How Apple Pulling the Plug will Change the Headphones Industry

As a brand we have certain control of our destiny, whether it is the style of a particular set of headphones, the representation of our image or what employees we like working for us. Saying that, being a brand in the technology sector we are very much led by the developments of the bigger brands, as they very much dictate what devices our audience use and force our hand somewhat. The latest murmurings from the Apple supply chain and other know-it-alls ,

see Techradar's account of it, is that Apple are to launch their newest device without a 3.5mm input jack, which is a pretty big deal as that would suggest that to use headphones on the device it would have to connect via the Lightning syncwire or via Bluetooth. Bluetooth has been around for a while now, and the prices of Bluetooth headsets are seemingly plummeting with increased knowledge and know how in producing the technology, so it is not a massive surprise that this step has been taken. There was a phase where developers were trying to make devices as small as possible, yet with the rise of the Smartphone then its very much bigger is better and with the need for space, the extra room freed up from the jack will surely come in use.

The notion that to connect headphones that you'd need to do so by the Lightning Syncwire is a ballsy move from Apple, as short term they will claw into the headphones market (which they heavily invested in acquiring Beats by Dr Dre) for customers to have simply have compatible devices. This is not the first time of course, as Apple products have always required different cables to that of others on the market. Its their statement of difference, a way to say they're better and their way of saying they can offer a better audio experience. So whilst Apple are allegedly plotting the next step then other manufacturers, the likes of Samsung, HTC, Nokia etc, will be following suit with their own technology advances. So it will be interesting to see what they have to offer. The transition from 3.5mm jacked headphones to wireless/charge connected headphones won't happen overnight of course, so the demand for 3.5mm audio headphones will still be there for the next 5 - 10 years or-so, as the launch of the iPhone 7 will be their flagship model and their most expensive phone/contract so will take time to filter to the masses.

What does that mean for us at Urbanz? Thank you for asking. A good question indeed. Well, we shall still follow our our mission to the tee, to "colour your world with bright and colourful audio accessories" but adapting to the changes made in our sector. We've been going since 2009 and in that short time have had to make changes to adapt. Yet, that is not necessarily a bad thing as the changes have been largely beneficial to the customer so we cannot grumble too much. The arrival of non brand direct to consumer factories may have had a price benefit effect to the headphone market. BUT despite this we still 100% manufacture to the required standards for goods sold in UK & Europe - for safe material (ROHS) and CE testing including ear pressure tests. We also source our items from approved ethical and management audited factories.

Our goals remain the same as the day we started, to provide a fashionable,fun product that performs very well at an affordable retail price. Whilst respecting all required standards in the countries our goods are sold. We are already in discussions about whats next for us, whether it is with jack, without jack, whatever. All we know is that we'll be trying to produce the best product possible for the very best price, whether you use an Apple iPhone, a Samsung Galaxy or even a vintage Nokia! We shall watch the events unfold with great interest. No doubt whatever happens, there will be a blog post from us announcing the latest headphone to our stable. But, will it be a headphone that connects via a Lightning Syncwire? Time will only tell.