All Apple mobile devices would traditionally come with a earphones or headphones and they would typically be used to render private listening or as a communications channel.
Tied up with the iPhone, everyone knows that current issue on whether Apple would be coming out with a new set of earphones since the old 3.5 mm jacks will no longer be around. Instead, headphones with Lightning port tips are expected for Apple consumers though Bluetooth-powered ones could be another choice.
Regardless of what Apple plans to include with their next iPhone, a curious new patent over at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office surfaced recently. It was an unusual communications platform that will seemingly ditch traditional cellular means to direct, point-to-point network technology.
To make all that easier, it seems to indicate an improved way of putting headphones to use that calls to mind ‘walkie-talkies’.
The alleged headphones seem to be the center of the patent referred to as the “Point-to-point ad hoc voice communication” which is considered a more intimate and less ambitious solution for the iPhone line.
The add-on is something that can easily connect with other devices via wireless ad hoc networks or peer-to-peer linking. Included in the pack are the assortment of audio hardware such as a microphone and speaker. The proposed headset from Apple will also have a communications module that allows it to interface with other units within a certain range.
It should be noted that this is not the first time that Apple has filed for an advanced ‘walkie-talkie’ patent. They filed the first one back in November of 2014 and credited it to inventors Esge B. Andersen and Cedrik Bacon.
While the recently filed patent seems interesting, there is no clue for now on whether these alleged headphones will be included in products Apple will be releasing to the market.
Then again, apple could opt to offer them as an independent piece (add-on) which would have to be purchased separately.
Incidentally, the ad hoc system would be a good fit for Apple's own Apple Stores, which currently use traditional two-way radios to facilitate communication between floor staff and those working at the back of the store.
