Hey guys it’s Greg with Apple Explained, and today we’re going to talk about one
of the most underrated and overlooked features of Apple products.
And that is audio.
Because ever since the iPods signature white earbuds, Apple has made some incredible contributions
to the audio industry that tend to go unnoticed.
And their audio engineering team is perhaps one of the least recognized in the company.
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So when it comes to apple’s audio history, I think it makes sense to begin back in 2001
with the earbuds included with every iPod.
And despite most other music players featuring stealthy black headphones, apple decided to
make their earbuds pure white.
A design decision that would later pay off since it became a signature of the iPod and
earned apple more brand visibility when their products were used in public.
But there was one downside to these earbuds, and that was mediocre audio quality.
So apple eventually began developing a more premium pair of earbuds that were released
in 2005.
They were called the Apple in-ear headphones, and cost just $40.
And if you’re wondering why it sounds suspiciously cheap, it’s because they weren’t actually
that great.
Their narrow cone- shape made them prone to falling out of your ears and most of the audio
improvements could only be heard when pressing them deeper into your ear.
I should also mention that there was no in-line microphone or remote to control your music,
so there was very little incentive for customers to purchase these headphones.
But keep in mind that this was apple’s first attempt at premium headphones and they learned
quite a bit since 3 years later in 2008.
They released an upgraded pair of in-ear headphones that improved upon every weakness of its predecessor.
For example, it’s new shape allowed it to fit much deeper in your ear with no risk of
slipping out.
And the silicon tips were much softer and more comfortable inside the ear, which meant
you could wear these headphones for long periods of time without any discomfort or pain.
But the biggest improvement apple made was to the sound quality.
The headphones featured dual driver output, which meant there was a woofer and a tweeter
in each earbud.
Which resulted in clear treble and rich bass that were even further enhanced by noise isolation
that dampened ambient sounds.
And to top it all off, apple included a redesigned remote and microphone with buttons that were
easier to press.
Now all of these improvements came at a cost since apple’s new in-ear headphones were
priced twice as much as its predecessor.
But its $80 price tag was much lower than its competition which came in at around $100
to $120.
Now apple still hasn’t upgraded these headphones since 2008 but they did introduce the EarPods
in 2012 which came with the iPod touch, iPod nano, iPod classic, and iPhone.
And they were a huge improvement over apple’s previous signature white earbuds.
They featured a new in-line remote and microphone similar to the in-ear headphones and a new
design that was based on years of apple’s research regarding thousands of different
ear shapes and sizes.
So the EarPods fit comfortably and securely in more people’s ears than ever before.
Apple also managed to improve sound quality by using a paper cone diaphragm rather than
plastic which allowed for deeper bass and higher durability.
Now the EarPods overall design served as the foundation of Apple’s next ambitious audio
project, the AirPods.
Which in my opinion is the greatest audio product the company has ever made.
Because for years, many customers dreamed of truly wireless earbuds that looked and
worked exactly like apple’s traditional headphones except without the wire.
But this proved to be much more difficult than it may have appeared.
Because the AirPods required a breakthrough in wireless connectivity and power efficiency
which apple achieved with the W1 chip.
And apple’s execution of the magnetic charging case was nothing short of impressive.
But when it was introduced in 2016, the AirPods were met with a lot of criticism, mainly over
it’s high price.
It also didn’t help that the removal of the headphone jack on the iPhone 7 was announced
alongside the AirPods and that made a lot of people believe apple was simply manipulating
them into buying overpriced headphones.
But as is the case with many new apple products, once people started using them they began
to understand how valuable they really were.
And if you compare the AirPods $160 price tag to it’s competition you’ll find that
it’s actually not a bad deal at all.
And it was clear that customers felt the same way since the AirPods sold so well that it
took apple almost 3 months to keep them stocked at apple stores.
Now the following year, in 2017, Apple followed up the AirPods with the HomePod.
Although its released date slipped to early 2018.
And despite its name sounding similar to the AirPods, it didn’t experience the same level
of success.
But before we talk about that, I want to point out that the HomePod wasn’t Apple’s first
home speaker system.
Back in 2006 the company released the iPod Hi-Fi, which included dock connector adapters
for every iPod released up to that point.
Because its main draw was that it could be used seamlessly with your iPod, and that it
delivered the best audio quality in the industry.
It also featured some impressive design elements like the built-in power supply, integrated
handles, and touch-sensitive volume buttons.
But its $350 price tag was out of reach for most customers, and Apple discontinued the
iPod Hi-Fi just one year later due to disappointing sales.
And that’s why some people today are referring to HomePod as the iPod Hi-Fi 2.0.
Because it has also been plagued by sluggish sales and the same premium price of $350.
But I don’t think it’s fair to equate the two products, since the HomePod does feature
some groundbreaking technology to differentiate itself from the competition.
For example, it’s cylindrical design allows sound to be projected in a 360-degree pattern,
which means your music will have even volume and sound quality no matter where you’re
at in the room.
It also has sensors that enable spacial awareness to automatically analyze the acoustics of
a room, and adjust the sound based on its location.
But I think the most impressive thing about the HomePod is its microphone technology.
Because when you say “Hey Siri,” HomePod is able to filter out ambient noise and focus
on your voice so it has a better chance of understanding your request.
Apple actually released internal test audio of this technology to give you a better idea
of what HomePod hears when it receives a request.
So although the HomePod isn’t selling as well as Apple hoped, it does have some impressive
technology under the hood.
And it’s been said that Apple may be developing a more affordable version of the HomePod to
compete with Amazon Echo and Google Home, so I think this is just the beginning, and
we could see Apple become a much bigger player in the smart speaker market very soon.
But the accomplishments of Apple’s audio team goes much further than dedicated headphones
and speakers.
Because if you’ve tested the speakers on the iPad Pro, iPhone XS, Apple Watch, or 12-inch
MacBook, you probably understand just how impressive the audio quality and volume is
coming from such small devices.
Because if you think back to early iPhones, it was nearly impossible to have a conversation
on speakerphone or play music in a noisy outdoor environment.
The audio was just too tinny and wasn’t nearly loud enough.
But that has changed dramatically today, with iPhones and iPads that are even thinner than
they used to be.
And a large part of the audio teams recent success can be attributed to this man, Tomlinson
Holman, one of the most prominent figures in modern audio.
He used to be the technical director of Lucasfilm, where he helped create the THX theater sound
system.
Which stood for the Tomlinson Holman eXperiment.
He also invented the worlds first 10.2 sound system and was hired by Apple in 2011.
Which would explain why the company has made industry-leading audio products in recent
years.
But I think Holman and his team are just getting started.
There have been rumors of Apple releasing in-ear AirPods within the next year or two,
which I think would sell extremely well, considering the demand for higher-quality noise-isolating
AirPods has been building ever since their release.
But there are also rumors of Apple making over the ear headphones, similar to Beats.
And if that’s true the headphones would have to feature some sort of groundbreaking
technology to differentiate themselves and convince customers to pay its inevitably higher
price.
And judging by a patent Apple filed in 2016, that new technology could come in the form
of audio processing.
Which would use a variety of techniques to make sound appear as if it isn’t being heard
through headphones at all.
Apple refers to this as acoustic transparency, where ambient sound from the users environment
would be processed and included in the headphone’s audio feed.
That way, the listener would feel like they’re hearing audio from a larger soundstage rather
than from right outside their head.
Now this information is from a patent, which means Apple may not develop or implement this
technology, but it does give us insight into the unique ways Apple is approaching audio.
So it’s clear that Apple is equip with an incredible audio engineering team, judging
by the products they’ve released.
And I think it’ll be fascinating to see just how competitive the company becomes in
the audio industry.
Will they grow their headphone product line to a size comparable to Beats?
Or will they focus their efforts on a few audio products that are executed extremely
well?
I guess only time will tell, but I have a feeling Apple’s audio team is only getting
warmed up.
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Alright guys so that is the most underrated feature of Apple products, and if you want
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Thanks for watching and I’ll see you next time.