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As Apple looks to ditch 3.5mm socket, patent hints at higher-quality speakers in future iPhones

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A new patent awarded to Apple today suggests that the company’s audio plans for future iPhones may go beyond reportedly ditching the 3.5mm headphone socket in favor of Lightning and Bluetooth. The patent is very densely-worded, but seemingly describes a method of getting higher-quality and higher-volume audio from speakers built into slimmer devices.

Apple’s statement of the problem is clear enough.

Given the area constraints imposed on many portable electronic devices, it is increasingly difficult to provide high-quality audio sound output and pickup without hindering the ability to make portable electronic devices smaller and thinner. Consequently, there is a need for improved approaches to provide high-quality audio sound output and/or pickup from portable electronic devices as they get smaller and thinner.

The language describing Apple’s proposed solution is less clear, but from a combination of this and the accompanying diagrams, I at least have a working theory of what is being suggested …

Rather than just using the volume of air you can push through the speakers themselves, Apple appears to be proposing to allow more of the internal space of the device to act as an audio chamber.

The invention pertains to a portable electronic device that provides compact configurations for audio elements. The audio elements can be drivers (e.g., speakers) or receivers (e.g., microphones). In one embodiment, an audio element can be mounted on or coupled to an intermediate structure (e.g., a flexible electrical substrate) having an opening therein to allow audio sound to pass there through. In another embodiment, an audio chamber can be formed to assist in directing audio sound between an opening an outer housing and a flexible electronic substrate to which the audio element is mounted or coupled thereto.

Effectively, turning other components of the iPhone – like a circuit board – into part of the speaker. This would allow a greater volume of air to be pushed, increasing the sound volume achievable from internal speakers, as well as potentially increasing the quality of the audio. The patent describes using the same technique to improve the microphone(s).

Interestingly, the views of 9to5Mac readers on ditching the 3.5mm headphone socket appear to be almost evenly split between the 43% happy to use Lightning or Bluetooth and the combined 40% who don’t care about a slimmer iPhone and/or want to strangle Jony Ive with their headphone cable.

Photo: TechnoBezz

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Comments

  1. realgurahamu - 8 years ago

    Audio Chambers are already used in some cases – I wonder how apple’s will differ without breaching more patents already existing

  2. There is still almost ¼” on each side of the 3.5mm plug — meaning they’ve got another ¼” at least to play with before abandoning an industry standard that provides iPhone owners (and BUYERS) plenty of options. Having said that, Apple is now influential enough to change industry standards, and that’s the way they should go. Though we’ve not seen Apple successful at this so far.

    Instead of creating another proprietary Apple-only connector, they need to innovate and promote a new standard. Everyone wins, and Apple can keep its lightning.

    • realgurahamu - 8 years ago

      I have said the same thing previously.Either apple need to adopt USB type c and piss off all owners of lightning devices as they did when abandoning the 30 pin connector or make lightning open free of licence fees for every manufacturer of every device

    • jmiko2015 - 8 years ago

      except this will end up just like Thunderbolt

      • Rio (@Crzy_rio) - 8 years ago

        What is wrong with Thunderbolt?

      • jmiko2015 - 8 years ago

        The main problem is that it was praised as a new widely used technology standard that would eventually kill USB etc. In reality, only a small number of Windows PCs actually adopted the port, making it nearly impossible to become widely used standard beyond Apple’s lines. This will eventually happen to Apple’s new audio jack standard, in this case Lightning. Can you imagine HTC, Samsung or LG adopting Lightning connector as a replacement for data/audio/power? Certainly won’t happen. Instead we will be forced to buy either wireless or wired headphones that will work only with a single device in the world.

      • nelmat - 8 years ago

        Thunderbolt is a fantastic connector. It’s not for consumer level requirements, it’s for professional work. (Although a prices continue to fall, there are some great audio interfaces and hard drives affordable on a home budget). A huge success, and of course thunderbolt 3 will use the same connector as USB-C. Just because thunderbolt devices are expensive and don’t sell at the same level as inexpensive consumer peripherals, it is far from a failure.

      • jmiko2015 - 8 years ago

        Have you actually read what I wrote? I never said prices are a huge problem. What I say is that Thunderbolt is a huge success only in Apple’s world. But it was expected to have the same success in Windows’ world as well, which didn’t happen.

    • Rio (@Crzy_rio) - 8 years ago

      It is not about the thickness but the amount of space it takes up.

      It is a very dumb connector, in the sense it does not to much for the amount of space it takes up. The space may seem little to you but in relation to everything else in the iPhone it is HUGE for barely doing anything.

  3. gigatronblog - 8 years ago

    This is already in use on the iPad Pro.

    • taoprophet420 - 8 years ago

      My guess Apple will use 2 speaker chambers on the iPhone instead the 4 like the iPad Pro. I think Apple will use higher bit rate music and enhanced sound through internal speakers and new Lightning or USB-C headphones.

    • o0smoothies0o - 8 years ago

      That would be disappointing if they used 2 speakers on the iPhone. It’s not necessary, and only uses space that could be used for more important things.

  4. “hindering the ability to make portable electronic devices smaller and thinner” but the question is, WHY do they NEED to get smaller and thinner? Without a case, my iPhone 6 is hard enough to hold. Why ditch a WIDELY used standard for the sake of smaller and thinner and even HARDER to hold?

    • Avieshek (@avieshek) - 8 years ago

      Look at the top & bottom bezels fo u’r phone. Do u seriously think they would ditch the current screen sizes (4.7″ & 5.5″) even if they ever come with a smaller phone

    • jmiko2015 - 8 years ago

      It’s simple. Jony can’t do anything else without Steve.

      • dcj001 - 8 years ago

        Jony was doing great design long before he knew who Steve was.

      • jmiko2015 - 8 years ago

        He did awesome designs but I think he just went of the road. I mean, the weird battery pack, then the protruding camera. On the other hand, MacBook 12″ has a very beautiful interior design, the stacked battery is a very nice innovation to me.

    • bbydon (@bbydon) - 8 years ago

      It’s about weight. Thinner/smaller equals lighter.

  5. Robert - 8 years ago

    I’ve not finished reading the entire patent document but it is evident the flexible electronic substrate is not a rigid PCB but rather a flex cable that is itself coupled to a PCB. Apparently in some embodiments of the patent the speaker is mounted to an opening in the flex cable – looks like Apple is trying to shave off every tenth they can to make the assembly compact.

    Also for what it’s worth, in one drawing the phone has TWO speakers. If making the speaker assemblies more compact reduces sound pressure output having two speakers will help give sufficient output. In other words they may use two speakers, not so much for a stereo effect but for output.

    The descriptions also seem to imply the the speaker directs sound toward the opening rather than the opening being to the side, this might suggest front facing openings.

    The other intriguing thing is the description of an acoustical boot with a section that is more rigid and a section that is more flexible. I believe the idea is for this boot chamber to be able to resonate across a wide frequency range which if implemented well should increase the clarity of sound or perhaps provide more bass than we typically get out of a small chamber.

  6. emmenot - 8 years ago

    The last thing I need is a thinner iPhone. A phone that is a bit thicker with a longer-life battery is a great deal more important than this pointless obsession with making thinner phones. But if Apple ditches the 3.5mm jack, we can all buy yet another overpriced white adapter cable to carry everywhere!!

    • Avieshek (@avieshek) - 8 years ago

      Actually, if u correctly quote a phone i.e thinner (as much Apple wants) with a thicker battery, will be music to the ears.

  7. zachoblog - 8 years ago

    I would gladly give up the 3.5 mil jack for better speakers

  8. Avieshek (@avieshek) - 8 years ago

    Oh yeah, dual speakers. Hope it’s true

  9. Avieshek (@avieshek) - 8 years ago

    Wait a second, will the iPhone 7 ‘ve front facing speakers and that’s how the design would be different?

  10. Chris Reid (@bopster1) - 8 years ago

    Time to embrace change people. I know. It’s hard. But remember those things called the PC, the CD and stores you walked into?

  11. jmcejuela - 8 years ago

    Ditch the 3.5mm. Go for Bluetooth

  12. pdixon1986 - 8 years ago

    It would be interesting if they could rejig things inside and at least add stereo speakers using similar tech from the ipad pro but on a smaller scale.

Author

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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