With Apple rumored to be doing away with the headphone jack on its new iPhone, Cirrus Logic is offering a development kit to aid headphone makers looking to simplify the switch to Lightning connectors. The company’s MFi Headset Development Kit includes reference designs for creating Lightning port connected headphones and a development board to be used in programming, debugging and testing audio performance. The design is compatible with earbuds or over-the-ear headphones and pre-programmed to support both digital audio playback and voice capture. With very few Lightning-connected headphone options currently available, the area is poised for rapid expansion.
Cirrus Logic claims the kit demonstrates big advantages of Lightning-connected headsets over conventional analog models, including improved sound quality and the ability to interact with iOS apps to provide personalized EQ settings for a more custom audio experience. Benefits aside, if Apple does away with the headphone jack, necessity alone is going to send headphone makers scrambling for a Lightning-based solution, and Cirrus Logic is now offering it. The development kit is available through Apple’s MFi program. [via 9to5Mac]
