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Apple Patent Hints At Magnetic Ear Hooks To Keep Future AirPods In Your Ears (digitaltrends.com)
Patently Apple has recently uncovered a new Apple patent that may help AirPods stay in your ears. The patent details a magnetic mechanism that wraps around the user's ear. Digital Trends reports: The magnets attract each other through the ear tissue, keeping the AirPods in place and ensuring that they don't get lost. Of course, it's not certain if Apple filed this patent with AirPods in mind -- one of the images clearly shows a wired pair of headphones, and the patent was filed in June. The concept, however, would help keep both wired and wireless earbuds in place. The issue of keeping AirPods in the ear has been arguably the biggest issue related to the AirPods, and for good reason -- they're pretty expensive little devices, so losing them is definitely not something you want to do. It's possible that Apple decided against using the ear hooks for aesthetic reasons -- Apple is known for its excellent design and the ear hooks in the patent don't exactly look great. Not only that but the design of the charging case would have to change with the ear hooks. Some reports indicate that the patent could be implemented with future versions and given the hullaballoo surrounding keeping AirPods in, we wouldn't be totally surprised. It's also possible, however, that Apple patented the design but ultimately ended up nixing it.
well, without the magnets, and their slaves really liked it since they didn't have to have hooks in their lips.
Like we always did with our glasses?
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now i know why i never bought apple products, they attract too much of a cult following, and i am just not in to that, enjoy your apple koolaide
Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
Apple will give those for free to people that bought the airpods, right?
If only someone else had thought of a way to use magnets to attach things to your ear! This is courage taken to a new level, we're talking iCourage levels here...
Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
I've got it - how about a sort of headband thing that rests across the top of the head and connects the two pods together, all as one connected unit. Make the band a bit springy and bendy so it can fit multiple size heads. Maybe put a bit of foam padding around the speakers.
You should get right on top of patenting that as a completely original Apple-brand idea, guys.
Maybe a wire to attach them to your device so they don't get lost.
Will these cost another $40-50?
#DeleteChrome
there have been magnetic earrings on the market for years.
if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
Of course they had a few problems to overcome and had to adjust the strength of the magnets down a bit. The first version was great except for the horrible clacking sound they made when they met in the middle.
Make cellphone smaller. Release extended battery case that restores original size and costs you $100.
Release laptops severely limited in ports. Tons of dongles to enable previous functionality.
Release wireless headphones sold as a solution to reducing wires. Release extra co-product to re-establish the fit of wired headphones.
Given who their customer base is, I suggest they also say the magnets are magic and prevent cancer and give you a quantum aura alignment boost or some BS like that. If you're about to correct me, keep in mind Steve Jobs thought juice drinks would cure his cancer and died because of it.
There are some people with prosthetic ears that are held in place with magnets. How will those interact?
Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads
I do metal detecting. I can't wait to start finding these things at the beach.
This was informative and it is a common mistake to think that "applied for patent related to X" means "patented X". The Slashdot summary tells us only that the application is something *related to* magnets on ear buds, it could be something truly novel, unique and complex having to do with the magnet that's needed to drive the tiny speaker in the earbuds, and preventing (or even using) interference from multiple magnets.
It's also important to keep in mind that a patent application is not a patent. Applications sometimes get kicked back and are revised multiple times, due to prior art or other issues.
In this particular case, there actually is an issue of novelty, of prior art. Apple's patent application, at least the initial filing, is for a device that has all (not some) of the following characteristics:
Earbuds
With a retaining arm that goes around the back of the ear
Magnets in the arm
Magnets in the earbud body
Attraction between the magnets in the arm and in those in the earbud body hold the assembly in place
There is a legitimate argument that given the prior art of magnetic earrings, which are commonplace, and earbuds with retaining arms, which are also commonplace, it may be obvious to one skilled in the art that you could put magnets in the retaining arm.
If you're going to use magnets, do them right.
Magnetize both airpods and let them attract to each other through the skull. That'll keep them in place.
Bonus points if they use electromagnets that only activate once the devices are both in the ear canal (temperature-based?). Of course, this means that they may decouple once the user dies. I'm sure marketing can spin that in a good way.
Help! I'm a slashdot refugee.
using a piercing would likely be far less painful than magnetic methods. Have you ever tried novelty magnetic earrings, or clip-on earrings? They fucking hurt, while piercings do not once they are healed.
The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
He was able to keep an earpiece in his ear for five whole seasons without losing it or needing to recharge it for that matter.
If that's a real tattoo my bum's a frying pan.
My three-year-old comes home from school with more convincing looking ones than that.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Google "Android Tattoo" and see the ugly truth for yourself. I don't know if that exact one is real, but I've seen real ones in person.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
I have, when they were the fad. A magnet that is strong enough to hold through tissue squeezes tightly enough to be uncomfortable after a short period. Just saying from experience.