Apple could add dual bluetooth audio connection support with the next iPhone, claims Japanese blog Mac Otakara who cites sources within Apple’s supply chain.
The report would mean an iPhone user could be listening to a song in their headphones, and then decide to share and play the track with somebody else wearing headphones close by, allowing for the track to be listened to at the same time by two different people.
The functionality would compete with Samsung’s Dual Audio Feature, which lets users play music or other audio from their Galaxy phone or tablet to two connected bluetooth devices.
In addition to sharing music with other listeners, dual bluetooth audio connection support could also allow for users to connect their iPhone to the car and hear GPS turn-by-turn directions through the in-car audio system and also via headphones, such as AirPods or Apple’s newly released Powerbeats Pro, for example.
Dependant on how Apple implements the feature, dual bluetooth audio connection support could also be added to the iPhone 8, iPhone X, iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max with iOS 13. Samsung has built its dual audio capabilities with Bluetooth 5.0, suggesting Apple’s functionality could be of similar origin, as if so nothing would seemingly be stopping Apple from widening the feature to other Bluetooth 5.0-equipped iPhone models.