iPod Shuffle's new mystery chip explained

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Samantha Rose Hunt18 March 2009, 9:00 PM

The new iPod Shuffle contains a mysterious chip which sparked rumors on many a blog this weekend.


BoingBoing Gadgets, and iLounge discovered the chip, and tried to determine what the exact purpose of the “8A83E3” which was found inside the earbud control pod. BoingBoing Gadgets and the Electronic Frontier Foundation theorised it might have been some sort of DRM.

As it turns out, they were half right. Apple has defined the chip as needed for its “made for iPod” program, and though it didn't say so, this may be because it lost control of the iPod connector licensing, after electronics makers realised it was a simple pass-through connector, with no special authentication.

Several vendors have already begun announcing intent to manufacture earbuds and headphones which are compatible with the shuffle. On Monday an Apple spokesman claimed "As part of the 'Made for iPod' program, we make sure that third-party headphones work properly with the third generation iPod shuffle," however he didn’t give specific details. (In simpler terms: if you don't buy this chip, the headphones likely won't work as a controller.)



Any questions regarding the device and the chip are currently being referred to Kevin Lee, the vice president of marketing and strategic business development for Monster Cable, which plans to offer “a lot” of headphones which will support the iPod Shuffle controls.

Lee has claimed that it is a control chip, and that there is absolutely no authentication or DRM.

Utilizing the chip, signals can be passed through the cable which controls the track, and volume, and other device functions.

It is unknown at this point whether or not the chip will be a part of other Apple devices, or a part of the company's intellectual property protection strategies. Apple does not supply the chip, but instead a set of guidelines or required functions for the chip itself, meaning companies will be forced to manufacture their own chip for use in compatible headphones.

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Tin (Senior Forumologist):

Nokia's been putting chips like that into some of their headsets, etc for years. No one really cared. Usually just a ROM chip IDing the device attached so the phone knows what it can and can't do.

In this case, I suspect the chip simply encodes button presses. I see no problems there if Apple are sharing the details.

18 March 2009, 9:50 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Raindog (Senior Forumologist):

Quoting Tin:
I see no problems there if Apple are sharing the details.

I'd concur, as long as its an open protocol for commands, it not a restriction of trade.

if the shuffle command set was closed it would be an entirely different issue.


18 March 2009, 11:59 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

plutonium210 (Advanced member):

Quoting Tin:
I see no problems there if Apple are sharing the details.

Why the constant demands for market sharing ?
Why should they share ?
The world would be so boring if every one shard all their tech.
No competition equals no innovation.
I think you've been exposed to the open source environment for too long and have forgotten that companies are there to make money for their shareholders.




19 March 2009, 10:34 AM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Raindog (Senior Forumologist):

Quoting plutonium210:
Why the constant demands for market sharing ?

Because it's in the interest of the consumer, and in the interests of the industry in general.


Quoting plutonium210:
Why should they share ?

Because ultimately consumers will favour compatible systems? Imagine if every manufacturer created its own versions of Optical disks, imagine if every brand of Hard Disk used a proprietary interface.


Quoting plutonium210:
The world would be so boring if every one shard all their tech.

But there is no request to share all tech, just a general push for commonality of interfaces. Mobile phone manufacturer are looking into universality of peripherals and power packs, that will not make every phone the same.


Quoting plutonium210:
No competition equals no innovation.

True. But adopting universal interfaces actually improves a products competitive position over that of strictly proprietary devices.


Quoting plutonium210:
I think you've been exposed to the open source environment for too long

Or perhaps some have not looked at what open source is all about. It has nothing to do with stifling competition.


Quoting plutonium210:
forgotten that companies are there to make money for their shareholders.

Any reasonable investor will want a company to make money in a reasonable, and sustainable manner. Locked off proprietary interfaces could well negatively affect a companies bottom, in the short and long term future.
There would be little point in Apple securing the replacement shuffle headphone market if they were to do so by a measure that could likely reduce the product's market appeal.

19 March 2009, 12:48 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Hemma (User):

Quoting plutonium210:
I think you've been exposed to the open source environment for too long and have forgotten that companies are there to make money for their shareholders.

LOL when you think about it, the whole market that Apple is aiming at are those anti Suit, anti corporation, anti monopoly hippies. But the way they behave can upset and potentially lose some of their customers.



19 March 2009, 4:42 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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