Comment on The Paradox of Blackmarket Wired Bluetooth Apple headphones.
ultratiem@lemmy.ca 4 weeks agoLOL. Not in this case. Cheap headphones do not pay Apple a dime. And Apple can’t go after every little headphone manufacturer they have real things to deal with like entire knock off Apple Stores that push millions of dollars a month.
In this case, the answer is less insidious. It’s the batteries. These headphones have BT but no batteries, hence why they are wired (need the power).
AVincentInSpace@pawb.social 4 weeks ago
Why do they need Bluetooth at all though? Why not pull the audio through the Lightning plug like official Apple accessories do?
If I had to take a guess, it’s because the audio signal coming out of the Lightning port is encrypted because Apple hates everyone who isn’t them
ultratiem@lemmy.ca 4 weeks ago
Two reasons. One, it’s actually expensive to wire up lightning to audio. Because the connection is digital, not analogue like the headphone jack. Two Apple can detect data thru software and even disable it, leaving the headphones useless. Why would they? Because you didn’t apply for their mifi program and pay them.
Its basically how they bypass the “Apple tax.”
AVincentInSpace@pawb.social 4 weeks ago
Bluetooth’s digital too, my guy. You need a digital-analog converter either way. It’s just that when you use the Lightning port for audio you don’t also need a Bluetooth radio.
Also you just proved my point that they only did this to avoid licensing fees.
ultratiem@lemmy.ca 4 weeks ago
Congrats, you just figured out why they include BT + Lightning from a technical side 👏
HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club 4 weeks ago
To add to it, you probably also have to deal with parts sourcing. You can probably scavenge Bluetooth radios from several generations worth of equipment or get cheap from China. In contrast, a Lightning cable that can turn data to sound is likely really hard to come by.