"By using a process known as ultrasonic bonding, Apple could create new iPhone and iPod earbuds that would have a seamless, more aesthetically pleasing 'unibody' appearance," reports Apple Insider.
Me, I'm just hoping Apple finally found a way to make a set of earbuds that'll last me more than one month. Yep, you heard me right. I trash at least one pair of Apple earbuds. Every. Single. Month.
That's $29 per month, for the kind with the mic. Honestly, the Incredible Hulk spends less on replacement electronics than I do.
That said, Apple currently makes the most durable earbuds I've encountered -- and I've tried them all, at every price range. Past solutions included buying off-brand headsets at discount stores or websites, around $5 a pop. Those sad excuses for headsets, the kind with the little rubbery thingies that could maybe get lost in one's ear, don't last a week near me or near my dogs.
Apple earbuds are the only kind I've found with any kind of staying power.
So imagine my delight when Apple Insider came across a new patent application from Apple, describing how the company will "seamlessly integrate" the cables, a jack, a microphone, headphones and miscellaneous components that go toward your personal Apple audio experience. According to the patent, the way they all hook together "abrupt and aesthetically displeasing."
Looks/schmooks. Will they hold together?
"Combining two different elements in this way may form a weld ring that can be cut, sanded, polished and cleaned," Apple Insider writes. "This allows the headphone to appear to be one piece, even though it may actually be a number of connected pieces."
Sigh. Call me when Apple finds a way to make earbuds in one actual piece … of adamantium. That's my only hope.
Helen A.S. Popkin smash technology! Follow her wake of destruction on Twitter and/or Facebook. Also, Google+.