-off over the past year. The company encountered similar problems with the HomePod during its development, including multiple redesigns, according to the people. It's possible Apple will redesign the headphones again before launch, or scrap the project altogether, they warned, asking not to be identified discussing private development work.
Nice (Score:1)
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We're talking about headphones here, not your selections on match.com.
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locked (Score:2)
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The base model of the noise cancelling headphones will only filter some noise.
If you want premium noise filtration with Apple lossless silence encoding TM, you have to buy the Pro model.
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The base model of the noise cancelling headphones will only filter some noise.
I think the base model will induce migraine-level headaches, as noise-canceling headphones are want to do. The Pro model will do the same, but for $300 more, and with an interface that is incompatible with anything you currently own. For an additional $800, Apple will sell you an adapter that will work with exactly one other Apple device -- until the next wave of models is introduced.
So for $1200, you can rent an Apple Experience that does the same thing as the generic device that Walmart sells for $35.
Technically very possible (Score:2)
Will probably use the "LE" (Low Energy) Bluetooth protocol (it's also under the Bluetooth umbrella name, but has nothing to do with classical Bluetooth, it'ss more some kind of ZigBee-like low power protocol that got phagocyted by Bluetooth).
Which is completely stupid in this context(*), but helps Apple add a bullet point on the marketing speech ("Low Power !") and helps them use a protocol (LEA) which isn't widely used by anyone else.
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(*): Audio is continuous streaming which is not something LE excels at
Basic. (Score:5, Insightful)
The cans are expected to launch at the end of this year and will rival headsets from market leaders like Bose and even the company's own Beats by Dre brand.
Other words they'll sound like crap, carry a high price tag, and people will buy them (especially high school age girls) as more of a status symbol.
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That was pretty much my first thought. Bose and Beats do not sound bad, but they're more a triumph of marketing, and generally scoffed at by hi-fi enthusiasts.
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Bose don't sound bad, but Beats do. Even the top of the line Beats can only be described as utter garbage suitable for only techno, rap, drum and bass, and any other music genre where it is preferential to drown out the sound with duff duff sounds.
Bose at least has best in class noise reduction. They have a purpose along side some nicer sounding headphones. I greatly prefer my Bose headphones to my Sennheiser Hd800s when in a noisy environment, just as an example.
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Bose don't sound bad, but Beats do. Even the top of the line Beats can only be described as utter garbage suitable for only techno, rap, drum and bass, and any other music genre where it is preferential to drown out the sound with duff duff sounds.
Bose at least has best in class noise reduction. They have a purpose along side some nicer sounding headphones. I greatly prefer my Bose headphones to my Sennheiser Hd800s when in a noisy environment, just as an example.
Bose for sound quality is middle of the road. Same with Sennheiser. With Bose and Senn you generally get good low end headphones but the quality plataus at the more expensive ones. A £300 set of Senn headphones isn't usually much better than a £150 set.
However a £200 pair of Beats is noticeably worse than a £50 pair of Senns. Most of the money you pay for Beats is for the branding, these Apple headphones will be the same, in fact probably just rebranded Beats considering Apple alr
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True high quality headphones will be from companies like Beyerdynamic or Grado Labs that produce professional equipment almost exclusively.
That's nothing more than elitist. I own Grado RS1s and Sennheiser HD650s, and HD800s, and used to have some BD DT880s which died a long time ago. The RS1s and the 650s each shine for a different genre, and I prefer the latter. The 800s sound better than both of them in pretty much every case, and all of them sound better than the DT880s, but then they were in a different price class too.
You'd be hard pressed to find a pair of Sennheiser HD800's
You won't find any of the Grado reference headphones or DT990s which are quite different from the 990 Pros as well. There
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Don't mix audiophile equipment and pro equipment.
Audiophile gear (the good kind, not the snake oil) is meant to produce the best experience for the listener.
Pro gear is designed for work, it is meant to be accurate and unforgiving.
In one case, you are trying to listen to everything that is right, on the other you are trying to listen to everything that is wrong (so that it can be fixed).
Just because it is expensive and good quality doesn't mean it is professional. In fact, I constantly battle against misapp
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I own both the Bose Quiet Comfort 20 (ear bud) and 25 (wired cans). The noise cancellation is great, it eliminates road noise when I'm out walking and the noise of the tracks when I'm on the train. My office can get noisy and I can't hear the person next to me talking when I have them on.
The ear buds block external noise a little better since they seal against your ear. The cans are okay, but they're bulky; not something you want to be carrying around with you. The cans have a removable/replaceable cor
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The might not sound crap. The HomePod sounds okay, their earpods sound okay for what they are.
I just don't see the point of noise cancelling cans any more. I have a pair of AKG Y50BT that sit on the ear and cut external noise as much as Bose Quiet Comfort do simply by forming a good seal. They are more comfortable, lighter weight, work without being charged and don't have that annoying sense of pressure you get from noise cancelling.
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Don't overlook the noise-cancelling part; while Bose may not have the best sound, it seems pretty universally agreed that they have the best noise cancelling. If Apple can match them on that front then they'd probably sell a lot on that basis alone.
Already DOA (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Already DOA (Score:4, Interesting)
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Apple can easily add any format they want to the lightning jack. In fact, it would be pretty typical of Apple to add an "Apple Super HD" format that only worked on Apple devices and a regular lower end format for non-Apple devices. They aren't limited to standardized device classes like USB, they can do what they want because they own the standard from end to end.
So if Apple does this all the time perhaps you'd like to provide us with a list of the last 20 times they did this? ... because you should not encounter any shortage of examples if your statement is correct. I've used Apple gadgets for years and even when they introduced Tunderbolt they still provided USB ports. In fact pretty much the only interoperabilty problems I have encountered have been connecting my macOS and iOS gadgets to Microsoft products as well as problems with opening files produced with Micr
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They killed this product when they released the iPhone 7 without a headphone jack.
That's probably why Apple wants to make their own headphones, that truly compete with jack connected devices, and to be plugged via the lightning connector (or BT).
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Yet the high end noise cancelling headphones - Bose QC35s, etc. all support wireless. You can wire them optionally, but they almost always are used wirelessly.
And even so, digital
You gotta hand it to Apple (Score:2)
They make good products and slap on about a 25% markup and people just eat it up. Their fans at least, and judging my their revenues they have a hell of a lot of fans.
People that say Apple products are overpriced are right. They are. But the people that love their stuff don't seem to think so. I bet these headphones retail for $500 a pair and they will fly off the shelves. I have given up trying to figure out why. Sometimes you just have to tip you hat and say well done.
Re: You gotta hand it to Apple (Score:2)
This is why I buy Apple shares even though I don't buy Apple stuff: I like profiting off of hipsters who love to give Apple money and then complain that their rent is too high.
Re: Somebody invent some hype-cancelling headphone (Score:2)
Re: Could be good (Score:2)
Save yourself some trouble (Score:3)
And just buy something like this [amazon.com] from a brand like Audio-Technica. It'll probably be half the price Apple charges and just as luxurious with great sound.
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No noise cancellation, bigger than a Nomad. Lame.
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Looking forward! (Score:2)
I can't wait to plug one into my headphone jack.
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I can't wait to plug one into my headphone jack.
You need a hammer for that.
What about Dre? (Score:1)
I thought that's why they bought out Beats by.... oh wait, high end...mea culpa.
You know what works for me? Gunfire Head Muffs. (Score:2)
Seriously. I had Bose and another brand I can't remember. Nothing worked or works on an airplane like a set of gunfire ear protection muffs combined with earbuds.
I've loosened mine up thru use and recently wore them for 6 hours on a flight back from the west coast while watching movies and shows on my devices. They don't use batteries. They are very effective against airplane noise.
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Will the rubber peel off? (Score:1)
don't put them on (Score:1)