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This will really screw mophie. They would most likely be forced to license the Lightning connector for their cases otherwise it would be Bluetooth or no headphones. Which other than the cases being more expensive I would be fine with I hate the flaky usb connectors.
 
Yes please! Good bye 3.5mm, you had an amazing run! Bring on the future!

All these people whining about their headphones not working anymore must still have SCSI hard drives and serial printers.

The future being what exactly? A crappy DAC and amp small enough to fit in a lightning connector? I can imagine the rich and powerful sound now. This will make wired headphones worse than Bluetooth which I suppose is a strategy of sorts.

So far the future has been good and bad. Now that things have been sufficiently miniaturized and converged maybe we can get back some of the quality lost. Phone calls that sound good, keyboards with feedback, etc.
 
Wouldn't it make more sense bundle Bluetooth headphones, and replace lightning with USB C?
This what apple needs to do next. I think lightening headphones would probably drain the battery faster than the headphone jack. Wireless headphones make the most sense. But knowing apple they want to sell all their overpriced adapters.
 
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not enough for an intercontinental flight or a long road trip.

I don't know about you, but most people I know with battery-driven devices don't do road trips and intercontinental flights every other day, so your issue is what you'd call niche.
 
I don't know about you, but most people I know with battery-driven devices don't do road trips and intercontinental flights every other day, so your issue is what you'd call niche.
But enough people do take long flights that it is more than a niche use to have them last long enough to use on a flight.
 
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I always charge and use the audio jack at the same time while in the car.
Sometimes I'll listen to Spotify on my iPhone, usually leaving the screen on. When I do that I use both the 3.5 mm jack and have the iPhone charging, because Spotify plus screen on will drain the battery down pretty good otherwise.
So I definitely want to have the capability using the 2 ports at the same time.
Not interested in buying an Apple "Magic Splitter" for C$49.99 to do what costs nothing now.
 
But enough people do take long flights that it is more than a niche use to have them last long enough to use on a flight.

But how many of these are sporting Bluetooth headsets, to market specifically to this group?
 
If Apple does this, then after owning every model iPhone (and every model Mac) I'll finally be switching to Android. I'm tired of constantly replacing Lightning cables at $10 to $20 a pop - I've never had one last more than a few months, and yes, I buy genuine Apple cables. There is no reason to expect the headphone lightning cables to do better. Its bad enough to have to carry a bag of adapters with my MacBook, having to do the same with a phone is intolerable.



Apple is planning to remove the 3.5mm headphone jack on the next-generation iPhone in favor of an all-in-one Lightning connector, according to often-reliable Japanese website Mac Otakara. Apple may also release Lightning-equipped EarPods to support the new audio output on future iOS devices.

Philips-M2L-iPhone-Trio.jpg

The report, citing a "reliable source," claims the new same-sized Lightning connector will support Lightning-equipped and Bluetooth headphones, and have a DAC, or digital-to-audio converter, for backwards compatibility with wired headphones using standard 3.5mm stereo jacks. A 3.5mm to Lightning adapter would be required.

The so-called "iPhone 7" will likely be more than 1mm thinner than the 7.1mm thick iPhone 6s as a result, according to the report. The sixth-generation iPod touch could be a comparable device, with a depth of 6.1mm, but the portable media player still has a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Apple will also reportedly release Lightning-equipped EarPods, which would likely be included in the box alongside the iPhone 7 and sold separately for use with other future iOS devices. Apple's current EarPods with a 3.5mm stereo jack will presumably remain available for purchase afterwards for the foreseeable future.

Apple introduced new MFi Program specifications in June 2014 that allow third-party manufacturers to create headphones that connect to iOS devices via a Lightning cable, but the rollout has been slow. Philips has unveiled Lightning-equipped Fidelio M2L and Fidelio NC1L headphones over the past 14 months.

Should this rumor prove to be true, Apple's decision to switch to an all-in-one Lightning connector for charging and audio output could face the same kind of controversy as when the company retired its proprietary 30-pin dock connector in favor of a smaller Lightning connector starting with the iPhone 5 in 2012.

Article Link: Apple May Replace 3.5mm Headphone Jack on iPhone 7 With All-in-One Lightning Connector
 
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Because it's not a phone and therefore has less innards than an iPhone.
Exactly.......like a camera that is thicker than a 3.5mm headphone jack.
The only reason for a move to the lightning port is for more revenue. Apple has the patent on the lightning port. Now it will force people to buy more expensive lightning port accessories. Now to use an iphone you will have to buy an lightning port headphone that Apple either makes or licenses OEMs to make. More money is the only reason for this move.
 
I'll go against the grain and say this is awesome.

Everyone complained about the lightning connector, now people have moved on, upgraded their old crappy stuff, and life is good. Look how terrible a 30 pin connector looks now!? This is technology, it changes, and that means you need to upgrade every so often. Pay to play. So get on board, get with the new stuff or keep your 6S as long as humanly possible. Either way, it won't matter - Apple will get you, and if not, tech in general will and someday you'll have to move on no matter what, so may as well just get it over with and embrace it. Especially if you are playing in the expensive Apple ecosystem, why are you complaining? They are already saying there will be an adapter (oh the outcry of a $20 adapter for your $800 phone!!) and could you imagine the pissing and moaning if Apple said F you and there wasn't going to be an adapter? People here are never happy with anything.

Also I'm holding my iPod touch 6G in my hand (which most people have never probably held since it's a dead product) and while I've never been one to care too much about thinness, I have to admit the iPod touch 6G thickness is absolutely sublime. This is the sweet spot for the thickness of the iPhone of the future. Think how chunky/clunky the 6/6S will look when people get used to a 6mm thick phone. Don't believe me? Pick up a touch 6G and see for yourself.

To be quite frank, if it were up to the denizens of macrumors and how they complain year in year out about the phones getting any thinner, the iPhone 7 would be as thick as an iPhone 3G. People complained the 4 was too thin FFS. How many of those people today could go back to that thick brick? Battery in the 6/6S is better than the battery in the 4 too. Technology moves on, and I'm on board. You guys had to see this coming 4-5 years ago.


I agree with you that people need to quit having unrealistic expectations about the cost of keeping up with technology. Gadgets are expensive and they aren't going to get cheaper. And as you rightly point out, Apple's particular sandbox is (arguably) the priciest around (I'd say Samsung and Microsoft give them a run for their money, though- the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus base model is more expensive than the 6s Plus, and Microsoft is the master of nickel and dimeing for their "services"). I also generally think that Apple products get you what you paid for- a better device for a premium cost. I've tried out an LG G4 and a Surface Pro and found them both to be very subpar in regards to hardware design relative to Apple's offerings.

That being said, there are times when it's pretty obvious that a company is doing a cash grab, and I think it's fair to be annoyed by it. Take Apple's $80 disc drives, $50 Lightning to HDMI converter, $750 phone and $630 tablet with 16 GB of storage, $100 Pencil, or the $1300 Core M MacBook that's slower than an iPad. Sure, a fancy device is going to cost a premium, but there's a difference between "premium" and "price-gouging."

For what it's worth, I think the iPhone 5/5s design was the best. It didn't have a protruding camera, wasn't made entirely of plastic, and didn't have a (fragile) glass back. A little small, though. :p It being just a tad thicker than the iPhone 6 doesn't really matter to me.
 
I don't know about you, but most people I know with battery-driven devices don't do road trips and intercontinental flights every other day, so your issue is what you'd call niche.
What happens if Apple takes away the choice by removing the headphone jack? Also, one of the greatest advantages of the current 3.5mm standard is that you can buy new headphones for a few bucks on every corner of the world in case you forget or lose yours. Try that with some fancy Apple Lightning adapter or Bluetooth headsets.

If true, this is just another boneheaded move by an Apple that increasingly ignores the real-world usage of their products for the sake of some weird obsession with thinness, just like it did with the stupid single-port Macbook.
 
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I'm excited. The headphone jack is 60+year old technology and needs to be gone. Most audio devices I've owned that failed was because of oxidation of the headphone jack causing static. My only concern is creating a new universal standard. Dumping the headphone jack would be reason enough to upgrade.

I agree that the headphone jack is absolutely outdated technology and needs to be improved upon- it seems to have lasted a really long time solely because it's small and inconspicuous. But Apple is looking to put it in the Lightning port, which is proprietary. Maybe a USB-C style standard would be better?
 
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Can an audiophile tell me if this is good or not?

From an audio quality standpoint, it really makes no difference - the existing lightning port is already able to output a digital signal to an outboard DAC which allows you to use the iPhone as a pure 'transport' that does nothing but deliver the raw data to the outboard DAC and amplifier of your choice. However, this is awkward and bulky in the best of times - there are some that are meant to be used in-line with your headphones, but they are rare, and still you have a large bulge hanging off your phone.

The huge downside is that every pair of headphones people have will no longer be compatible with the iPhone without using some sort of lightning adapter which will have to include a DAC, making it bulky and expensive (see the existing lightning to 30-pin adapters, which include a DAC to get an idea of what this will look like). Since the vast majority of users get by with lightweight earbuds, now those earbuds would either need such an adapter or have this $30 part built-in which adds cost and complexity. Given that the iPhone by and large has an above-average DAC and amplifier for a portable device, any such adapter is likely to reduce quality rather than improve it. Right now the iPhone is a fabulous portable music device because it can drive even expensive in-ear monitors which are very sensitive to hiss perfectly silently. Relying on an external converter would be a disaster.
 
The phone is too thin. The jack just works. The problem with the headphones are they pop out of your ears all the time. Come with a wrap around the ear to keep them in place and move on to something that actually matters, like making the phone slightly thicker and beefing up the battery.

Also, make the chords 2 feet longer or offer a wireless option for the earbuds and ear wrap. Then move the volume control down to the Y of the chord. Where it is right now snags on clothing constantly. It's a PITA that constantly happens during walks/jogs.

Wake me when Ive retires or just leaves Apple. The man is beyond irritating at this point.
 
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Do whatever you want Apple but please use the extra space to improve battery life. It is thin enough!
 
If they do this; after owning all iPhones since the 3G, it will be a dealbreaker. I'd switch to Android.


I actually think that, if this is true, they will find a decent way to implement it. I remember the same level of vitriol towards Apple and the same "I'll leave" kind of animus when they ditched the floppy disk. For real.
 
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