Would no headphone jack force you to move away from the iphone?

[BSben]

So far the missing headphone jack has been just a rumour for some time, but other phone makers are now doing just that, they use usb-c as the new headphone output. It just shows how influential Apple still is.

 

[MacDevil7334]

If apple just includes a little 3.5 mm to lightning wire that your current headphones plug right into what exactly is the problem? Seems like people getting upset over nothing.

If the transition from 30-pin to lightning with the iPhone 5 is any indication, not only will Apple not include an adaptor, but they will charge you $20 or $30 to buy one. Now, they might choose not to repeat that move this time, especially with iPhone sales on the decline. But, given how they've been jacking up iPad prices over the past 6 months, I'm not holding my breath...

 

[goobot]

If the transition from 30-pin to lightning with the iPhone 5 is any indication, not only will Apple not include an adaptor, but they will charge you $20 or $30 to buy one. Now, they might choose not to repeat that move this time, especially with iPhone sales on the decline. But, given how they've been jacking up iPad prices over the past 6 months, I'm not holding my breath...

The main reason why they might include it is due to the fact that all other apple products will still have a 3.5 mm jack along with it being a standard with other devices. Not including it will cause major compatibility problems across apples whole line of current products and give other phones an edge on the iPhone. It would be extremely stupid on apple's part not to include it built into the EarPods. But it seems like Apple has become very cheap lately which is quite disappointing.

 

[Mac 128]

The main reason why they might include it is due to the fact that all other apple products will still have a 3.5 mm jack along with it being a standard with other devices. Not including it will cause major compatibility problems across apples whole line of current products and give other phones an edge on the iPhone. It would be extremely stupid on apple's part not to include it built into the EarPods. But it seems like Apple has become very cheap lately which is quite disappointing.

That's not how Apple will handle it. They will provide a pair of Lightning earbuds in the box. What they might do is included a clever Lightning plug that has a 'fold-out' 3.5mm jack allowing the same Lightning earbuds to be used with legacy Apple products. But all Macs will get a Lightning port on their very next update -- some like the rMB will get it mid-cycle (like the iPad 3-4).

Apple has never given away adapters, and they won't start now. Doing so would undermine the push toward wireless and digital, encouraging customers to fall back on their cheap old connectors. Also, Intel is currently pushing USB-C audio, which all but confirms that Apple's competition will be dropping their 3.5mm jack within a year of Apple doing it. Do you really think Apple would just drop a universal interface if their competition weren't also faced with the same dilemma that encourages Apple to do so? This is the least compelling meme I see constantly repeated in this debate.

 

[acorntoy]

That's not how Apple will handle it. They will provide a pair of Lightning earbuds in the box. What they might do is included a clever Lightning plug that has a 'fold-out' 3.5mm jack allowing the same Lightning earbuds to be used with legacy Apple products. But all Macs will get a Lightning port on their very next update -- some like the rMB will get it mid-cycle (like the iPad 3-4).

Apple has never given away adapters, and they won't start now. Doing so would undermine the push toward wireless and digital, encouraging customers to fall back on their cheap old connectors. Also, Intel is currently pushing USB-C audio, which all but confirms that Apple's competition will be dropping their 3.5mm jack within a year of Apple doing it. Do you really think Apple would just drop a universal interface if their competition weren't also faced with the same dilemma that encourages Apple to do so? This is the least compelling meme I see constantly repeated in this debate.

This is exactly what makes it so bad. Another crap proprietary connection. Before at least Apple had the universal 3.5 ( except on first gen) and the only proprietary connection was charging. Now your gonna deal with the fact that USB-C is going to be as popular as the 3.5 on earphones and headphones while if you own an iPhone you have to deal with much less product selection becomes Apple will be charging a MFI fee, or a a bulky annoying expensive adapter. If Apple wanted to switch to USB-C it would be understandable, but using lightning is really ridiculous.

 

[Mac 128]

This is exactly what makes it so bad. Another crap proprietary connection. Before at least Apple had the universal 3.5 ( except on first gen) and the only proprietary connection was charging. Now your gonna deal with the fact that USB-C is going to be as popular as the 3.5 on earphones and headphones while if you own an iPhone you have to deal with much less product selection becomes Apple will be charging a MFI fee, or a a bulky annoying expensive adapter. If Apple wanted to switch to USB-C it would be understandable, but using lightning is really ridiculous.

1) Product selection will be universal. Headphones and audio equipment will have a digital port that supplies analogue and digital connections, depending on which cable you plug in. People who use Lightning buy a Lightning cable, those who use USB-C buy one of those, and the analogue users buy that. Most new high end headphones are already being made this way, including BlueTooth headphones.

2) Why would Apple go out of its way to create a "bulky annoying expensive adapter", when a battery, radio, antenna, DAC and amp can all fit inside an single earbud now? Especially when the competition making USB-C adapters won't be? At most a simple adapter will cost ~$19 from Apple. Chinese knock offs will probably sell a decent one for under $10.

3) USB-C is going to take years to reach any kind of mass market saturation, particularly for audio. And until every existing 3.5mm Jack equipped device is replaced with a USB-C one, there are going to be adapters galore. So kinda doesn't matter whether the connection is USB-C or Lightning. That said, wireless is the new audio standard, not USB-C or Lightning. By the time USB-C has gained significant market saturation, Apple will likely be charging their devices wirelessly, and wireless headphones will probably have improved to the point where they offer lossless playback for 24 hours on a single charge.

 

[acorntoy]

1) Product selection will be universal. Headphones and audio equipment will have a digital port that supplies analogue and digital connections, depending on which cable you plug in. People who use Lightning buy a Lightning cable, those who use USB-C buy one of those, and the analogue users buy that. Most new high end headphones are already being made this way, including BlueTooth headphones.

2) Why would Apple go out of its way to create a "bulky annoying expensive adapter", when a battery, radio, antenna, DAC and amp can all fit inside an single earbud now? Especially when the competition making USB-C adapters won't be? At most a simple adapter will cost ~$19 from Apple. Chinese knock offs will probably sell a decent one for under $10.

3) USB-C is going to take years to reach any kind of mass market saturation, particularly for audio. And until every existing 3.5mm Jack equipped device is replaced with a USB-C one, there are going to be adapters galore. So kinda doesn't matter whether the connection is USB-C or Lightning. That said, wireless is the new audio standard, not USB-C or Lightning. By the time USB-C has gained significant market saturation, Apple will likely be charging their devices wirelessly, and wireless headphones will probably have improved to the point where they offer lossless playback for 24 hours on a single charge.

I hope your right, I'm an avid supporter of Apple and I switched back after 3 android phones, most expensive sets do often have the option of changing cables so hopefully it'll be seamless no matter what. I'm not a troll so thank you for your post, it was actually pretty informative and does make me think it could work out, my biggest fear currently is that the selection would be comparable to current "AirPlay" speakers but hopefully not.

 

[0004838]

I'd say No, but only because the limited and non-upgradable capacity of iPhone renders it a poor choice for multimedia playback in the first place; I already use a different device for all my portable music playback, which consumes the vast majority of my portable headphone use.

I'd suggest opening up the poll slightly to:

No; I don't use headphones much with iPhone anyway
No; I'll just buy the appropriate headphones and keep using iPhone

 

[cynics]

The iPhone drives Apple, not the Mac, and definitely not the rMB.

Apple is not going to risk revealing their plans for the iPhone 7 to make sure the most recent refresh of the rMB is compatible with the new iPhone in 6 months.

Most likely, Apple will do exactly what they did with the iPad 3, which is update it mid cycle and replace the 30-pin dock connector with Lightning. Apple will simply swap out the 3.5mm jack with a Lightning port quietly after September. It's not even a difficult update to do since the wiring path and port configuration is already in place.

On the flip side Apple used a single USB C on the MacBook as a proof of concept. They NEVER would have done that to the much more popular Pro or any Mac for that matter.

I'll be curious to see how they approach the Mac in coming years. We could bicker back and forth all day but professionals do use the Mac for audio work and there is nothing even remotely near the quality of 3.5mm/1/4" headphones and it's unlikely there ever will be if you keep in mind a professional will be utilizing their own amp and toms hardware has all but throughly proven a DAC is a DAC for the most part.

Besides with Macs people will likely be using USB C if a 3.5mm port is unavailable, everything is already in place. Adding a lightning port to a Mac wouldn't make much sense for Apple or the consumer.

 

[Mac 128]

On the flip side Apple used a single USB C on the MacBook as a proof of concept. They NEVER would have done that to the much more popular Pro or any Mac for that matter.

I'll be curious to see how they approach the Mac in coming years. We could bicker back and forth all day but professionals do use the Mac for audio work and there is nothing even remotely near the quality of 3.5mm/1/4" headphones and it's unlikely there ever will be if you keep in mind a professional will be utilizing their own amp and toms hardware has all but throughly proven a DAC is a DAC for the most part.

Besides with Macs people will likely be using USB C if a 3.5mm port is unavailable, everything is already in place. Adding a lightning port to a Mac wouldn't make much sense for Apple or the consumer.

Actually as much as they say the rMB has only one port, it has two -- USB-C and 3.5mm. Apple isn't pushing the envelope so far as to require a rMB customer to plug everything they might into a single USB-C connector, at least as far as audio is concerned -- not like they will when they remove the headphone jack from the iPhone.

Now here's the thing ... The rMB is the only Mac with a USB-C port. And since it has a 3.5mm Jack there's no reason for anyone to currently explore USB-C audio. When Apple removes the 3.5mm Jack from the iPhone in September, forcing customers to use Lightning or wireless to get high fidelity audio out of their phones -- then adding Lightning ports to their Macs will make a lot of sense to iPhone users who also use Macs, particularly to the rMB which only has one data port to begin with. No Apple user will likely have a USB-C compatible headphone yet as there's no reason to because of the dedicated 3.5mm jack. But as of September they will likely have a new pair of Lightning headphones in the box, headphones only compatible with iOS devices. So, it's unlikely Apple is going to push a standard that requires its customers to use adapters with their own products. Add to that the other benefits of Lightning -- it becomes a defacto charging port, where Apple has seemingly positioned it as the connector of choice. iOS device customers already have Lightning cables, so even if they don't own a single USB-C device, they can use the same cable to charge all of their Apple products. This is good news for customers who forget their USB-C cables in a world that has far from embraced USB-C as a standard at this point. For the rMB, it allows the user to keep the USB-C port free for actual peripherals.

Professional audio engineers and enthusiasts have nothing to do with this decision -- it's entirely driven by customer convenience.

 

[oldmacs]

All I can say is, thank goodness for the iPhone SE.

 

[cynics]

Actually as much as they say the rMB has only one port, it has two -- USB-C and 3.5mm. Apple isn't pushing the envelope so far as to require a rMB customer to plug everything they might into a single USB-C connector, at least as far as audio is concerned -- not like they will when they remove the headphone jack from the iPhone.

Now here's the thing ... The rMB is the only Mac with a USB-C port. And since it has a 3.5mm Jack there's no reason for anyone to currently explore USB-C audio. When Apple removes the 3.5mm Jack from the iPhone in September, forcing customers to use Lightning or wireless to get high fidelity audio out of their phones -- then adding Lightning ports to their Macs will make a lot of sense to iPhone users who also use Macs, particularly to the rMB which only has one data port to begin with. No Apple user will likely have a USB-C compatible headphone yet as there's no reason to because of the dedicated 3.5mm jack. But as of September they will likely have a new pair of Lightning headphones in the box, headphones only compatible with iOS devices. So, it's unlikely Apple is going to push a standard that requires its customers to use adapters with their own products. Add to that the other benefits of Lightning -- it becomes a defacto charging port, where Apple has seemingly positioned it as the connector of choice. iOS device customers already have Lightning cables, so even if they don't own a single USB-C device, they can use the same cable to charge all of their Apple products. This is good news for customers who forget their USB-C cables in a world that has far from embraced USB-C as a standard at this point. For the rMB, it allows the user to keep the USB-C port free for actual peripherals.

Professional audio engineers and enthusiasts have nothing to do with this decision -- it's entirely driven by customer convenience.

We are getting off topic however...

First Apple doesn't care if you need to buy adaptors. They made that obvious with the new MacBook considering how pretty much nothing uses USB-C and unlike other laptops with USB C Apple doesn't include an adaptor.

I could go on a mini rant about how Apple prides themselves with "sold separately" accessories. Like the Apple Pencil, or a charging brick for the ATV remote. But I digress....

What I'm saying is why add a lightning port to a Mac when it already has USB (C)?

That only makes sense for those with Lightning ONLY headphones (if anyone is daft enough to make them and someone even more short sighted to buy them).

Another USB C is INFINITELY more useful on a Mac. Could you seriously imagine them passing adding another USB to a computer for a lightning connector?

 

[Mac 128]

We are getting off topic however...

First Apple doesn't care if you need to buy adaptors. They made that obvious with the new MacBook considering how pretty much nothing uses USB-C and unlike other laptops with USB C Apple doesn't include an adaptor.

I could go on a mini rant about how Apple prides themselves with "sold separately" accessories. Like the Apple Pencil, or a charging brick for the ATV remote. But I digress....

What I'm saying is why add a lightning port to a Mac when it already has USB (C)?

That only makes sense for those with Lightning ONLY headphones (if anyone is daft enough to make them and someone even more short sighted to buy them).

Another USB C is INFINITELY more useful on a Mac. Could you seriously imagine them passing adding another USB to a computer for a lightning connector?

I'm not arguing that USB-C is infinitely more useful on a Mac, but as you point out, Apple has already decreed with the rMB that you don't need more than one. So yes, I can easily see Apple adding a Lightning port instead of a second USB-C, assuming they actually replace the 3.5mm jack on their iOS products.

Rant all you like. This is what's happening and it makes perfect sense for those who buy an rMB and an iPhone without a 3.5mm jack. You want more ports, but a MBP.

The reason Apple will add a Lightning port to every product they make, is because of convenience and compatibility with their Lightning audio products. I've clearly stated this already. I get that you think anybody who buys Lightning headphones is an idiot, and you are certainly entitled to your opinion. However, I don't agree. You do understand that any set of headphones that can plug into USB-C will also be compatible with Lightning, right? In which case, do you really think Apple will want someone who has their digital headphones connected to their iPhone via Lightning to have to switch to their USB-C cable in order to use their headphones on a Mac? There's nothing about that which is in the best interests of Apple's customers, or Apple.

Also, do you really think that Apple will keep the MagSafe connector around when USB-C can handle data and charging in one port as they continue to shrink case designs? Lightning is already ubiquitous for charging Apple products including desktop peripherals. This way, they can add an optional way to charge the MacBooks without sacrificing one of the USB-C ports, particularly for the "Pro" users. It can also be a dedicated charging port for desktop peripherals rather than tying up a USB-C port for it. Not only that, but Apple can consolidate some of their adapters. Now I realize you are a cynic, but there is real value in eliminating packaging and manufacturing costs and reducing one adapter down to one design that works on all products, like Lightning to USB-A, Lightning to SD Card, Lightning to HDMI, etc. All things that both iOS and OS X devices can use. And it also continues to free up USB-C ports to be used for more important data peripherals.

 

[cynics]

I'm not arguing that USB-C is infinitely more useful on a Mac, but as you point out, Apple has already decreed with the rMB that you don't need more than one. So yes, I can easily see Apple adding a Lightning port instead of a second USB-C, assuming they actually replace the 3.5mm jack on their iOS products.

Rant all you like. This is what's happening and it makes perfect sense for those who buy an rMB and an iPhone without a 3.5mm jack. You want more ports, but a MBP.

The reason Apple will add a Lightning port to every product they make, is because of convenience and compatibility with their Lightning audio products. I've clearly stated this already. I get that you think anybody who buys Lightning headphones is an idiot, and you are certainly entitled to your opinion. However, I don't agree. You do understand that any set of headphones that can plug into USB-C will also be compatible with Lightning, right? In which case, do you really think Apple will want someone who has their digital headphones connected to their iPhone via Lightning to have to switch to their USB-C cable in order to use their headphones on a Mac? There's nothing about that which is in the best interests of Apple's customers, or Apple.

Also, do you really think that Apple will keep the MagSafe connector around when USB-C can handle data and charging in one port as they continue to shrink case designs? Lightning is already ubiquitous for charging Apple products including desktop peripherals. This way, they can add an optional way to charge the MacBooks without sacrificing one of the USB-C ports, particularly for the "Pro" users. It can also be a dedicated charging port for desktop peripherals rather than tying up a USB-C port for it. Not only that, but Apple can consolidate some of their adapters. Now I realize you are a cynic, but there is real value in eliminating packaging and manufacturing costs and reducing one adapter down to one design that works on all products, like Lightning to USB-A, Lightning to SD Card, Lightning to HDMI, etc. All things that both iOS and OS X devices can use. And it also continues to free up USB-C ports to be used for more important data peripherals.

That is not what I said nor am I ranting. You are too emotionally involved in this debate for me to continue it with you. Sorry.

Besides latest rumors are there is a headphone jack so I'll wait until it's released to continue this.