Apple’s Mixed Reality Headset May Tap AirPods for High-Quality Optical Audio

We already know Apple is going to have a big year with the introduction of the Apple AR/VR Headset later this fall and we also know Apple will be revolutionizing this product category just as they did with the Apple Watch eight years ago. And now, the company has recently been granted a new patent that could be a highlight feature regarding how the headset will handle audio.

Patently Apple first reported on the patented tech which could allow for high-bandwidth audio to be sent seamlessly without the use of Bluetooth technology.

This could eliminate quality issues we typically see with the lower bandwidth of Bluetooth technologies.

This system includes an audio source device configured to obtain data of at least one audio channel. The audio source device (AirPods) would have an optical transmitter for transmitting the audio data as an optical signal and a radio frequency (RF) transceiver.

The system also includes the AirPods that would also be an optical receiver for receiving audio data from the headset as an optical signal, an RF transceiver for transmitting feedback data indicating reception quality, and a speaker for outputting the audio data contained within the optical signal and/or package.

Accordingly, this will be the way Apple intends to integrate the AirPods with the headset in terms of output data. Apple is likely going to need the headset to integrate with the AirPods lineup anyway – but we will just have to wait and see if or how they implement the audio feature for private media consumption.

[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]