Apple To Add HD Audio Playback With iOS 8, New In-Ear Headphones
Apple is planning on adding support for high definition (HD) audio playback with iOS 8, and should introduce revamped In-Ear Headphones and an updated Lightning connector capable of supporting HD playback, according to a recent report.
The news comes from Macotakara (via MacRumors), which notes that high-quality 24-bit audio files will be supported in the eighth major release of Cupertino’s mobile operating system, iOS 8. This should constitute part of Apple’s “drastic overhaul” of iTunes, which has also seen the company go on an iTunes hiring spree and reportedly partner with Shazam for an embedded song ID feature in the updated mobile OS.
To complement this change, Apple is also reportedly making two hardware developments. First, it’ll unveil a new version of its In-Ear Headphones which support high-quality playback: the product hasn’t received an update in four years, and presently retails for $79 in Apple Retail Stores and in the Apple Online Store.
The second hardware change concerns an updated Lightning connector. This, too, will allow for high-quality audio playback on dedicated Made for iPhone (MFi) accessories, “although it isn’t clear when the company would introduce the updated connector,” MacRumors notes.
Apple’s reported acquisition of Beats means further music-related announcements could be made at WWDC 2014. A recent report even noted that Cupertino could introduce both Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre as “senior advisors” during the keynote.
WWDC is set to begin on June 2, and as such we don’t have long to wait until Apple unveils its plans for iOS 8. We’ll keep you updated with further information as we receive it.
In the meantime, see: AppAdvice International: Apple’s Japan Sales Chief Switches To North America, Almost Half Of All iPhone Owners Purchase Their Handset For Its Battery Life, and Plaintiff In Apple’s Anti-Poaching Suit Calls Settlement ‘Grossly Inadequate’.
