Apple is also thinking about privacy for AirPods Max

This Tuesday, the American office responsible for regulating inventions and trademarks of companies (USPTO*) validated an Apple patent where we recognize an audio headset that is very… discreet. Not by its design - although here it is still more generic than the very original AirPods Max - but by its ability to transmit sound to the user.

Indeed, rather than going through the traditional speaker installed in each earphone, the accessory here would call on osteophony. Also called bone conduction, this principle consists of propagating the audio flow directly to the inner ear via the bones of the skull. This way, only the person who has the device on their temples can hear the music. But not those around him.

Not right away?

Since this is only a concept, it is unclear whether Apple has already taken the opportunity to develop a working prototype based on this technology. Its AirPods Max headset having seen the light of day in December 2020, however, it seems too recent to benefit from an update soon. Especially sinceaccording to Mark Gurman fromBloomberg, no more keynotes are expected this year.

Besides,the success of AirPods Max would be all relative. Billed for more than six hundred euros, it is true that the beast may be the best in terms of sound from Apple, its price remains off-putting for many, especially when we know that the competition offers equally or even better performing alternatives but for much less. In the meantime, the most curious can still satisfy themselves withthese images of what the second edition of AirPods Max could look like.

Potential timeline

If a new version was nevertheless indeed on the way, then it could possibly arrive at the end of 2022 or even in 2023. An estimate based on the rate of release of the other AirPods, with for example the third generation of the classic version just released or even the AirPods Pro 2 which continue to be waited for.

Of course, we should also not forget that Apple also owns the Beats brand, a famous manufacturer of headphones. Perhaps the two companies could then pool their know-how to unveil a model labeled by the subsidiary and with bone conduction…

*United States Patent and Trademark Office