Automatically Adjusting Volume for iPods and iPhones?
Ever since the days of the first Walkman cassette player, people have been listening to their music at full blast at the cost of their long-term hearing. Well, it appears that Apple hopes to stop that trend with its new iPod which will include an automatic volume control.
A new patent filed by Apple shows that the next generation of both iPods and iPhones may be able to adjust your volume automatically by calculating how long you’ve been listening to your device as well as the volume you have been listening at, according to a report in the Daily Mail.
The louder you listen, the more your volume will gradually lower the more you listen. These next iPods/iPhones will also be able to adjust your starting volume based on the “quiet time” between device uses.
As stated in the patent:
Since the damaging effect on users’ hearing is both gradual and cumulative, even those users who are concerned about hearing loss may not behave in a manner that would limit or minimise such damaging effects.
So what would drive Apple to institute what is essentially a safety feature? Well, a little known fact about the iPod is that it its highest volumes can reach over 100 decibels – thirty decibels higher than what is widely accepted as safe at 70. In fact, listening to noises in excess of 100 decibels for only fifteen to twenty minutes can do permanent damage to your hearing.
To give you an idea of just how loud 100 decibels is, motorcycles, the subway, eighteen wheel semi trucks, and vacuum cleaners all clock in at under 85 decibels. Suffice to say, the iPod can be quite loud.
While this patent appears to be the first time Apple has acknowledged the potential risks the iPod and iPhone present, many mp3 players cap their decibel levels at 100. It is unclear as to whether or not Apple will allow you to turn off the auto control, or if this will become a new standard for the device.
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