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

[Ardmanz]

My thoughts:

I'm not sure it would stop me buying an iphone necessarily but it does seem like a needless money making move.

It is not going to improve the sound quality, it will not make the phone thinner (who wants that anyway). It is absolutely and excuse to sell propriety headphones/adapters.

If apple have their way it may become the standard for mobile devices but only because Apple will push it that way, not because it will benefit the public in any way.

I use a lot of pro audio equipment, it will never become the standard for that.

 

[Shamgar]

I'm well aware Walkmans used 3.5mm. I was around back then.

Walkmans aren't phones. In the world of cell phones and smartphones there was no standard as I mention in my post linked below.

The 3.5mm phone jack has been the standard for portable media devices for as long as there have been mainstream portable media devices (i.e. the walkman). On the other hand the 2.5mm phone jack has long been a standard for personal communication devices, which would include cell phones. Every cell phone I owned prior to an iPhone included such a jack. The iPhone was the first smartphone as an effective convergence device merging media and communication functionality. As such, the selection of a 3.5mm jack was not some revolution, but a reflection that the iPhone's heritage as a media device mattered more for headset selection than its heritage as a communication device.

 

[happycadaver]

I don't think that Apple will be so bold to force wireless headphones on their customers. I can live with a headphone with a lightning connector.

 

[tomi03]

Maybe not, I can use the adapter if it's necessary

 

[soupcan]

I'm not getting rid of my Sennheiser Momentums just because Apple wants a thinner iPhone, something literary nobody is asking for.

 

[mantan]

The 3.5mm phone jack has been the standard for portable media devices for as long as there have been mainstream portable media devices (i.e. the walkman). On the other hand the 2.5mm phone jack has long been a standard for personal communication devices, which would include cell phones. Every cell phone I owned prior to an iPhone included such a jack. The iPhone was the first smartphone as an effective convergence device merging media and communication functionality. As such, the selection of a 3.5mm jack was not some revolution, but a reflection that the iPhone's heritage as a media device mattered more for headset selection than its heritage as a communication device.

Bingo. The initial 'magic' of the iPhone was turning your iPod to a communication device. Naturally Apple used the same jack that had been used for portable music. That's what drove the decision for the 3.5 jack, not Apple trying to set a smartphone standard in and of itself.

 

[jmgregory1]

Since as far back as I can remember 3.5mm has been the standard for portable devices - walkman, discman, mini disc etc (this is going back to 80's). Apple certainly did not make it the standard for portable devices.

There were also 3.5mm jacks built into pre iphone phones such as the sony ones (I had one).

I think what Lagwagon is referring to is the 3.5mm jack with mic controls. That was not a standard back in the days of the Walkman, but rather took Apple's iPhone to create the market for headphones with jacks and 3 band male 3.5mm jack, and hence setting the now standard.

And for those commenting on how out in the wild, most people you see are wearing Apple's supplied headphones, that is not a measure of what people WANT for headphones, but rather a measure of people not caring what they use and instead using what they HAVE [been provided with].

Apple's ability to shift the market will indeed happen with whatever they do with headphones come the next iPhone release. And those people who think the answer is "escaping" back to Android so they can continue living with what they have, or are used to, or want, will only be buying a little bit of time, as Apple's influence will absolutely carry over to other manufacturers who will (Samsung comes to mind) initially tout how they are keeping this 40+ year old technology, but when their numbers drop, will quickly shift to match (or in their eyes beat) Apple's new technology. And every headphone company out there will offer their version, because they need something to keep sales going, even if it is a disruption to what they've been doing for decades.

 

[steve-p]

I have more £ invested in headphones than I do in my iPhone. I will consider adapters if they are small enough, sound good and don't suck power. Otherwise, I'm not sure what I will do yet until the facts and options become clearer. Changing headphones is not going to happen, however.

 

[MrWillie]

Looks like it would be a good reason to update my headphones when new ones come out. Woo Hoo. I wouldn't want to mess up my workflow by switching to another os.

 

[Ardmanz]

I think what Lagwagon is referring to is the 3.5mm jack with mic controls. That was not a standard back in the days of the Walkman, but rather took Apple's iPhone to create the market for headphones with jacks and 3 band male 3.5mm jack, and hence setting the now standard.

And for those commenting on how out in the wild, most people you see are wearing Apple's supplied headphones, that is not a measure of what people WANT for headphones, but rather a measure of people not caring what they use and instead using what they HAVE [been provided with].

Apple's ability to shift the market will indeed happen with whatever they do with headphones come the next iPhone release. And those people who think the answer is "escaping" back to Android so they can continue living with what they have, or are used to, or want, will only be buying a little bit of time, as Apple's influence will absolutely carry over to other manufacturers who will (Samsung comes to mind) initially tout how they are keeping this 40+ year old technology, but when their numbers drop, will quickly shift to match (or in their eyes beat) Apple's new technology. And every headphone company out there will offer their version, because they need something to keep sales going, even if it is a disruption to what they've been doing for decades.

Again, some of the Sony phones came with earphones with inline controls and handsfree before the first iPhone and I'm sure others did too.

 

[jmgregory1]

Again, some of the Sony phones came with earphones with inline controls and handsfree before the first iPhone and I'm sure others did too.

But again, it took the iPhone to make it a standard. I didn't say Apple was first, but they certainly created the volume market, enough so as to have it be what it is today.

 

[imlynxy]

I go away. Just grabbed BOGO t-mobile Galaxy S7 for resale , played with one of the, great phone. I couldn't use one port Macbook and returned it. If I cannot connect headphones and need to carry special connectors ... I switch.

 

[justin216]

Losing the headphone jack would be a non-issue to me. I already have nice bluetooth headphones, so I rarely use it anyway.

I bounce to Android and Windows Phone on occasion (typically every major phone release, I'll buy it to give it a whirl), but always come back to iOS. Feels more polished than Android, with a better ecosystem than Windows Phone. A port won't make/break that personal feeling about the platforms.

 

[kristoffer4]

Yes. If they do this, I don't think my next phone will be an iPhone...

 

[Ardmanz]

But again, it took the iPhone to make it a standard. I didn't say Apple was first, but they certainly created the volume market, enough so as to have it be what it is today.

We'll agree to disagree. Sony weren't the only ones either.

Was the iphone more popular than Sonys or other phones at the time that used a 3.5mm? Sure but that doesn't mean they pushed the 3.5mm to become standard. It was already the standard. By the same logic I could say, the iphone being able to make phone calls is what made phone calls popular.

 

[DBZmusicboy01]

For it to be a number update.
It will be somewhat of a downgrade.
The 6S is not a bad phone. The screen resolution and 16GB storage are the biggest flaws of it and of course the camera sticking out and being a minor update from the 6.

It will just be more of an iPhone 6SS but without the headphone jack.
I am no longer excited about the 7 for all the bad rumors. Every year by April we have an idea of what the next iPhone may have and the 7 has nothing special to offer. It may not even have stereo speaks/microphone.

 

[Channan]

Luckily there are other phones out there for you.

 

[Pakaku]

The great thing about rumours: They're rumours.

 

[Ladybug]

I get that you are not excited..but to be fair this is a rumor site. Think back to before the SE was released. There were many rumors about how it would only have an A8 and 1 gig of ram. People got all upset and it turned out to be false. Apple may still have a few surprises up their sleeve. I wouldn't stress over it, just wait and see what they come up with. If it still doesn't excite you then wait for the next release.

 

[bmodi]

However the last years the rumors have been quite exact.....yes there are always different rumors....but at least a mix of them was always more or less exact. Not a lot from the last 2 iphone generations was not clear and already rumored before the key note...
[doublepost=1461910865][/doublepost]i really hope that this time there is more...features we do not know based on the rumors...otherwise i am sure sales figures will decrease...of course Apple will stay on a high level...however the demanding from Apple should be a higher one.

Right now the rumorded "features" are:
- duale lens camera (just for the plus model) -> not new, already existing (Huawai P9)
- water proofed -> old stuff, since years there are high end smartphones available which are waterproofed
- no head phone jack -> not really a feature
- design similar to Iphone 6 -> hm...
- upgraded hardware -> not worth to be mentioned, this is standard and true for all new high end smartphones
- redesigned antenna bands -> not worth to be named as a "feature"
- smart connector -> we will see if this is really a feature


No one can really say that this is woulde be what we expect from a company like Apple.

And as i already have mentioned before -> yes, these information are just based on rumors...but think about the Iphone 6 and the Iphone 6s -> more or less everything was already known before the key note took place.

 

[Dave245]

We will have to see what Apple announce in September, we will probably see more leaks nearer the time just like last year with the 6s and 6s Plus.
The dual camera rumour gets my interest, the patent that Apple hold for it looks interesting in terms of what it can do. The headphone jack removal will annoy a lot of people just like the removal of the 30 pin connector and everything else that Apple has removed from devices of the years, but that doesn't stop people from buying the devices.

 

[SMIDG3T]

The great thing about rumours: They're rumours.

The removal of the headphone jack isn't really a rumour anymore. It's happening.

 

[Ugi]

I think the major generation updates never brought a big new feature, they primary only changed the design a bit and gave the phone better specs. The s updates brought some new features, though.
So if get another iPhone ever after the se it'll be always the s model.

 

[bmodi]

Maybe we get a major update without new design mixed with an "S-update" without really new features...

 

[SandboxGeneral]

This wouldn't bother me at all. I have two pair of B&O headphones that are wireless and work great. I rarely use the the headphone port anymore.