Apple Grows “Made for iPod” Licensing with New Headsets

Lonnie Lazar ()

ipod-shuffle.jpg

Apple has confirmed the existence of a proprietary chip in the on-cord controller of the company’s headsets that began shipping with the new iPod Shuffle announced last week, but the chip itself serves no “authentication” function and will not prevent third party headset manufacturers from producing headsets that work with Apple’s music player, according to company spokespersons.

The chip will be required for headsets wishing to bear the “Made for iPod” licensing certification for accessories that work with iPods, however. Apple has thus created a new revenue stream and extended “Made for iPod” certification to headphones/remotes, accessories that were not previously required to be certified as “Made for iPod”.

So while there is no DRM in the chips themselves, third-party headset manufacturers who want their products to be sold in Apple Stores and / or to be regarded as competitive, are likely to feel pressure to pay for the chips and obtain the “Made for iPod” certification.

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3 comments »

About the author

Lonnie Lazar

Lonnie Lazar is a writer-musician-web designer-attorney. He writes about Apple for Cult of Mac and Mac|Life, and about VoIP and telecommunications for Voxilla. Follow Lonnie on Twitter @LonnieLazar, join the Cult of Mac on Facebook, and find Lonnie's photos on Flickr.

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Posted in Hardware, iPod, News |

  • Steve

    I really don’t think this is that big of a deal, considering the cost is negligible and can be passed to consumers.

    Apple want to ensure that legitimate headphones actually work properly with the new device, it’s that simple.

    Next there will be an uproar because Apple control who makes the hardware in their Macs…

  • bas

    So the chip does not actually do anything? it is merely a requirement for putting a logo on the packaging. Could apple not do the same without the chip?

  • imajoebob

    I’d be surprised if the chip doesn’t “unlock” certain features necessary to gain the “made for iPod” certification. Simple authentication algorithms would ensure that only licensed products get access to these features. Seems fair for the 3rd parties who want the Apple imprimatur, for Apple for protecting their reputation and receiving a little of the revenue leveraging their work, and for us, knowing we can rely on the quality of certified products. Probably 3/4 of all the iPod car adapters and FM transmitters would have flunked Apple certification, saving us millions of wasted dollars.

    Plus, it could give us features we wanted from Apple that they didn’t want to spend money developing (like true normalized track volume?) I’m all for it.