AirPods Max With Bone Conduction Can Make Phone Calls More Personal

Apple's AirPods Max can be equipped with bone conduction technology (photo: x @BushcraftBox)

JAKARTA - Apple continues to look for ways to improve privacy in user audio experiences. One innovation that is being developed is the use of bone conduction technology on AirPods Max or other personal audio devices, which can increase privacy in listening to phone calls or personal audio without being heard by others.

In everyday life, audio privacy is becoming increasingly important. Even though listening to music via speakers does not require much privacy, private phone calls with loved ones certainly require more privacy. Even though using an iPhone directly in the ear or using an earphone is personal enough, there is still the possibility of audio leaking so that people around can still hear what we are listening to.

Apple recognizes the importance of this privacy and has been patented for a potential solution in 2021. Now, Apple has obtained a revised version of the patent, entitled "Bone Conduct Transducers for Privacy". In this patent, Apple believes that bone conduction technology can offer much better privacy than using ordinary earphones.

Bone conduction works by transmitting vibrations through the user's skin, usually in areas close to the ear, but not directly in the ear canal. These vibrations will be passed on to the skull and affect the eardrum in a similar way as sound, but without requiring air displacement like on regular speakers. As a result, only earphone users or bone conduction devices can hear the audio delivered, not others around them.

Apple mentions that future headphones or earphones can have multiple audio channels, with one channel referred to as "private channel". These private channels will be directed to bone conduction transducers, while other channels are directed to speakers as usual.

This system will play audio via headphones and determine whether the communication is private or not. If considered personal, then the audio will be redirected to a bone conduction transducer, while non-private audio will remain played over the speaker.

This decision can be taken based on the flag or indicator included in the content to be played. For example, text messages or audio can have a privacy flag, or calls from certain contacts can be characterized as individuals on the device for the same purpose.

This system can also try to automatically determine whether unsigned communications are private based on analysis. The use of certain words or phrases in private conversations can trigger the system to use bone conduction. In addition, cameras and videos can also be used to recognize the environment and determine whether the area is personal enough to listen to calls without bone conduction.

This patent shows how Apple continues to innovate in bone conduction technology to provide better privacy for users. However, as with other patents, there is no guarantee that this technology will emerge in Apple's future products or services. However, with continued development, it is likely that this technology will be applied to Apple devices in the future even greater.