Apple’s AirPods Studio headphones may use the U1 chip to determine how they’re being worn

Apple’s rumored over-ear headphones, dubbed AirPods Studio, are said to use the company’s  U1 chip for spatial awareness to determine how they’re being worn.

That’s according to anonymous leaker “L0vetodream.” The U1 chip takes advantage of power-sipping Ultra Wideband technology for spatial awareness. In the iPhone 11, the chip powers an enhanced AirDrop feature where the user simply points their phone to another to select who they want to AirDrop to.

AppleInsider has more:

In the first of the series of tweets, the account simply posted ‘u1 for studio,’ which plainly indicates the headphones will use the chip and Ultra Wideband technology. A second tweet in Chinese translates to ‘The Internet of Everything starts with u1,’ referencing the wider form of the so-called ‘Internet of Things’ where devices openly communicate with each other.

A lengthy third tweet, also in Chinese, claims the account made a prediction month os ago about the U1 chip becoming an important part of Apple’s overall ecosystem, intended for use in determining distance and direction. For the ‘AirPods Studio,’ it is claimed the use of U1 will allow the headphones to ‘automatically recognize the left and right positioning of the headset.’

Apple’s over-ear headphone may launch soon because leaks have intensified in the past few weeks (Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has predicted that the headphones will launch later this year). Last week, for instance, we got our first glimpse of what appears to be a “Sport” variant of the premium headphones, seen below.

“L0vetodream” has not said how Apple plans on using the U1 chip for the AirPods Studio. The U1 made its debut in the 2019 iPhone 11 family and is also used in the Apple Watch Series 6. According to the “L0vetodream” account, the Cupertino company should market its upcoming compact 5.4-inch phone as “iPhone 12 mini.”

Image top of post: Beats Studio Wireless over-ear headphones