The iPhone 7 is widely rumored to be ditching the headphone jack for its own wireless earbuds, which comes with a host of problems, not the least of which is how people will listen to their music. That news left many sighing heavily and looking at their Bluetooth headphone options. We hope you haven’t picked out a set yet, though, because just ahead of the iPhone 7’s debut comes word that Apple might be ditching Bluetooth, too.
We’d love to tell you this kind of goofy, last-minute rumor is just the internet being silly, but unfortunately, it comes from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities. Kuo is one of the few people outside of Apple who grasps how the company thinks, and tends to deliver intelligently researched theories that often bear out to be true. His report posits that the iPhone 7 will ship with “AirPods” (with Beats filling in the rest of the market ) — which makes quite a bit of business sense.
Kuo’s theory also, like it or not, has history on its side. Apple’s “closed architecture” philosophy has meant, among other things, the company has a long history of proprietary ports and standards. Remember the iPod’s 30-pin connector? In fact, Apple still technically uses a proprietary wireless standard, AirPlay; the reason your iPhone is compatible with so much stuff is because Apple licenses out the patents.
We won’t know for certain whether Kuo is correct until tomorrow, when the new iPhone debuts at Apple’s event. But if the rumors hold true, a lot of music fans, and tech nerds, are probably leaving the event incredibly unhappy. Not least because, come on, Apple, you have billions in cash, and you’re not going to pay what it costs to call them “AirBuds?”
(via Apple Insider)