In just over two weeks Apple’s top brass is going to take the stage at WWDC 2014 to unveil new software. At this year’s annual developers conference it is expected that there will be a lot of focus on the next major OS X update, apart from iOS 8, the next major update for Apple’s mobile platform. A new report suggests that iOS 8 might bring with it HD audio playback. Apple might complement the feature with new in-ear headphones.
Reportedly the native Music application in iOS 7 isn’t capable of playing high quality 24-bit audio files that contain sampling frequency beyond 48kHz. Even though third party applications like the FLAC Player are capable of playing such audio files system limitations keep them at a 16-bit rate.
Thus an update to the OS is required to support the higher-quality audio. In order to allow users to fully enjoy the improved experience Apple will reportedly introduce a new version of its in-ear headphones which haven’t been updated since 2008. They’re still sold online and in the company’s retail stores for $79.
If the report is true it would further solidify the belief that major music related announcements are going to be made at WWDC 2014. Word on the street is that Apple is very close to closing its deal with Beats. The high-end headphone maker will turn over its talent, hardware division and on-demand music streaming service for $3.2 billion. Apple is even expected to retain Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine, Beats’ top executives, and welcome them to the team officially at WWDC 2014.