"...an innovation that permits an entirely new method to control...

"...an innovation that permits an entirely new method to control the sound volume" sounds very much like a change to the driver. Also, they said it was a result of activities to improve efficiency, not a customer request for headphone speakers.

Overall I don't see them having anywhere near the competitive advantage they have in applications outside of the headphone market, but good to know they're able to do it. There'll be other improvements and modifications down the line - we're only at version 1.0 - the mind boggles at what they may be.