Filed under: Audio, Odds and ends, Macbook Pro, MacBook, iPhone
iPhone headphone mic works with new laptops (and previous MBPs?)
As our old friend Nik tipped us yesterday and Macworld's Jason Snell reported in his two-hour rundown of the MacBook Pro and MacBook updates, there's a stealth feature with these machines that is sure to please iPhone owners: the $29 US Apple Stereo Headset, included with the iPhone, works as a microphone on the MB/MBP unibody models.
While this might not be a top-line selling point for the laptops, it's actually a very nice added feature for users of VoIP software (Skype, Gizmo) or iChat audio conferencing. Trimming your laptop bag by skipping the USB headset (or the Bluetooth headset, for that matter) will save wear and tear on your back; not having to buy another device to do sound input for your laptop will save wear and tear on your wallet.
Update: One commenter notes that these headphones also work for sound input on the previous MacBook Pro ("MacBookPro4,1"); if anyone else can confirm, please chime in. Another asks if the clicker button works to control iTunes playback; per the Macworld article, it does indeed.
Thanks to everyone who sent this in.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
RichardR said 9:53AM on 10-15-2008
Now this is actually a compelling feature for me, among other things.
All I need now is the money ;)
Reply
Jesse said 10:02AM on 10-15-2008
I thought all MBs and MBPs had had a built-in microphone...why the need for another one?
Reply
James said 10:08AM on 10-15-2008
Have you ever tried to use the built in Mic on any Mac to do VoIP or Voice Chat?
Moving that closer to your mouth would be MUCH nicer.
dzhiurgis said 10:10AM on 10-15-2008
Well the built-in microphones are quite good.. Except MBP maybe.
I want optical-out in MBA back!!!!
eric f. said 11:56AM on 10-16-2008
It will allow your conversation to be half private, so not everyone within earshot can hear the other person out of your speakers.
I'm very excited about this!
Derek said 10:10AM on 10-15-2008
It would be really nice if the clicker on the headphones could control iTunes, the same way it does on the iPhone. I would be sold then.
Reply
Ian said 10:15AM on 10-15-2008
It does.
From the Macworld article:
"Yes, it’s true—these new MacBooks work with your iPhone headphones. If you click the button on your iPhone headphones, iTunes pauses. Click again, and the music resumes. A double-click advances one track, and a triple-click moves back a track—just like on the iPhone."
matthew said 10:17AM on 10-15-2008
I think there's a pretty good likelihood that a software update would make this possible. I doubt they went to the trouble of using and wiring a port that supported the mic on the headphones without also supporting the mic clicks. I suspect we'll see this soon...perhaps an iTunes 8.0.2 release is impending?
matthew said 10:19AM on 10-15-2008
Well, apparently we can see it already. Thanks Ian :)
Reply
Jackson said 3:36PM on 10-15-2008
Wow, it seems like Apple thought of everything with this new laptop!
Reply
Artr said 10:31AM on 10-15-2008
This'd be great with a mic adaptor like the Shure adaptor which lets you plug any headphones. The MacBooks are line-in and not mic-in so now you can attach external mic and direct the microphone, for e.g. in a lecture!
Reply
Mark David Gerson said 10:46AM on 10-15-2008
A note to let you know that the iPhone stereo headset w. mic also works on the old MacBook Pro. I've been using it successfully with Skype since I got my iPhone last month.
Reply
D. Toliver said 11:04AM on 10-15-2008
How does your mic work? I've tried using it and I've had no luck.
Buran said 11:29AM on 10-15-2008
Doesn't work for me either. I have the first MBP with LED screen (glossy, love it, and I'm a photo hobbyist, all the whining is getting out of hand) and the mike does absolutely nothing, nor does the click button. It's a Shure adapter (I have a special hearing-aid based input cable instead of headphones, can't use most headphones) and if plugged into the headphone port, I get audio out but the microphone and button are ignored.
How the heck did the guy below, who claims it works, get it to work? The hardware just isn't there.
Now, if someone could point me to a breakout Y-cable that would lead from the single plug to the audio/mic ports, to allow me to use this thing with teamspeak and skype, I'd really appreciate it.
Jeremy said 11:43AM on 10-15-2008
However, the microphone does not work with the MacBook Pros from 2006 (2 versions ago).
Fernando Castro said 8:10PM on 10-15-2008
Not true, I have the MacBook Pro from early this year (4,1) and the headphones does not work...
Gojomo said 8:56PM on 10-15-2008
Buran said: "Now, if someone could point me to a breakout Y-cable that would lead from the single plug to the audio/mic ports, to allow me to use this thing with teamspeak and skype, I'd really appreciate it."
Seconded! I've been looking for something to split the iPhone headset plug to the separate headphones and mic plugs that would work with other laptops for a while, RadioShack is stumped, searches at Google and online shops have turned up nothing yet.
Chris Herbert said 10:52AM on 10-15-2008
When is Apple going to start selling these new headphones (in-ear and reg.)? Didn't they say October?
Reply
dzhiurgis said 12:08PM on 10-15-2008
I'm wondering too, waiting nearly a month...
Marc O said 11:05AM on 10-15-2008
Does this work with the current MBA?
Reply