Apple Earpods May Get Noise-Isolating Capabilities In Future

A new patent reveals that Apple is working to improve call quality on its earphones







According to Patently Apple, the United States Patent & Trademark Office has granted a patent to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), pertaining to significant upgrades to iPhone’s headphones. The publication reported that the company plans to add cellular capabilities to headphones for the upcoming iPad. However, this patent confirms that Apple is working to improve the earpods; if the plans carry on, the earpods will handle Voice over LTE (VoLTE) calls.



The patent document mentioned that the current earphones lack quality due to the external noise, which is an issue that needs to be addressed. It further talks about the wireless headsets’ use, but the ability of those is questionable, with constraints such as battery and range.

Apple’s plan focuses on the possibility of wireless earphones, which will block out external noise, and hence improve the audio quality. These earphones will be able to determine which ear is more susceptible to external noise, and accordingly fix the volume and pitch. The earpods will communicate with the connected iDevice, which will use an array of sensors to send out different pitches to fix the noise problem. The patent also explores how this can be used with Apple’s other products.

This is the first time that Apple’s earpods are to be developed significantly. The headphones that come with iPhones are usually not of high quality. The company faced criticism for selling an expensive smartphone, but not including an equally advanced headphone. Apple’s Beats acquisition for $3 billion last year would have helped it in research and development (R&D) for its headphones.


The iPhone’s refresher variants, the 6s and 6s Plus, are to be announced on September 9. The company would receive users’ attention if it upgrades the headphones for the upcoming iPhones. It is also expected that the upgraded headphones may be launched when it launches the much-rumored 12.9-inch iPad Pro, with cellular voice capabilities.

The iPhone maker is going to release new products and services on September 9, at the Bill Graham Auditorium in San Francisco. These include the new iPhones, a new iPad, an improved Apple TV, and iOS9.