Apple has reportedly acquired a small Bluetooth wireless headphone designer in San Francisco.
As Seth Weintraub of 9to5Mac notes, the company designed three generations of A2DP stereo headphones dubbed iMuffs.
In addition, Wi-Gear sold a Bluetooth 2.0 adapter for older iPhones and iPods.
“[Clearly], Wi-Gear’s products were specifically geared to be used with Apple iOS devices,” wrote Weintraub.
“[Yes], the company is now closed, but we had a look at LinkedIn for engineers at Wi-Gear who might have joined up with Apple.”
According to Weintraub, Wi-Gear co-founder Michael Kim is now an iOS Bluetooth Engineer at Apple – having joined Club Cupertino some two months ago.
However, former Wi-Gear CEO Mark Pundsack has yet to update his LinkedIn profile.
Meanwhile, AppleInsider’s Katie Marsal pointed out that Apple introduced its own Bluetooth headset alongside the original iPhone in 2007.
The device – originally priced at a hefty $129 – was bundled with a Bluetooth travel cable and dual dock.
The price of the headset eventually dropped to $100, but no longer included the dual dock. Unsurprisingly, the product was eventually discontinued completely in March of 2009.
“Of course, [Apple] still bundles its own wired headphones with iPods and iPhones, and also sells a set of $79 premium In-Ear Headphones for users looking to upgrade.
“ But those products are not wireless Bluetooth, like the products Wi-Gear made,” added Marsal.
