Apple’s new in-ear headphones not compatible with iPhone?

by Milind Alvares
Wednesday December 3, 2008

Apple’s new in-ear headphones not compatible with iPhone?

by Milind Alvares on December 3, 2008

Engadget reported that the In-Ear headphones that Apple announced in September have started shipping. The $79, dual-driver earbuds have inline controls for volume and playback, as well as an in built microphone for voice recording. Of course the iPhone’s earbuds already have this functionality, except for the volume control. Yet, Apple clearly states that these new earbuds will not be entirely compatible with the iPhone.

Compatibility Information: The remote and mic are supported only by iPod nano (4th generation), iPod classic (120GB), and iPod touch (2nd generation). Audio is supported by all iPod models.

The 10 million+ iPhone users will only have to be hopeful for a software update to fix it. However, judging by the recent release of the iPhone 2.2 software, it seems that Apple has tried and failed to implement those inline controls with the iPhone.

Update: According to this support document, the mic and center button are supported on both iPhone models. Only the volume controls won’t work. (Thanks Nowhereman!)

Personally I’ve been using the Future Sonics FS1 from Ultimate Buds, which feature the same iPhone button control and I’m thrilled to have them. Judging by everyone’s reaction I may have overpaid but I couldn’t suffer with the standard earbuds any more. And now that I see that Apple has made the new earbuds pretty much useless for the iPhone, I’m feeling much better about my purchase.

We will of course hopefully have a review of the new earbuds on SA, but till then, what’s your take on this bit of news?

Tagged as: headphone, in-ear headphones, iPhone, ipod accessories, ipod nano, ipod touch

Reader Comments

fs December 3, 2008 at 2:58 am: Those look nice, although steep. I couldn’t bear the original buds, also, so I got a set of cheapo Coby white in-ear headphones and they sound pretty good, actually, with a nice bass. They have a chrome trim on the back of the driver which is a lousy paint, actually, and not really a Fontopia, but, hey, costed me some R$20. By that time, dollar quote was about R$1,30 per dollar, so do the math.
Greg December 3, 2008 at 5:29 am: Well, I have not tried these, but have tried the Etymotics HF2 [even more expensive], but got sold on the NuForce NE-7M. These have what I think of as truly good sound. They’re not in the same league as my Westone 3s, but at $49 US, they are a bargain, and deliver much better sound than many IEMs costing up to $150.
Milind Alvares December 3, 2008 at 8:05 am goobimama.blogspot.com: @fs: Well one of the main draws of this is that it features the neat inline remote controls. Now if those don’t work with the iPhone, then Apple’s earbuds are directly pitched against the market. For Apple’s sake, they better sound really good.
MacGeek December 3, 2008 at 10:52 am: Hey even I got those FS1 earbuds from ultimate buds. Really great sounding earbuds, best I’ve heard so far. I was still interested in Apple’s offering (hey, they aren’t all that expensive) but now that the controls are incompatible, I’m sticking to my FS1s.
nowhereman December 3, 2008 at 8:18 pm: The only thing NOT “working” are the volume controls, and we didn’t have them on the originals anyway…hence the iPhone omission from the “compatibility” list. One other point with the iPhone, that somebody on another list pointed out, was that Apple specifically warns against using the earphones while driving (and indicates it’s illegal in some places), and may just be avoiding liability issues (it’s only a thought).

If they fit well and sound decent…I’ll be getting them.
Milind Alvares December 3, 2008 at 9:39 pm goobimama.blogspot.com: Just volume controls would have been fine. But when they mention that the Mic is also not going to work, that’s what is going to keep people away. Also, what if the button itself doesn’t work, like for play/pause? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

And let’s not get into why the iPhone shouldn’t have these controls. That’s a decision for us to make (or obey, in some cases). There are plenty of other scenarios where this comes in handy, driving being just one of them.
nowhereman December 3, 2008 at 10:23 pm: The mic DOES work (as well as the pause button). Check out Apple’s support doc

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3310
Milind Alvares December 3, 2008 at 10:37 pm goobimama.blogspot.com: Thanks for that link nowhereman! Updated the post.
nowhereman December 3, 2008 at 10:40 pm: so does that mean you’re feeling less better about your purchase
Milind Alvares December 3, 2008 at 10:54 pm goobimama.blogspot.com: For that we’ll have to wait and see how good these things sound…
nowhereman December 5, 2008 at 2:28 am: Previews are here

http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/04/apple-in-ear-headphones-hands-on-ears-on-and-impressions/

and here

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10113368-1.html