It may only be a prediction from a financial analyst, but it certainly serves as a warning to radio that it’s hand-held future is more dependent on audio streaming and 5G than ever.
Apple is expected to say goodbye to its industry-changing Lightning dongle on the highest-end iPhone devices set for release in two years. It could presage a wholesale end to the connector, with wireless charging just one of the advances Apple could bring to consumers.
If true, kiss the Soundot app goodbye — and any hope of bringing over-the-air FM radio, free of data charges, to an iPhone user.
CNBC first reported the news Thursday, citing a report from TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Without the connector, the top-tier iPhone would provide a “completely wireless experience,” Kuo said.
That’s a problem for the company that developed the SOUNDOT AF1 headset for iPhones and iPads, which uses the Lightning interface. It first came to industry eyes and ears in April 2018. Working with audio design partners Tempo Semiconductor Inc. (TSI) and Silicon Labs (SLAB), the Walnut, Calif.-based tech company developing the product, Blackloud, formally brought the SOUNDOT AF1 to market on Sept. 18.
Since then, it’s barely received any attention, aside from RBR+TVBR coverage of the product’s launch. Now, it is outright endangered, as the app requires a connected, wired headphone paired with Soundot to serve as the antenna.
No wire, no over-the-air reception.
The disappearance of a dongle connector in an iPhone has been discussed since 2017. But, nothing happened.
MacRumors.com, citing Ming-Chi, reports that five new iPhone models are on the way in 2020.
All four higher-end models to support 5G with a Qualcomm X55 modem; availability of models with Sub-6G-only or Sub-6G-plus-mmWave types of 5G will vary by country.
Kuo expects the iPhone models with mmWave to be available in the United States and Canada.
The iPhone report could also greatly impact Nielsen Audio, just months after Samsung made headlines for a headache-inducing move.
As RBR+TVBR reported in August, a major technological advancement coming with the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus is poised to bring a small headache to radio … or, more specifically, radio ratings source Nielsen Audio.
According to CNET, the coming hand-held smartphone feature “a brilliant prismatic backing on two of its color options, shining back the rainbow.”
They also no longer include a headphone jack.
Nielsen Audio has a Portable People Meter (PPM) passthrough apparatus for individuals who stream radio stations via their smartphone.
Simply put, wired earbuds can be used so long as it plugs in to an extender affixed to a PPM device. This gives Nielsen Audio listener data, while the user can enjoy whatever radio station they may be streaming. The passthrough is essential for the PPM, as it provides the crucial encoding signal used to detect what station the listener is tuned to.
Asked for comment in August, Nielsen Audio said in a statement that, “at a high level, based on a pilot study we conducted, we estimate that about 2% of listening occurs via wireless headphones. Nearly all of the listening to broadcast radio via wireless headphones is to broadcast streams. That said, PPM comes with an adapter that connects wired headphones to the audio device such as a smartphone and the PPM to capture headphone usage. We are working on creating an adjustment factor to account for wireless headphone usage and to adjust the wired usage we capture with the adapter (as needed).”
There’s one key difference between Samsung’s move and the one Apple is considering. Samsung will still offer a dongle, available for $10.
If Apple gets rid of it altogether, Nielsen will need more than “an adjustment factor” necessary for its research team to explore.
