Earlier this month Apple sent shockwaves through the tech sector when it released a new specification allowing it to make Lightning headphones and skip the traditional 3.5mm headphone jack entirely. Well now Google can do the same.
USB Audio Headphones
Google brushed over the feature during its I/O 2014 keynote yesterday, but in a slide from its presentation (pictured below) it quietly announced Android L would bring support for ‘USB audio’. And just like Apple’s proposed use of the Lightning connector, audio over USB has potential upsides.
Most notable is the potential to increase performance. How this would work is USB (and Lightning) headphones would be able to bypass a handset’s (typically poor) digital-to-analogue converter (DAC) and allow higher quality powered DACs to be integrated directly into headphones.
Up until now DACs have previously been of interest primarily to audiophiles, but with significant power able to be sent over these standards the moves from Apple and Google could change that. Similarly the Lightning and USB ports could be used to power headphones with noise cancellation allowing for slimmer, lighter form factors.
There is also the potential for app integration effectively creating ‘smart headphones’. The fruits of this will be down to developers’ imagination, but examples could include triggering specific apps when headphones are connected and tying that app launch to different locations.
There are also health implications with headphones potentially able to fit sensors and monitor heart rate, perspiration and even electrical signals from the brain. Then again this functionality could be duplicated with existing wireless technology.
Money Driven?
By contrast, cynics would argue the move by both Apple and Google is motivated by the desire to trigger significant growth in the headphone sector. Apple has a clearer motivation for this with its purchase of Beats, but Google may be tempted to enter the sector itself.
Conversely while Apple could rake in millions from Lightning port licensing fees, Google’s use of microUSB (and soon the reversible micro USB 3.1 standard – below) would likely preclude that and is therefore more likely to be motivated by a desire to drive another area of ‘smart’ technology.
So is Google just copying Apple? Actually no. From a product roadmap perspective it would be virtually impossible for Google to react so quickly to Apple’s specification submission earlier this month. Furthermore the Nexus 5already supports USB audio.
Practicalities
But how practical is this? A common question when Apple’s Lightning headphone specification was announced was: how you do simultaneously listen to headphones and charge your device? Neither company has spoken up on the topic, but the key may lie in the past.
When headphone jacks on phones were still largely proprietary Sony addressed this by allowing headphones to plug into the back of the connector on its chargers. An elegant variant of this would seem likely.
Of course what is unavoidable is fragmentation. Many users have a combination of iOS, Mac, Android and Windows devices and needing to have different headphones for each (especially if Microsoft joins the fray) will be infuriating and, potentially, expensive. It is also likely to lock users tighter into specific ecosystems as a consequence.
In my opinion it also feels totally unnecessary. The future for headphones and earphones is being wire-free and there are a number of open, smart wireless standards where it would make more sense to focus time and resources. Fragmenting the wired standard when it is only likely to last another 5-10 years in any case seems needlessly disruptive.
Don’t Panic
But if all this has you hot under the collar don’t panic. For those tied to their headphones I wouldn’t expect either company to ditch the trusty headphone jack from its devices any time soon.
For Google in particular it has to rely on handset manufacturers having the confidence to make the jump. And even then I would only envisage the headphone jack being dropped should customers have shown enough willing to switch and Lightning/USB headphone sales had gained enough traction.
Despite these caveats it is clear both companies are now actively looking for alternatives to the oldest universal technology standard still in use and given most users have no complaints with the 3.5mm jack they will face a battle to succeed.
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