IOS – iPhone application compatibility

I have a 2011 MacBook Air 13" and I can confirm that the microphone on the original iPhone 4 headphones works when plugged into my Air. They show up as "External Microphone" in System Preferences.

I think that with a Y cable, one could use normal headsets which come with two plugs. There are overpriced Y cables available for recording apps on the iPhone, but I'm sure there are cheaper alternatives.

Note that the MacBooks (also Pro) all have two jacks, one combined for analog/digital out, one for line in. Later, the analog/digital out jack was replaced with analog/digital out, analog in like on the iPhone, but the microphone jack remained. I'm not sure about the current MacBook Pro, but my 2008 unibody MacBook still had two jacks, even though line in was available on the headphone jack, too.

So, regarding your Q: I'm reasonably sure the Bose headphones will work with your Air.

iOS 5 comes in different "flavors" for each device. iOS is stored on the computer you sync to as an .ipsw file. These files are located here:

~/Library/iTunes/iPod Software Updates/

~/Library/iTunes/iPad Software Updates/

~/Library/iTunes/iPhone Software Updates/

Each device's "flavor" of iOS is optimized and only contains the code needed for the device it pertains to.