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Is it just me or is this pretty much a non-issue at this point? I get that removing the headphone jack was a thing years ago… but now it’s kinda a done deal (for better or for worse).
When I got my 2020 iPad pro I was annoyed to find it missing and hadn't thought about it until it arrived. The first of various annoyances that my iPad Pro has never seemed very pro at anything. Then the first few dongles I got from amazon were dodgy and wouldn't play without charging at the same time. In the end got a few that worked that I can choose to charge or not at the same time.

Today I want to try the new Ableton mobile app and some audio apps during my lunch break. So today I've had to find my dongle (much swearing involved cuz I couldn't find it before rushing out the house) because wireless headphones have latency, so might be ok for just listening to music or movies, but useless for creating stuff with audio. Wireless audio latency is a killer for music creativity and makes it unplayable, so you usually have to buy a dongle (that works, then not loose it) when you wouldn't previously have had to.

Also people who give their kids iPads to play and game on can't just get them some cheap $5 headphones now. They'll have to get dongles or go wireless. So yeah, I'd say for many people it could very much be an issue. There's a reason all Macs still have headphone jacks - because they're bloody useful. And unlike an iPhone it's not like your iPad needs to be the smallest pocketable form-factor possible, or is IP68 rated and you're going to take it swimming accidentally or have it strapped on your bike handlebars for GPS navigation in a rain storm. So removing it just likely seems narrow-minded and an annoyance for many.
 
Wasn’t one of Apple’s pathetic excuses for first removing the headphone jack on the iPhone 7 was that since iPhones are so small, inside space is very limited and thus they need that space for other things? How the heck does that excuse apply to iPads which are much bigger?
You just asked this question now? :D Apple has removed the headphone jack on iPad Pros wince the 2018 model.

And yes, there really is no excuses. No IP rating nor internal space concerns at all. It's all about selling the airpods.
 
Wasn’t one of Apple’s pathetic excuses for first removing the headphone jack on the iPhone 7 was that since iPhones are so small, inside space is very limited and thus they need that space for other things? How the heck does that excuse apply to iPads which are much bigger?

At least they bothered giving an excuse. This year when they removed the SIM slot their only justification is that you no longer have to “deal with” a SIM card. And they just shoved a block of plastic in there. Which I’m pretty sure was much larger than the entire space needed for a headphone jack.

They’re just excuses because they can’t say “we wanted to save the money on putting in the jack, and make the money when you buy headphones because you have to.”
 
I really don't care for myself, but decisions like this will hurt Apple a lot in the long run.
 
Only to push airpod sales...so annoying. I have airpods so it's a non issue, but sometimes I forget them and don't have a usb c or lightning adapter to make them work.
Long before airpods were released, I was already using Bose Bluetooth headphones. I didn't even notice when they removed the headphone jacks.
 
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I really don't care for myself, but decisions like this will hurt Apple a lot in the long run.
I don’t think it will. Apple’s brand is still very strong that they can fumble around for quite a while before anything negative will happen. Nobody complained about the headphone jack when the 2018 iPad Pro was out.
 
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I use ipad as a musical instrument. It's connected to a midi controller trhu usb and speakers trhu jack. Bluethoot is worthless for me because of the great lag. It's not a problem if you listening to music, but for real time music creation it's not usable. There is a dongle with both usb and jack, i haven't tried it, but it's lame, unpractical, expensive and i am not sure it will provide same quality as separate ports. Probably not.
This is outrageous. Another proof that Apple doesn’t care about their customers.
 
Will hold off buying this. The headphone jack is out dated, but infinitely easier to deal with my kids. Especially when traveling, the bt headphones for kids don't last long, are inconsistent with connection, etc. Much more of a headache to deal with.
 
I know the headphone jack is divisive because of the number of people who pop up saying "just" use this or that instead. But removing a port and forcing people to use dongles is not a step forward, it never has been and never will be. Dongles are a pain and bluetooth does not always work properly (and there can be latency). I've tried to work with my iPhone and lack of 3.5mm jack for years and have basically given up.

Then you can either pay £££ for Apple's dongles, or buy cheap ones on Amazon, many of which don't work very well. And all for what? Because they won't keep a small 3.5mm socket in the device?

I think my gripe here is this is not a step forwards for a lot of us who actually just like the fact standard, plug in headphones "just work".
 
To this day it baffles me why the headphone jack got cut from the iPad. There's zero reason for it. The iPad has more than enough space for one, it's not water resistant, and Apple's been trying to market it as a notebook replacement, which notebooks have headphone jacks. You can make the argument for the iPhone (which I'd still fight you on that) but the iPad?!

God...seeing what the iPad's become just makes me sad.
 
I don’t think it will. Apple’s brand is still very strong that they can fumble around for quite a while before anything negative will happen. Nobody complained about the headphone jack when the 2018 iPad Pro was out.

Apple always put special care towards the educational market, even in its darkest days.
In primary schools you can cultivate customers which will stay loyal for life.
Just shunning it like this is simply not right. You can't live forever off rich Starbucks hipsters.
 
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Is it just me or is this pretty much a non-issue at this point? I get that removing the headphone jack was a thing years ago… but now it’s kinda a done deal (for better or for worse).
Yes, Apple has been dedicated to poor sound quality for quite some time now.....A pity.
 
To this day it baffles me why the headphone jack got cut from the iPad. There's zero reason for it. The iPad has more than enough space for one, it's not water resistant, and Apple's been trying to market it as a notebook replacement, which notebooks have headphone jacks. You can make the argument for the iPhone (which I'd still fight you on that) but the iPad?!

God...seeing what the iPad's become just makes me sad.
I think it is simply a craven cash grab. Apple is betting that most people will simply acquiesce to the loss of the headphone jack, the loss of sound quality AND purchase Apple Bluetooth....
 
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fortunately, usb c headphone/adapter is much much cheaper than lightning's version.
 
I will be honest. I had no idea it still had one. I have a 2021 iPad Pro and had several iPads before it. I thought it was gone for years.
For schools this could be a big deal. Headphones are a must when you have kids doing their own lessons with sound and music. Dealing with adapters with little kids is not going to be very appealing, and USB-C over ear headphones are not inexpensive enough.
 
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I bought a USB-C to 3.5mm connector for my 2020 iPad Pro as a backup for my headphones I’ve never once used it.

Non-issue for me and probably most people. For those who need a connection, get the connector and leave it on your cable. Or don’t. No one cares but you.
 
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For schools this could be a big deal. Headphones are a must when you have kids doing their own lessons with sound and music. Dealing with adapters with little kids is not going to be very appealing, and USB-C over ear headphones are not inexpensive enough.
Get a $5 dongle from Amazon. It’s seriously not an issue.
 
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