It looks like Apple will not just ditch 3.5mm audio jack in a future iPhone, but also equip it with a better speaker. A new patent that was granted to Apple today describes a way of getting better audio quality from smartphone speakers.
Speakers that are used in today’s smartphones are of poor quality due to the limited space available inside a device. In its patent, Apple describes a workaround that proposes using the internal housing of the phone as a speaker chamber for better sound quality.
A more technical description of the patent is as follows:
A portable electronic device that provides compact configurations for audio elements are disclosed. The audio elements can be drivers (e.g., speakers) or receivers (e.g., microphones). In one embodiment, an audio element can be mounted on or coupled to an intermediate structure (e.g., a flexible electrical substrate) having an opening therein to allow audio sound to pass there through. In another embodiment, an audio chamber can be formed to assist in directing audio sound between an opening an outer housing and a flexible electronic substrate to which the audio element is mounted or coupled thereto. In still another embodiment, a barrier, such as a mesh barrier, can be provided in an opening of an outer housing so that undesired foreign substances can be blocked from further entry into the opening in the outer housing.
While it would be nice to see the next iPhone come with a better speaker, it would be even better if Apple worked on putting the speaker on the front of the handset rather than at the bottom. Many Android devices come with front facing speakers that sound significantly better than the bottom facing speaker found on the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.
