Skip to main content

Apple patent describes headphones that flip upward to double as speakers

apple earnings q4 2017 logo
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Patents are like the Wild West of product design: Romantic and imaginative, but often deceiving. They look cool but often don’t see the light of day. Such is probably the case with a new Apple application which shows a pair of headphones that serve double duty as loudspeakers.

The patent, granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday, shows a basic pair of over-the-ear headphones that contain two cups connected by a head strap. Apple’s innovation concerns what is on the outside: Special sensors that determine the headphone’s current orientation. When the cups are facing inward and a built-in proximity sensor detects a nearby ear, the system recognizes they are in headphone mode. When the cups are flipped outward and on their side, on the other hand, the sensor signals that they have been removed.

That data is fed into built-in amplifiers that ramp up and down sound depending on the headphone’s orientation. When the headphones are on-ear, they function like an off-the-shelf pair of cans. But when the aren’t being worn, a special mode activates, ratcheting up the amplifier and effectively transforming the cups into speakers.

Apple envisions the tech applied to more than just headphones. The patent describes in-ear and clip-on headphones with the same sensors and amplifiers on a smaller scale format, much like the current generation of EarPods and AirPods. It also proposes snap-band headphones, a button that would activate the speaker on command, and secondary sound ports for earbud-style headphones.

Interestingly, the approach described is not exactly new. As Apple Insider points out, the iPhone 7 packs a speaker array that switches to a stereo-sound mode when the phone is in the landscape orientation. It achieves the effect by amplifying the audio output from the iPhone’s ear speaker and returns the speaker volumes to a level appropriate for calls when sensors detect that the device is in portrait mode and near a user’s ear.

But Apple was beaten to the punch. The Flips Audio work much as the patent describes: When the cups are fixed in headphone orientation, they function as a stereo model, and when the cups are flipped outward, they become loud enough to serve as an external speaker. The Zumreed X2 take a different approach: The cups flip downward, using a table surface as an amplifying sound source.

Editors' Recommendations

Kyle Wiggers
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kyle Wiggers is a writer, Web designer, and podcaster with an acute interest in all things tech. When not reviewing gadgets…
Your iPhone just got a new iOS update, and you should download it right now
iPhone 15 Pro display with iPhone 15 Pro Max in background.

Apple has just released a new security update, iOS 17.4.1. This comes a little over two weeks after iOS 17.4, which was a big update. iOS 17.4.1 doesn't add any new features, but it's still an important update you'll want to download as soon as you can.

With iOS 17.4.1, Apple states that the update “provides important bug fixes and security updates and is recommended for all users.” Apple doesn’t mention any specifics of these bug fixes, but more details on what this security update addresses may be revealed at a later date.

Read more
The DOJ has sued Apple over the iPhone. Here’s what it means for you
The Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone 14 Pro seen from the back.

Apple iPhone 14 Pro (left) and iPhone 15 Pro Max Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

If you're reading this article, chances are you have an iPhone. It's also quite likely that your friends and family members also use an iPhone. The iPhone is the smartphone of choice for millions of people in the U.S., and now, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is suing Apple over the iPhone monopoly it has established over the years.

Read more
UPS worker accused of nabbing $1.3M worth of iPhones and other Apple gear
A MacBook and iPhone in dark red light.

The desirability and high value of iPhones and other Apple devices make the gear a popular target for criminals looking to make a fast buck.

In the latest such case, a now former UPS employee is accused of stealing more than $1.3 million worth of Apple iPhones and laptops from the shipping company’s warehouse in Winnipeg, Canada, before selling them in an operation that continued for seven months, the Winnipeg Free Press reported this week.

Read more