iPhone 1.1.1 "bug" unleashes music over Bluetooth

The iPhone 1.1.1 update has a hidden little surprise for y'all: Bluetooth audio streaming is now available off of your iPhone for whatever you darn please, meaning you can finally listen to music from the phone wirelessly. Oddly enough, this "function" has been unleashed by a Visual Voicemail bug that leaves Bluetooth audio on even after you've left the Voicemail interface. Of course, it's only mono audio, and the audio keeps playing out of your built-in speaker -- if you plug in headphones to cut off the speaker you'll lose Bluetooth streaming as well -- but it's nice to see Apple forking over some "should have been there in the first place" functionality accidentally to go along with all that stuff of the same ilk 1.1.1 took away from us.

[Melvin Lasky @ Sep 29th 2007 5:24PM]

This was true in 1.0.2 as well. Not sure if earlier, but I definitely did this in 1.0.2

[Xavier Gill @ Sep 29th 2007 6:44PM]

C'mon guys theres only two other Apple stories on the front page, Engadget have to keep their average up even if it mean posting 7 week old news.

[Fox McCloud @ Sep 29th 2007 9:55PM]

Yup and it didnt seem to work with my Jawbone headset even back then. Shame because it would be nice to listen to poscasts in the ear while driving. Plz Apple how about hookin this up for realzyzs?

[Paul J. @ Sep 29th 2007 5:25PM]

Blah I saw this and got really excited that Apple finally added the A2DP profile.

[jomills @ Sep 30th 2007 6:40AM]

Unfortunately, they seem hellbent on *not* doing this. I asked around at WWDC and nobody could give me a straight answer with regards to the iPhone, or even Leopard for that matter. I guess it's just not a priority. I just don't get it. Why gimp the Bluetooth stack? Then again, Apple has left me scratching my head a lot recently.

[Matt G @ Sep 29th 2007 5:27PM]

Nothing new, TUAW reported this when the iPhone was first released.

[ItsTheOMGShow @ Sep 29th 2007 5:46PM]

link from August 10:

http://www.tuaw.com/2007/08/10/iphone-kinda-supports-playing-any-audio-through-a-bluetooth-head/

[BoneJob @ Sep 29th 2007 5:28PM]

"Of course, it's only mono audio, and the audio keeps playing out of your built-in speaker -- if you plug in headphones to cut off the speaker you'll lose Bluetooth streaming as well"

Man, sounds really convenient.

[L @ Sep 29th 2007 6:07PM]

Yeah, and so high-quality-like...I mean the codec the normal BT headset profile uses was design for *calls*, not music.

[John M @ Sep 29th 2007 5:34PM]

this isnt new!!!!

Get the icombi blue and you can have music come through the headset w/o coming out the speaker...

I heard about this in 1.0.2

[LS @ Sep 29th 2007 5:40PM]

does the iphone do anything right??

[Argot @ Sep 29th 2007 5:46PM]

Well, it's shiny...

[Derry Quinn @ Sep 29th 2007 6:33PM]

And it has an apple logo if you are into that sort of thing like some apple fanboys

[Sal @ Sep 29th 2007 5:49PM]

Been doing this for a while, on that note i wonder if the ROKRs9 would work mono or stereo?

[info @ Sep 29th 2007 5:54PM]

Engadget. I expect more from you. That's like sooooo four weeks ago. Meh.

[Common Core 2 Duo!! @ Sep 29th 2007 5:55PM]

the famous marketing guy let a video out of the iphone new software 1.1.1 update

check it if you have not already:

http://www.apple.com/iphone/softwareupdate/softwareupdate_large.html

[JAmerican @ Sep 29th 2007 6:13PM]

When he says Microsoft, it sounds like he has one of those speech recognition bot voices. LMAO. Just fast forward to the landscape attachment section.

[DAZA @ Sep 30th 2007 3:59AM]

You're totally right. If you listen to it a couple of times it sounds like they just added "Microsoft" after the initial recording. The way he says Microsoft is identical both times, maybe some crazy subliminal trick Apple is up to..

[Balzac2m @ Sep 29th 2007 5:57PM]

Now i want an iPhone too!

[alex @ Sep 29th 2007 6:06PM]

My el cheapo phone already plays MP3's through a2dp without screwing around. Sorry Apple, you Fail at product development.

[engadget @ Sep 29th 2007 6:36PM]

But they excel in getting people to pay for there stuff.

[Jah @ Sep 29th 2007 6:13PM]

iPhone the revolutionary MP3 player and cell phone that is 5 years ahead of anything similar and it doesn't even have A2DP :)

[Mohammed Mudassir Azeemi @ Sep 29th 2007 10:42PM]

because A2DP is 10 years ahead so apple is only 5 years ahead... make sense!

[pinchies @ Sep 29th 2007 9:56PM]

Neither does OS X. Lame, lame, lame!!

[Steve Butler @ Sep 29th 2007 6:19PM]

Hi,

Just a quick note; the 'iPhone review' on the right hand side of every Engadget page should be updated for the iTunes store that would be a pretty good idea.

Sorry if that sounded critical, it wasn't intended to it was just a suggestion. =]

Keep up the good work Engadget!

[MacBookOwner @ Sep 29th 2007 6:25PM]

Jesus christ, get over the "1.1.1 took away from us" whining. Apple didn't "take anything" away from the iPhone owners who didn't hack their phones. They ADDED features. Period.

I don't care if people hack the iPhone or not-more power to them. But the whole IDEA of hacking is to get AROUND the official setup, challenge and all. When did hackers start with the whining and entitlement issues, as though Apple is supposed to support them? Is this just Apple hackers with this attitude?

[hank cazorp @ Sep 29th 2007 6:32PM]

The 1.1.1 update converts iPhone from a new and intriguing portable computing platform with infinite potential into an enhanced iPod with a cellphone and some substandard internet applications.

But hey, at least we can buy DRMed iTunes songs with it! WOW COOL! Apple FTW!

[yacoub @ Sep 29th 2007 6:55PM]

@MacBookOwner - you're an idiot troll. You probably had the same seizure fit Apple did when they realized they accidentally included a way in for people to add functionality in their device and quickly ran to lock it back down. People adding functionality to their iPhones almost gave you a brain hemorrhage, but then 1.1.1 came out and you could finally breathe easy because now all was set aright in socialist, locked-down, worthless rotten Apple world. GFY.

[MacBookOwner @ Sep 29th 2007 7:03PM]

Why am I an "idiot troll"? Because I own an iPhone and didn't hack it? Because I like the 1.1.1 update, because it made my iPhone better? I know its hard for the blogging crowd to understand, but the vast majority of iPhone users just don't hack their phones, and aren't affected negatively by the updates Apple issues. Again, I don't have a problem with people wanting to hack; just don't think the rest of the world gives a fuck when Apple makes it more difficult for you.

[John @ Sep 30th 2007 1:12AM]

No, see, we're the part of the world that doesn't like it when Apple goes out of their way to take stuff we've spent time getting to work away from us. Yes, it added features... but took away options. You personally can no longer do something with your phone. You may not have wanted to do it, you may have had no plans to do it, but now you can not do it. It's like not complaining about losing the right to vote because you never voted anyway.

[slbgeo @ Oct 3rd 2007 8:04AM]

Get over yourself, man!
How would you feel if you wanted to , let's say, install a non-Ford CD changer in your recently purchased Ford auto, but in doing so, Ford made your engine stop working the next time they changed your oil because they saw that your car did not have exactly the same parts as when you PAID for it? Is it not your RIGHT to have your property look, feel and sound the way that you want it to?
Same thing with the AT&T proprietory bullshit! Would you let your car manufacturer dictate to you which brand of gas to buy when you paid FULL STICKER PRICE for your car? Not in a million years. Sure...I'd buy my gas exclusively at BP or, perhaps Amoco, for two years if they knocked about $5,000 off the price of the car. I can understand a contract with a third party IF the product in question is discounted along with said contract, which the iPhone is not!

[MacBookOwner @ Sep 29th 2007 6:42PM]

For me, 1.1.1 fixed some security issues, added the Apple iTunes store button, and made the keyboard easier to use. And left all the other stuff Apple promised me and gave me the day I bought the iPhone. Of course, YMMV :p

[slbgeo @ Oct 3rd 2007 8:53AM]

WOOHOO!!!
Three cheers for buying into that crap mentality that Apple "gave" you something that you need!
Updates are little more than a glorified recall to fix a problem that should never have existed in the first place. The malicious part of Apple's recipe makes complacent folks like you feel oh-so secure in the notion that their company is some sort of personal benefactor, rather than the money-hungry conglomerate that they are mutating into.
Perhaps Apple's next venture should be sheep-hearding!

[slbgeo @ Oct 3rd 2007 10:08AM]

P.S. We should have known you were one of the chosen flock by your gratitude for the iTunes store button. Ewe keep on feeding Steve Job's bank accounts, brother! BAAAA....BAAAA

[Jonathan @ Sep 29th 2007 6:49PM]

This is nothing new. I read this thinking A2DP was finally upon us. Get with it, Engadget! You're getting left in the dust!

[Panq @ Sep 30th 2007 1:21AM]

"It almost seems to me that they left things out so they'd have leverage in the hacker vs. apple vs. public image matrix."

Apple intentionally leaving out features so that people will have an incentive to apply hacker-crippling updates later on? Would not surprise me one bit. Not even slightly.

[Jackola @ Sep 29th 2007 8:13PM]

Actually, the 'hacking' was simply a social response to what Apple sold us a little short on. We expect a lot from Apple because of their great track record. Why does the iPhone have no games when even the cheapest of phones do? Why can't we customize the appearance?

The only thing I haven't found a solution for with Installer.app (AppTapp), is sending multiple text messages easily.

It almost seems to me that they left things out so they'd have leverage in the hacker vs. apple vs. public image matrix.

[Physboy @ Sep 29th 2007 7:12PM]

"but it's nice to see Apple forking over some "should have been there in the first place" functionality accidentally to go along with all that stuff of the same ilk 1.1.1 took away from us."

It's nice to see validation of my perspective that Apple is continuously using their ability to sell to the mindless many for the purposes of increasing profitability by stringing along the mindless many with upgrade paths for just about every feature which has already become standard in just about every other convergence device.

Demand more people. (Apple fan-boys and others alike) There is a reason that European and Asian countries blow the US away in consumer technology...mass-media induced complacency coupled with cognitive dissonance.

Regarding MacBookOwners' comment:

"When did hackers start with the whining and entitlement issues, as though Apple is supposed to support them?"

I have to agree 100%. This would be a prime example of the cognitive dissonance in full effect. Instead of these people realizing that they made a huge mistake in buying a product which they clearly did not want (Why did they not want the iPhone? Because if they did want it, they would not be sitting around trying to CHANGE it from what it IS. A device that does NOT allow 3rd party apps and does NOT allow unlocking. Read a book, for craps sake!) they sit around bitching and moaning because their attempts at CHANGING the iPhone to something they want are not working. lol

This is the same mentallity that we have all seen with people CHOOSING to date people they do NOT like and spending an inordinate amount of time trying to CHANGE them. Then when they realize their attempts are not working, instead of just moving on to someone who is more to their liking, they start bitching and moaning about the other person NOT changing. lol You just gotta love cognitive dissonance, or not. ;P

[hank cazorp @ Sep 29th 2007 7:23PM]

Sorry, but I think it's perfectly fair to be pissed that from now on, the only people approving software for iPhone will be Steve Jobs and Phil Schiller. Their best interests are not mine.

For the record, I did *not* hack my iPhone and I'm still pissed about 1.1.1. I *did* buy iPhone because I saw potential in it - potential that will never be realized, and I recognize that purchase as a mistake.

I don't understand a personality so lacking in imagination or creativity that it can be satisfied with the artificial limitations imposed on iPhone, but hey; you folks are welcome to your satisfaction with this crippled device.

[GoreTEX @ Sep 29th 2007 7:26PM]

Unless an app or function puts more money into Steves Jobs hooker fund, dont expect it to be available. Now be good apple fanbois and suck it up... then go buy another ipod.

[Mr. B @ Sep 29th 2007 7:32PM]

Wait, the iPhone doesn't have A2DP??

[greenlight @ Sep 29th 2007 7:55PM]

Of course not, the iPhone doesn't even have MMS. The iPhone's bluetooth support is worse than a Verizon phone.

[xbit @ Sep 29th 2007 7:54PM]

A2DP and MP3 ringtones - I'm loving my iPhone. Oh, wait, sorry, I meant Nokia N95. My bad.

[roger_huston @ Sep 29th 2007 8:03PM]

Of course not!

Corporate America has an unwritten rule not to give you everything. I mean, they have to leave something out, right. In this case, it is not that they left it out, but they had to disable it.

You see, you guys are not thinking like a corporate executives. These guys make millions of dollars each year making decisions like this. Removing key functionality that people really want is what they do best and why they make the big bucks.

Think of it this way and maybe you will understand: Why would anyone who has a phone and an iPod in one device EVER want to listen to it in stereo via bluetooth? After all, they went to all that trouble to make their headphone jack compatible with only their headphones.

Obviously, Apple does not want anyone to use anything other than the headphones that come with the iPhone. Am I the only one here who smells a payoff?

-Roger

[cliff @ Sep 29th 2007 8:42PM]

well here we go again, back to the apple store to take back my second iPhone in less than a month, this is really getting old. The first one died after two weeks on the way to the apple store-ironic? Now after my update yesterday my speaker has blown out... Come on apple, this is not cool anymore.

[tekdroid @ Sep 29th 2007 8:50PM]

i sense another emotional damage lawsuit from the features being kept away from me.

[rando @ Sep 29th 2007 10:04PM]

What happened? I couldn't read it because the guy from the intel ad was rocking out on his ax over the text. That ad makes me want to punch people and boycott intel. please stop it with the ads that jump all over the page. Its lame as hell.

[Boing @ Sep 29th 2007 10:10PM]

Ok so people here talk about the N95 being a better phone with more features... Can someone tell me which US wireless phone company allows the N95 to have uncrippled bluetooth support for ringtone, file transfer and etc for FREE and without any restriction what so ever?

I think everyone here is blaming the wrong company. IF Apple came out with their own EVDO then sure i would blame them too. But that is not the case here.

Get a life you POS people.

[dave @ Sep 29th 2007 10:17PM]

all manufacturers seem to limit the software capabilities on their devices these days, i dont see why you'd spend 400 dollars on a phone, AND sign away 2 years, if you can't choose what apps are on it. i mean, even sony gave up fighting PSP homebrew, and sony actually stands to lose money if software sales die out, apple is strictly a hardware company as steve jobs said himself, they stand to lose NOTHING if they open up the software. i honestly don't see why they do that. i mean, my phone doesnt have A2DP on it either, but at least i can put on music without syncing to iTunes, at least i can download apps off my provider's server WITHOUT having to jailbreak my phone, and i would think that a 'revolutionary' phone should be able to at least do those things. as much as i love some things about apple, i can't stand how narrow-minded they are about their software: OS X is beautiful, but it's becoming really proprietary, and i like my software more......open. and OS X portable is going the same way. which reminds me, i gave up on buying an iPod touch.....that money is going to better use, buying me some memory sticks for my PSP so i can put homebrewed apps on it, alongside my music and videos.

which reminds me, NOKIA! PLEASE MAKE A CDMA VERSION OF THE N95, AND PUT IT ON SPRINT! fully capable hardware, and the software doesn't cripple it one bit. aah.

[paldiel @ Sep 29th 2007 10:33PM]

If only it had stereo Bluetooth. Can it be done?