Apple May Replace 3.5mm Headphone Jack on iPhone 7 With All-in-One Lightning Connector

[Mac 128]

Except the industry isn't asking for change, the rest of the industry will continue to use the fantastic, universally accepted headphone jack. And apple and it's fans will be mocked continuously for accepting such a great length.

The industry never asks for change. They like producing stuff same way without any R&D costs to lower their profits.

Unfortunately wireless audio is the future of sound, in the same way wifi was the future of networking and Ethernet, particularly in mobile. When Apple switches, the "industry" will keep cranking along with the 3.5mm jack as always, while Apple's partners will refine wireless audio technology until it takes over, leaving the "industry" scrambling to catch up -- as usual.

 

[dennysanders]

And apple and it's fans will be mocked continuously

what are they gonna say? "haha you have an adapter attached to your headphone cord"

that would be pretty lame mocking

 

[Burger Thing]

what are they gonna say? "haha you have an adapter attached to your headphone cord"

that would be pretty lame mocking

They will probably laugh because you have a to use an adapter which includes a second DAC, making the first DAC inside your phone redundant, sitting there idling. And they also laugh at you when you try to argue with the form factor of the iPhone, because they will pull out some decent Android sets, which offer similar if not better battery life and similar feature sets. And some of them will even tell you, that even with their exposed headphone jack, the phone is waterproof.

And just for clarification before I get labelled hater or something: I use a 6s+ which I like and used several Android phones before which I liked as well, in particular a Sony Xperia Z3.

 

[Mac 128]

They will probably laugh because you have a to use an adapter which includes a second DAC, making the first DAC inside your phone redundant, sitting there idling. And they also laugh at you when you try to argue with the form factor of the iPhone, because they will pull out some decent Android sets, which offer similar if not better battery life and similar feature sets. And some of them will even tell you, that even with their exposed headphone jack, the phone is waterproof.

Guess what, that second DAC sits there idling whenever you're using the phone's wireless capabilities for audio. It also sit's there idling when you're not playing audio at all. Of course when you tell them that your outboard DAC is perfectly matched to your headphones, providing significantly higher audio quality than their cheap Android internal DAC, I'm sure they'll stop laughing, because an Android fan, who even understands what a DAC is at all, is surely going to be very interested in the specs, because nothing wins an argument with an Android user like telling them your hardware out specs theirs.

As for the rest, they already argue that stuff already. In fact, they're already laughing at you and your overpriced iPhone 6S.

 

[oldmacs]

Your faulty logic here really astounds me, as do your assumptions. How can removing a "useful connector" be a "lazy" move? It's quite the opposite of that...it's a daring move that Apple is taking the lead on, that every other oem will inevitably follow! So if I were you I'd start getting used to life without the 3.5mm jack, because no other smartphone will be using it in the not too distant future.

As for your assumptions...this may be a profit move or it may not be. You're not sitting in on their meetings so you really have no idea.

Its a very lazy move to a) make the phone thinner, which in my opinion is a lazy way out of having to make other improvements and b) as it is bound to make them a heck ton of money through adaptors, lightning based headphones etc.

And no, just because Apple couldn't give a damn about functionality these days, doesn't mean that every other phone manufacturer will also place form over function and do the same thing.

 

[Burger Thing]

Guess what, that second DAC sits there idling whenever you're using the phone's wireless capabilities for audio. It also sit's there idling when you're not playing audio at all.

Yes, thank you for pointing out what is obvious to anyone with the slightest technical understanding. Ok, maybe not to the average share holders. But yes, thanks, I am aware of that.

But if you choose a weireless BT connection, at least at this technological stage, you have to accept a few compromises anyway: lesser sound quality and the fuss of charging batteries every few hours. The thought of an second idling DAC inside your phone shouldn't trouble you that much then.

For me, I prefer the convenience of a compact all in one device, where everything is centralised and powered by one source. My phone is usually at arms lengths away when I listen to music, I don't care about the cables then. And if have to use peripheral devices, I like them to be usable universally on all kind of devices.

But then again, I am old school. I also rather have a weired full size keyboard which is permanently attached to my iMac, which sits 25 cm away from the keyboard, instead of having a gimped one which I have to charge every no and then.

Ah, progress...


Just read the rest of your (slightly childish, with a noticeable tendency towards fanboyism) post and I realized that I am probably wasting my time. But whatever:

Of course when you tell them that your outboard DAC is perfectly matched to your headphones, providing significantly higher audio quality than their cheap Android internal DAC, I'm sure they'll stop laughing, because an Android fan, who even understands what a DAC is at all, is surely going to be very interested in the specs, because nothing wins an argument with an Android user like telling them your hardware out specs theirs.

As for the rest, they already argue that stuff already. In fact, they're already laughing at you and your overpriced iPhone 6S.

If you think, that a dongle DAC (which you proclaimed elsewhere) will be better than a built in DAC inside high end phones, then then everyone is laughing. At you!

And DACs perfectly matched to Headphones or external good quality DACs in general. Guess what: if the Android Fan wants that, he will probably buy one with a USB input, which he could use even with his computers.

Be careful what you wish for. If the iPhone doesn't contain any superior hardware anymore or specs like good quality audio are not part of the equation of internal specs, then software or the OS are becoming the main dominator or differentiator and people have to ask themselves why they are paying a premium over other brands, if the iPhone becomes nothing more than a shell with a battery inside (exaggerated)

 

[trom2k]

Ugh, another proprietary connection. it would be great if it was line/analog out and unmolested. Other than that it just sounds like a hassle.

 

[agentx]

I want USB-C headphones....bah JK.

 

[Scottgfx]

Apple is abandoning an entire ecosystem for what? Worse battery life and protruding lenses? Why no "ugh" there? Because it's Apple?

Not Apple, people who say they will abandon the iPhone over a 100 year old, antiquated, crappy plug design. Ask a broadcast TV or radio engineer about dirty TRS connectors and what they think of them.

Better yet, get upset because the Phone Company abandoned the old square 4-pin house phone connectors for those stupid RJ-11 things. We never had to deal with little plastic tabs breaking off before. I'm switching phone companies.... oh wait.

 

[doitdada]

Dropping the minijack and simcard slot is necessary for innovations to happen in the next iPhone, but space isn't that critical in a Macbook. The fact that there is a minijack port in the retina Macbook 12" may calm down the minijack evangelists. The iPhone needs to get wireless charging that is effective, remove all ports (minijack, sim slot and lightning port) to gain more battery real estte, get touch id in the screen and get thinner. The Macbooks are production devices and will always accommodate professionals needs and a headphone jack is one of those requirements. The iPhone is a consumer device, and the masses are subjected to change through convenience and never to quality.

 

[Munibeast]

3.5mm is a studio standard that has been working very well and is universal (car stereo, headphones, external speakers, audio interfaces, mixers etc...). BT is slower and therefor doesn't work for realtime HiFi audio (yet) and requires battery charging. Lightning port audio would most probably mean either charging or audio, no way to have both simultaneously. It is still just a rumour but it puzzles me how some people are trying to justify this move and even are craving for the removal of this great option. This would be a major drawback for anybody dealing with audio on a regular basis. Surely it would show in apple's sales figures. It could hardly become a selling point to have no mini jack. And making the phone even thinner doesn't seem all that desirable anymore when they're already struggling to fit the camera inside and keep the phone from bending. Having to use an adapter for this basic functionality would also be a real drag as others have pointed out. I seriously doubt Apple is dumb enough to make this move but if so I would definitely pass and not get an iPhone 7.

 

[diamond.g]

Dropping the minijack and simcard slot is necessary for innovations to happen in the next iPhone, but space isn't that critical in a Macbook. The fact that there is a minijack port in the retina Macbook 12" may calm down the minijack evangelists. The iPhone needs to get wireless charging that is effective, remove all ports (minijack, sim slot and lightning port) to gain more battery real estte, get touch id in the screen and get thinner. The Macbooks are production devices and will always accommodate professionals needs and a headphone jack is one of those requirements. The iPhone is a consumer device, and the masses are subjected to change through convenience and never to quality.

Isn't the Taptic Engine in the way of making the battery bigger? Seems like they would have to drop both Lightning and the headphone jack to move it down and gain space back.

 

[Mac 128]

Dropping the minijack and simcard slot is necessary for innovations to happen in the next iPhone, but space isn't that critical in a Macbook. The fact that there is a minijack port in the retina Macbook 12" may calm down the minijack evangelists. The iPhone needs to get wireless charging that is effective, remove all ports (minijack, sim slot and lightning port) to gain more battery real estte, get touch id in the screen and get thinner. The Macbooks are production devices and will always accommodate professionals needs and a headphone jack is one of those requirements. The iPhone is a consumer device, and the masses are subjected to change through convenience and never to quality.

I don't agree that Apple will leave the 3.5mm Jack on the Macs, depending on what the motivation for this move is. I think the MacBooks in particular may drop it for space concerns, especially the rMB which only currently has room for two ports. Even the MacBook Pro dropped the Ethernet Jack, which it otherwise seems to have plenty of room for. Perhaps the MacBook move was to push wireless as the standard way to transfer files and devices? Either way, while I agree reclaiming space is the primary motivator for Apple to remove the 3.5mm Jack, I also think it's part of their overall philosophy to push wireless and to a lesser extent Lightning. Removing the Jack creates demand for something else and drives competition and innovation on the wireless audio front, as well as lightning. If the 3.5mm Jack is left behind on the MacBooks, and to a lesser extent, the desktops, then the incentive to replace an old set of headphones goes away, and the demand for adapters goes up -- not new tech. Apple will eventually put a Lightning Jack on every product they make to support headphones/audio, and on some products it will replace the 3.5mm jack altogether. I can see the desktops having both for a time, but not the MacBooks

Either way, it's sure a better bet than doing this:

 

[doitdada]

I can see the desktops having both for a time, but not the MacBooks

The minijack is already crammed on the Macbook. It defines the limit of its thickness. Still I believe wireless isn't there quite yet on OS X devices. Lag and pairing issues are still confusing.

 

[Mac 128]

The minijack is already crammed on the Macbook. It defines the limit of its thickness. Still I believe wireless isn't there quite yet on OS X devices. Lag and pairing issues are still confusing.

And that's my point, there isn't room on a MacBook for both 3.5mm jack and a Lightning port, and Apple must put a Lightning port on every Mac in order to make this work. Moreover, the only way to really improve demand, and thus competition and innovation in wireless is to force the customer down that path.

I agree wireless is still confusing, the testimony alone on these threads as to people's anecdotal experiences is proof enough of that, and that's what a move like this can improve. I fully expect Apple to get behind a movement to streamline issues such as pairing (possibly using NFC & Touch ID), dropouts, quality, and Latency. The latter of which is mostly a problem because customers don't know what they are buying. Many BT headphones are optimize for music, and they don't even make an effort to address latency. However there are some BT Low-Latency headphones that are, and actually perform quite well depending on the device. I have an old pair of Motorola BT headphones which I still wear to the gym. They use to perform flawlessly when watching video on my iPhone 4, but now, even on my 5S running OS 9, they are often noticeably out of sync, but not always -- and I blame OS 9, not my BT headphones which used to work perfectly.

So yes, there's a lot of work to be done, which is why I liken it to the introduction of USB on the Mac. There weren't a lot of devices available when Apple introduced it, and what was available was expensive and buggy. And it took a few years for all of that to be worked out. USB infrastructure was not in place prior to Apple making the switch, but within a few years of forcing customers down that path there was a thriving market and USB had improved considerably.

 

[kyykesko]

Oh yay. My car has a bluetooth handsfree but it doesn't support audio playback, doesn't have wireless charging and I do want to listen to music in it as well as use my device as a navigator every now and then. Hell, I even make phone calls. I hook up the lightning cable to charge it (I spend HOURS every day in my car) and plug in the 3,5mm to be able to listen to music. All is good. Do I want to buy a new car just to be able to connect my phone to it? Hell no.

Do I want to buy yet another small dongle I have to drag around, lose it and eventually break off the lightning connector when the phone drops or whatever. Lost several cables already to it.

Do I want a thinner iPhone? No, not really. iPhone 4 was thin enough for me. I'd rather have my iPhone 6+ be a bit thicker if the battery lasted longer. But no. They just want to make it paper thin even though it's harder to use, has crappier battery and even crappier connectivity. Took two looks at Macbook 12", left it in the store. The keyboard is horrible and one USB-C is good for.. well, nothing. I've got several friends dragging one around with their army of different adapters. Good luck for them. If I want the MB12 keyboard experience I can always use my iPad's on-screen keyboard. Feels exactly the same, if not a bit better.

 

[doitdada]

I've got several friends dragging one around with their army of different adapters..

I usually just carry a single adapter. Which is a lot easier to carry with you than a rMBP 13 or 15. Wi-fi in modern cameras have made the SD card slot obsolete.

And that's my point, there isn't room on a MacBook for both 3.5mm jack and a Lightning port.

I feel lightning still is iOS exclusive and shouldn't have anything to do with the OS X lineup. The front page just featured a brilliant set of bluetooth earbuds, and I hope they come as standard with the new iPhone. What made Apple great is their harmonious combination of software and hardware, and hope they can pull something like this off.

https://www.macrumors.com/2016/01/13/bragi-dash-impressions/

I could relate to your story about incompatibilities throughout software revisions. Right now, the only stable output/input is the minijack. If Apple pulls wireless off, Android will follow or at least try to emulate. Apple may lead the evolution, but no longer the marketshare. For wireless audio to be a hit, you must also make Android users interested in the change. With over 80% of the marketshare, Android is setting the standard, but they may not be a part of bringing the innovation to life. I don't care about the dusin Apple approved headsets that will follow such a change, but more about getting the whole industry behind a move. A thing Apple has failed on with both FireWire and Thunderbolt earlier.

Latency has to be close to nill or headliners like Netflix won't be able to utilise this technology.

 

[2IS]

Not Apple, people who say they will abandon the iPhone over a 100 year old, antiquated, crappy plug design. Ask a broadcast TV or radio engineer about dirty TRS connectors and what they think of them.

Better yet, get upset because the Phone Company abandoned the old square 4-pin house phone connectors for those stupid RJ-11 things. We never had to deal with little plastic tabs breaking off before. I'm switching phone companies.... oh wait.

We aren't using that connector for broadcast quality transmissions. We are using it for headphones while at the gym.

 

[Mac 128]

I feel lightning still is iOS exclusive and shouldn't have anything to do with the OS X lineup. The front page just featured a brilliant set of bluetooth earbuds, and I hope they come as standard with the new iPhone. What made Apple great is their harmonious combination of software and hardware, and hope they can pull something like this off.

https://www.macrumors.com/2016/01/13/bragi-dash-impressions/

I could relate to your story about incompatibilities throughout software revisions. Right now, the only stable output/input is the minijack. If Apple pulls wireless off, Android will follow or at least try to emulate. Apple may lead the evolution, but no longer the marketshare. For wireless audio to be a hit, you must also make Android users interested in the change. With over 80% of the marketshare, Android is setting the standard, but they may not be a part of bringing the innovation to life. I don't care about the dusin Apple approved headsets that will follow such a change, but more about getting the whole industry behind a move. A thing Apple has failed on with both FireWire and Thunderbolt earlier.

Latency has to be close to nill or headliners like Netflix won't be able to utilise this technology.

Well if Apple doesn't put Lightning on the MacBooks, and it is the defacto headphone jack of their future, there will be a lot of upset customers, who have to have adapters to use their own Apple earbuds. Moreover, it has a two-fold benefit for customers as it allows them to use their Lightning accessories on their Macs, which won't necessarily be true of their Mac dongles, which is the case now. There may be a very good reason why Apple is going with a proprietary jack for their iOS devices, and that's to keep customers from buying a standard PC peripheral and plugging it in.

I've no doubt Apple has some great wireless innovations coming up. Maybe a headphone that uses some kind of low power HQ AirPlay stream which initiates through BT, but then works on every other BT device out there. Etc. I don't think there's any reasonable expectation for Apple to include wireless BT earbuds. If for no other reason, BT isn't quite ready for the masses yet. Lightning is a safe bet and cheaper for Apple.

The minijack is stable, but so is Lightning. I can't imagine any problems with Lightning headphones, at least those made by Apple, or using a Lightning adapter. As for Android, well I think they're going to push it as well, since they are undoubtably in the same boat in terms of adding features to a finite space.

And like I said, Latency is virtually nonexistent on some BT headphones and devices now, but the customer doesn't even really understand this issue until they get their new bargain BT headphones home and discover it first hand.

 

[doitdada]

Well if Apple doesn't put Lightning on the MacBooks, and it is the defacto headphone jack of their future, there will be a lot of upset customers, who have to have adapters to use their own Apple earbuds.

As for Android, well I think they're going to push it as well, since they are undoubtably in the same boat in terms of adding features to a finite space.

And like I said, Latency is virtually nonexistent on some BT headphones and devices now, but the customer doesn't even really understand this issue until they get their new bargain BT headphones home and discover it first hand.

There is nothing "de facto" in the lightning port. Android will never sport a lightning port. How long will the lightning port survive in the Apple ecosystem before it is replaced with USB C or something better?

Please give me examples of actual headsets where BT is virtually nonexistent an issue?

 

[Mac 128]

There is nothing "de facto" in the lightning port. Android will never sport a lightning port. How long will the lightning port survive in the Apple ecosystem before it is replaced with USB C or something better?

Please give me examples of actual headsets where BT is virtually nonexistent an issue?

That's not what I'm saying ... I'm saying if Lightning is Apple's de facto headphone port, then they will have to include in on the Mac. Of course no one else will adopt Lightning. It will become one more reason for a customer not to leave the Apple ecosystem.

As for Lightning being replaced by USB-C, I don't believe it will. I believe Apple intends to keep Lightning around as long as necessary until they drop it from the iPhone altogether, and audio is predominately wireless for all mobile devices. If they jumped on the USB-C bandwagon for everything, aside from the compatibility confusion I mentioned above, there's no guarantee USB-C is going to be the new wired connectivity standard. At least Apple controls Lightning.

As far as Latency, we're talking about BT 4.0, aptX headphones, and the like. The Denon AH-GC20 comes to mind. When I say virtually nonexistent, I mean for the average consumer watching a movie on their iPad or iPhone, NOT for critical listening, or critical timing. And for those uses, that's why there is Lightning.

 

[doitdada]

As far as Latency, we're talking about BT 4.0, aptX headphones, and the like..

DENON AH-GC20 and B&O BeoPlay H8 (released early 2015) are the only "audiophile" headphones to use AptX with Low Latency.

A full list here
http://www.aptx.com/category-low-latency/headphones

Personally I own a B&O Beolit 15
http://www.aptx.com/product/bo-play-beolit-15
Great battery time and sound for a bluetooth product

It's also good to know that Qualcomm has bought the guys behind aptX.
We are pleased to announce that as of August 13, 2015, Qualcomm Global Trading Pte. Ltd., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, has completed its acquisition of CSR plc. For more information, please see the press release.

 

[gutimpex]

This is a terrible decision. I will no longer buy any of their products if they don't have the headphone jack.

Reminder that it's the 3.5 mm headphone jack that's the sole reason the iPhone is so thick.

'So thick'?? Really? Let me remind you that the 3.5mm jack is the reason why iPhones EXISTS. If it wasn't for the success of the iPod (and the trivial convenience of being able to plug your headphones into it), the iPhone would've never taken off like it did.
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great. another adapter to keep track of. however, it would be nice if lighting would transfer data a 3.0 speeds. oh well. thanks apple!

USB 3.0 would be nice. But what they really need is a faster charging system. The iPad takes hours and hours (5-7) to charge and the iPad pro will take an eternity. Bring back Steve Jobs, apple has no idea what it's doing without him.
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actually, this would make sense if iPhone is moving towards wireless charging

Wireless charging is SO inefficient, it would take forever to charge the phone. The reason why they created the lightning connector was to charge it faster

 

[farewelwilliams]

Wireless charging is SO inefficient, it would take forever to charge the phone. The reason why they created the lightning connector was to charge it faster

i can't speak on the efficiency, but in terms of speed: did you look at fast charge qi wireless for samsung galaxy phones?

 

[Foolmetwice]

This is going to infuriate many loyal customers. One of the reasons I first bought an iPhone was its music capabilities. I don't mind using adapters for other connectors but Apple needs to protect the standard 3.5mm jack. I want the option to be able to buy any headphones/earphones I want and be able to plug them in.

I agree- my experiences with bluetooth headphones when combined with listening to music at the gym have been horrible- and that's where I listen to music on my phone. I also have another bluetooth headphone set that has an annoying hiss with my MacBook Air that seems unfixable.
I had one small bluetooth "sports-friendly" set I bought at the Apple Store that died after a month because it couldn't withstand my sweat. For about $100, I'd hardly consider that worth the money. I'd really find it irritating to have to charge yet another device just to throw it in my gym bag. Now I use some cheap athletic brand that seems to last forever, and if my phone slips off the elliptical machine, my headphone wire keeps it from smashing onto the floor!