Apple has been on the receiving end of a lot of mockeries and reasonable criticism because of some of its iPhone-related decisions in the past – a headphone jack, anyone? – but the consumer electronics giant seems to be bringing a development that everyone can get on board with.
According to a rumor by Japanese blog Mac Otakara, Apple is planning to introduce connectivity to two separate Bluetooth devices simultaneously for its upcoming iPhones. This means that you and your friend can listen to that YouTube playlist you compiled last week on a separate pair of wireless Bluetooth earphones, thereby enjoying the complete listening experience without having to share a single pair.
This feature is going to be useful in a range of different scenarios, however. For instance, Mac Otakara suggests that you could connect your iPhone to your car’s audio system in order to give GPS instructions while playing music through your earphones at the same time. Similarly, if you and your friend are studying from an online course video together, you can start making notes separately on your notebooks or devices completely unhindered.
Granted, you could achieve all of this with a headphone splitter if your phone has a 3.5 mm jack. Furthermore, this is not a completely unique development; some Samsung devices are already able to do this with the Dual Audio feature. However, as far as jack-less iPhone users are concerned, if this rumor is confirmed, it could turn out to be an extremely productive feature indeed.
Samsung devices require Bluetooth 5.0 for the Dual Audio function, therefore, it’s only reasonable to assume that Apple is also going to bring its feature to previous iPhone models that support Bluetooth 5.0, including iPhone 8, iPhone X and iPhone XS.
Mac Otakara is generally considered a reliable source for Apple product developments, but then again, it does not possess a perfect record and has been off the mark several times in the past. Fingers crossed, iPhone users!