Video Shows Completely Redesigned Headphones for iPhone 5
Vietnamese site Tinhte.vn has posted a video of what it claims to be redesigned headphones for the new iPhone which is expected in September. — Update: Video was replaced. This one has no audio.
Context & Ripple Effects
The headphones leak lands mid-ramp toward the September iPhone launch that MacRumors has been tracking since reporting in December 2011 that Apple was planning a completely redesigned iPhone for a fall 2012 debut. A new earbud design alongside a new body would fit that pattern — Apple has historically refreshed bundled accessories when the hardware changes.
The source matters as much as the claim: Tinhte.vn is the same Vietnamese site that obtained and unboxed the third-generation iPad ahead of its official March 2012 launch, which is why the video drew pickups from TechCrunch, The Verge, Mashable, PC Magazine and others within a day. Component leaks out of the Vietnamese supply chain have become a recurring feature of Apple's pre-launch cycle, echoing earlier parts leaks like the purported next-gen iPhone bezel that surfaced back in 2009.
First-order effects
- Accessory makers shipping cases and earbuds for the next iPhone face a tooling decision under uncertainty: if the redesigned headphones signal a changed headphone housing or jack placement on the device itself, inventory built to current dimensions could be stranded at launch.
- Apple loses another slice of launch-surprise control — with eight major outlets amplifying the Tinhte.vn video on day one, the accessory reveal is effectively public before any keynote.
Second-order effects
- Rival smartphone makers get a fresh comparison point: if Apple ships noticeably redesigned bundled earbuds, competitors' stock-audio quality becomes an easier attack line in fall marketing.
- Third-party audio brands gain a window — every Apple earbud redesign historically sends a wave of buyers shopping for alternatives, and the leak gives them lead time to position products against the rumored design.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, supply-chain leaks from Vietnam and China are now a structural stage of every iPhone launch — Apple's secrecy budget increasingly competes with a leak economy that treats pre-announcement component videos as routine coverage rather than anomalies.
The trend: Apple product launches are becoming two-stage events, with Vietnamese supply-chain leaks of components and accessories forming a de facto preview season ahead of the official keynote.