The headphones that we all know, whether open, closed or in-ear, are not the only way to transmit sound to our ears. The bone conduction technology is also an interesting option in certain areas or for certain uses. A technology that seems to have caught Apple’s attention, according to a new patent.
Privacy in certain circumstances
The main attraction of the bone conduction sound transmission system is that no sound is emitted, so no one around us is able to hear the same as we do. What is emitted is a vibration directly in our cranial bones that only we can turn into sound and hear.
The very title of the patent “Bone conduction transducers for privacy” already makes it clear that Apple is interested in this technology for its ability to maintain privacy of the content we hear. Due to its external nature to the ear, there are two candidates, that we know of, to take advantage of this technology: the AirPods Max and a future Apple Glass. According to the patent, the headphones used could have different audio channels. One of them, called private, would use this bone conduction to be able to ensure that only we hear the content of, for example, a phone call.
If we transfer this technology to Apple Glass, we can imagine something like the same rods being capable of transmitting the sound of the device. This is a very interesting approach as we move away from a possible virtual reality headset and we get closer to everyday glasses.
It would not make much sense that “conventional” glasses had to be accompanied by headphones or emitted notifications and conversations through loudspeakers. Sound by bone conductivity allows you to keep your ears free and at the same time listen to sounds that only we can hear.
Returning to the application in headphones, Apple explains in the patent that the same system could decide which sounds to reproduce through the same headset and which to pass through the private channel. Apparently we could even mark from which people or which notifications would be routed privately.
Going further, and again with the glasses in sight, the patent explains that the information of the device cameras could be used to determine which audio channel to use. Thus, the glasses or headphones could be aware of where we are or that we have a person speaking to us in front of us, to direct the audio to the system that guarantees that only we will hear.
Patents like this, in addition to several interesting details about the possible evolution of hearing technology at Apple, show us that Apple continues to research and refine the components necessary to launch some very interesting products. It is true that the patent does not speak of AirPods Max 2 or Apple Glass, but it puts all the pieces so that we can draw conclusions.