Nov 9, 2010 11:59 GMT  ·  By

A small Bluetooth wireless headphone designer in San Francisco was reportedly engulfed by Apple around two months ago for an undisclosed sum, a move that will see the introduction of Apple-branded stereo Bluetooth headphones for future iOS devices and MacBooks, a source claims.

Citing a “source”, plain and simple, 9to5mac reports that Apple acquired Wi-Gear some two months ago.

The latter is known for making three generations of A2DP stereo headphones called iMuffs, as well as a Bluetooth 2.0 adapter for earlier generations of iPhones and iPods that don’t support Bluetooth 2.0, the report says.

“At Wi-Gear, we believe that innovation comes from bringing value to the user and not through blindly pushing the technology envelope,” the company describes itself.

“We are passionate about creating intelligently designed products that improve people's lives. Our first product is borne out of our goal to build a world without wires. As we grow, our products will continue to be driven by thoughtful design, emerging technologies, and the user experience. You'll definitely want to stay tuned…,” their profile reads.

In fact, Wi-Gear specialized in accessories for use with Apple iOS devices, according to the news site.

Now, out of the blue, the company has ceased all operations. Even more, it claims it is “unable to respond to any inquiries”. Yup, sounds like Apple-grade secrecy alright.

Leaving assumptions aside, 9to5mac downright pinpoints that “Apple plans to build its own stereo Bluetooth headphones for future iOS devices and MacBooks with technology and expertise from Wi-Gear.”

Indeed, Apple doesn’t do too well in the Bluetooth area, making it a logical choice to scoop up a small firm that specialized in the technology, let alone the fact that it did so with Apple’s iOS devices.

Finally, what seems to add more confirmation to the rumor is that one of the engineers formerly working at Wi-Gear is now an iOS Bluetooth Engineer at Apple, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Apparently, he joined Apple’s team of Bluetooth engineers precisely two months ago.