AppleInsider Staff
Anyone who has ever had their headphones yanked off their head after getting the cord caught on a doorknob or dealt with a loose plug from from too many insertion cycles will appreciate the idea behind Magzet, a new adapter that adds MagSafe-like functionality to the audio jack.
Magzet consists of two parts: a jack that slots into the headphone port on a smartphone or tablet, and a magnetic adapter into which you can plug a pair of headphones. The two pieces then snap together magnetically, with automatic alignment.
The company says that all of the functionality of inline remote controls will still work, including the ability to place and receive calls and control audio playback. Users can leave the jack portion in all the time, with a special design preventing the device from detecting an inserted plug unless both Magzet pieces are together.
Magzet is aiming to ship before the end of 2015, and backers can receive a variety of plug and jack combinations, based on their contribution level. $20 will net 1 jack and 1 adapter, with additional levels topping out at 3 adapters and 5 jacks plus 2 limited-edition t-shirts for $99.
A press time, Magzet had raised nearly $10,000 of its $294,000 goal on Kickstarter.
Andrew Orr
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22 Comments
About time. I was really expecting Apple to do this a long time ago. But I guess Apple's vision is going Bluetooth. Wireless and battery consumption.
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=9&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=7,997,906&OS=7,997,906&RS=7,997,906 Techniques for coupling interfaces parts using moveable magnetic elements, an Apple patent. I wonder whether Apple sees this headphone jack as being covered by their MagSafe patent, especially since this patent isn't only for the power connector.
It's a interesting idea and if it was built in, it would be pretty cool. I don't want that adapter plugged in all the time though. Besides I've been using Bluetooth headphones for quite some time. My phone lasts just fine for the day just leaving Bluetooth on 24 hours a day, same with Wifi. If it's not connecting to my Headset, it's connecting to my truck stereo system. Or connecting to my "Tile" which uses lower power blue tooth, which is a small square thing you can attached to things like a key chain to help you find your Keys for example. So anyway, once I have my Bluetooth Headset on, there's zero cord to deal with, which is pretty nice and sounds great.
surely Apple has this patented? if not, so...
What a waste. Wireless technology is plenty power efficient and will only get better. Sound quality is just fine unless you are an audiophile. The latest beats wireless are fantastic. Plenty of other brands to choose from as well.