Even though Apple owns the Beats brand, which makes a line of headphones, the rumor mill says the company plans to release an Apple-branded headphone any day now. That doesn’t make sense to me from a branding viewpoint, but the tech giant has filed for a new patent (number 20200145747) for “detection of headphone rotation.”
In the patent filing, Apple notes that characteristics of the audio signal transported by headphones and other audio devices may be controlled by turning the audio signal on or off, pausing the audio signal, changing the audio signal (e.g., switching from one song to another song), rewinding the audio signal, fast forwarding the audio signal, adjusting volume of the audio signal, adjusting treble of the audio signal, adjusting bass of the audio signal, and/or the like. This control may typically be performed at the source device by the user using one or more input elements, such as buttons.
However, in response, the audio signal may be transformed before it reaches the headphones. Apple’s idea is to provide systems and methods of detecting headphone rotation such as gestures and touch to” properly process user input to the headphones.”
Here’s the summary of the patent filing: “The systems and methods described herein may be used, for example, to detect a gesture (e.g., a swipe) received as user input on a touch interface of the headphones, such as a touch interface integrated into an ear piece. The gesture may be made in a particular direction, such as down toward Earth.
“However, headphones may be worn in a plurality of configurations, such as upright with the headband around the top of the head, downward with the headband around the back of the neck, or anywhere in between. Thus, the systems and methods described herein may be used to determine the rotation of the headphones in order to properly ascertain the intended gesture and perform an intended result.”
