That wire has prevented me from completely losing my phone on many occasions!
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Apple May Replace 3.5mm Headphone Jack on iPhone 7 With All-in-One Lightning Connector
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That wire has prevented me from completely losing my phone on many occasions!
Is that a pun on one of the meanings of the word "lead"?
"To conduct or bring (water ,wire ,etc.) in a particular course."
Stupid idea. Very stupid idea. This one is that stupid it could be their undoing. Apple Inc has become a parody of itself.
At least OS X is still the best OS there is.
At least OS X is still the best OS there is.
There are good uses for wireless sound, and I love my Bluetooth speakers that I often use with my iPhone. But for private listening to an iPhone that I'm carrying I find that wired headphones (1) almost always sound better, (2) means one less item to keep charged. IMHO removing the headphone jack is a *huge* mistake.
It’s unlikely that Apple will pay any attention to a petition, but it’s worth a try: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/stop-apple-from-getting-rid-of-headphone-jacks-in
I think this could make more sense if Lightning is ditched as well, in favor of USB-C even on the iPhone.
This could start a new trend of cheap adapters and accessories (including headphones) for multiple brands, and it would also help for USB-C to spread faster across Android devices.
If they're going to kill the 3.5mm jack, they have to flood the market with USB-C audio devices compatible with both iPhones and Androids, because Lightning obviously isn't.
This could start a new trend of cheap adapters and accessories (including headphones) for multiple brands, and it would also help for USB-C to spread faster across Android devices.
If they're going to kill the 3.5mm jack, they have to flood the market with USB-C audio devices compatible with both iPhones and Androids, because Lightning obviously isn't.
I agree that, if you absolutely have to remove the headphone jack, an industry standard such as USB-C would be preferable to Lightning. But if you are looking for inexpensive headphones, this will not help. USB-C does not support analog audio, so every pair of headphones would have to have an inbuilt DAC and amplifier. This can only be achieved by either raising the price or lowering the overall quality of the headphones compared to models with a standard 3.5mm jack. In practice we'd probably end up with a flood of really crappy sounding headphones.
The new standard is wireless. Not Lightning or USB-C. And no, they don't have to flood the market with anything. There will be adapters for those who don't want to go wireless, or proprietary connection. It will take well over 10 years for even a majority of current 3.5mm equipped devices to eliminate them in favor of something else, and during that time a customer will need an adapter for wired connections regardless. By that time USB-C (which is not even a standard yet) could easily be replaced with another "standard", rendering all those USB-C specific devices useless without an adapter. At least Apple has control of Lightning and can offer it as long as they need to regardless of cross-platform market trends.
But when I look at how far Bluetooth and Wifi have come in just 10 years, by the time most 3.5mm devices have been replaced with some kind of digital output, I'm gonna bet wireless audio is going to be pretty amazing, and a lot less expensive.
The market is already flooded with really crappy sounding headphones. If that's the end result of this, then nothing will change. But I'd argue just bringing customer attention to it, might actually push the quality of the average consumer headphone up as they will be more critical, especially if they're spending more -- and prices would drop down quickly to be much more affordable as a result of strong demand.
And let's not forget, Apple will likely give the iPhone 7 customer a pair of free Lightning headphones in the box. So for many, they won't need to buy a new pair. At the most they may have to buy a cheap adapter to use with other 3.5mm equiped audio devices, like on Airplanes.
Moreover, if this comes to pass, I'll bet most headphone makers will include an analogue and digital cord option, whether Bluetooth or not, as many do now. Which means the DAC can be bypassed, and the customer will be able to hear the difference themselves, listening to the same source plugged into an analogue 3.5mm port, as well as a digital source. Customers won't stand for a major drop in audio quality between the two, and they won't likely buy headphones without both options.
this,
anyone with basic sense would know everything is going to be invested towards wireless.
lol usb-c? for phones its going to be wireless.
As maybe the only person in this thread who is wearing a pair of lightning cable headphones right now... I've had a few months with them now and have some new thoughts/observations.
I have Sony MDR-1adac over ear headphones. They have a built in DAC. Require charging to use digitally. Come with a lightning cable, USB cable, mini USB, and a standard headphone cable that allows you to bypass the internal DAC and use the headphones traditionally. These are $250-ish right now.
I've now entirely given up on using the Lightning connection with these. Once they are plugged into the phone, the volume control on the phone is bypassed. I cannot control the volume using the phone or my Apple Watch, I must instead feel around for a volume wheel on the headphones themselves. Similarly, EQ functions on the phone have no effect when using an external DAC as well, which makes sense.
Pressing the power button on the headphones does not turn them on, you must hold the power button for 3 seconds. This is the same to shut them off. There is no auto-off system. If you forgot to hold the power button for the full 3 seconds, the next time you go to use the headphones... They're dead. THANKFULLY, you can carry around a separate headphone cable and use them through the headphone jack when that happens, because, THANKFULLY, my current iPhone has a headphone jack.
But here is the big thing. These headphones sound better analog. The iPhone's current DAC is arguably one of the best sounding phone DACs. Without a doubt, podcasts sound far better in these headphones analog, with far more presence in the voice. With the external DAC, the sound is more transparent... Good for some types of music, but it can make voices sound weak. I'd say music is 50/50 split between the internal and external DAC. Some albums sound better one way and some sound better the other... It is honestly a matter of mastering at that point.. As I'm pretty convinced that the iPhone's sound signature is more well rounded overall, especially when you consider podcasts and phone calls.
I've also listened to these headphones on my computer through USB and analog into my high end sound card. The sound card blows the internal DAC out of the water and shows that these are really, really good headphones, as long as you forget the whole digital thing.
I've also listened to FLAC files on these through a Fiio DAP using the headphone jack... It blew away the quality of the same FLAC files played through the Lightning connection using Korg's iAudiogate app on the iPhone.
I do not regret purchasing these great headphones, however, I've put the Lightning and charging cables in a drawer. They are a hassle that does not improve audio quality, and sometimes hinders it. It is also nice to not need to switch out cables every time I switch between devices.
I am someone who won't have to spend a dime if Apple ditches the headphone jack and I am saying that it is a bad idea.
The idea that the headphone jack is antiquated tech is silly. That would be like saying that Apple should ditch the camera because lenses have been around for over 2,000 years.
The DAC is an essential part of a device that can output sound, without it, the iPhone is a hard drive and not a music player. One of the upsides of spending $700 on an iPhone is that you get a decent DAC, so that you don't need to spend hundreds on a pair of headphones to get good sound. I've owned/tried many pairs of headphones around the $300 range. Maybe my favorite pair is only $40 though. The Sony MDR-V55. Grab a pair of those and plug them into your iPhone... They're fantastic. When you consider that Sony can't even outperform the iPhone DAC in their flagship headphones, I wouldn't hold my breath for the type of DAC they'd put into a budget pair like the V55.
I have Sony MDR-1adac over ear headphones. They have a built in DAC. Require charging to use digitally. Come with a lightning cable, USB cable, mini USB, and a standard headphone cable that allows you to bypass the internal DAC and use the headphones traditionally. These are $250-ish right now.
I've now entirely given up on using the Lightning connection with these. Once they are plugged into the phone, the volume control on the phone is bypassed. I cannot control the volume using the phone or my Apple Watch, I must instead feel around for a volume wheel on the headphones themselves. Similarly, EQ functions on the phone have no effect when using an external DAC as well, which makes sense.
Pressing the power button on the headphones does not turn them on, you must hold the power button for 3 seconds. This is the same to shut them off. There is no auto-off system. If you forgot to hold the power button for the full 3 seconds, the next time you go to use the headphones... They're dead. THANKFULLY, you can carry around a separate headphone cable and use them through the headphone jack when that happens, because, THANKFULLY, my current iPhone has a headphone jack.
But here is the big thing. These headphones sound better analog. The iPhone's current DAC is arguably one of the best sounding phone DACs. Without a doubt, podcasts sound far better in these headphones analog, with far more presence in the voice. With the external DAC, the sound is more transparent... Good for some types of music, but it can make voices sound weak. I'd say music is 50/50 split between the internal and external DAC. Some albums sound better one way and some sound better the other... It is honestly a matter of mastering at that point.. As I'm pretty convinced that the iPhone's sound signature is more well rounded overall, especially when you consider podcasts and phone calls.
I've also listened to these headphones on my computer through USB and analog into my high end sound card. The sound card blows the internal DAC out of the water and shows that these are really, really good headphones, as long as you forget the whole digital thing.
I've also listened to FLAC files on these through a Fiio DAP using the headphone jack... It blew away the quality of the same FLAC files played through the Lightning connection using Korg's iAudiogate app on the iPhone.
I do not regret purchasing these great headphones, however, I've put the Lightning and charging cables in a drawer. They are a hassle that does not improve audio quality, and sometimes hinders it. It is also nice to not need to switch out cables every time I switch between devices.
I am someone who won't have to spend a dime if Apple ditches the headphone jack and I am saying that it is a bad idea.
The idea that the headphone jack is antiquated tech is silly. That would be like saying that Apple should ditch the camera because lenses have been around for over 2,000 years.
The DAC is an essential part of a device that can output sound, without it, the iPhone is a hard drive and not a music player. One of the upsides of spending $700 on an iPhone is that you get a decent DAC, so that you don't need to spend hundreds on a pair of headphones to get good sound. I've owned/tried many pairs of headphones around the $300 range. Maybe my favorite pair is only $40 though. The Sony MDR-V55. Grab a pair of those and plug them into your iPhone... They're fantastic. When you consider that Sony can't even outperform the iPhone DAC in their flagship headphones, I wouldn't hold my breath for the type of DAC they'd put into a budget pair like the V55.
Sorry, but you're basing your entire opinion on one set of headphones, which frankly don't sound very well implemented. I've never been a big fan of Sony headphones or speakers, and their quality seems to have dropped dramatically over the last few years as they grasp at straws to keep their sinking company afloat. The only thing worse than Sony's quality is their UI. It takes a complicated manual poorly adapted to English just to figure out how to turn the things on.
Add to that, you're commenting on something Apple hasn't really even addressed. When Beats rolls out a Lightning pair of headphones, along with implementing Apple's Lightning audio guidelines, I fully expect all of your current complaints to be addressed. If not, Apple has a failure on its hands and deserves to take a dive. It's really hard to imagine Apple isn't aware of this.
Thanks Christian for the sensible and honest report. I think many of the uses with a certain level of technical understanding and argued against the removal of the 3.5 mm headphone jack, would have foreseen the hassles and the inconvenience to a certain degree.
I'm basing my opinion on 1 of 2 pairs of Lightning headphones that even exist. But that's not where I'm basing my opinion on sound quality in general. I record and mix audio for movies, as well as movie scores. I do that work on professional monitors, but I also own MANY pairs of monitor headphones. I've returned far more than I own for not cutting it. I've returned or shelved several pairs of Sony headphones absolutely. But also Sennheiser, Shure, Klipsch, AKG, etc. I own IEMs, open, closed, and on-ear sets. The Sony MDR-1adac are great daily drivers for me because they sound good, are comfortable, and block out a lot of sound. The $40 MDR-V55s I mentioned are a damn miracle... Not accurate but a great sound signature that is more "fun" (bass) without being muddy like Beats used to be (I haven't heard recent models, but they used to sound terrible). It was just a coincidence that both models I mentioned were Sony.
There will surely be high end DACs built into expensive headphones in the future if Apple removes the jack. But the current DAC is very, very good. Removing the jack is a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. TRS is not a quality bottleneck in any way. There are analog cables recording albums at ridiculously high resolution. There are analog cables inside Bluetooth headphones.
Nothing about this will be about quality... It will be about making the phone ever slimmer, and at the cost of removing functionality.
This is no different than if Apple removed the sound card from all future Macs. Something they should probably do to make room for a lightning port for those new $300 Beats.
Fair enough, but now you've emphasized that yours is a niche professional opinion, with far higher standards than the average Apple user as well. And audio quality is a highly subjective opinion as well, professional or not. I am very familiar with the world in which you work on a daily basis, and audio in those circumstances is very subjective. While I respect your opinion, you're using one set of headphones to inform a rumored decision which may be made by Apple, without taking into account why, or what Apple intends to do to improve the deficiencies of a single set of headphones from one manufacturer.
And the reality is, the DAC is only a part of the equation. The amps used are going to have a far more important effect on the sound reproduction than the DAC. As for not being able to control the headphones volume and EQ through the iPhone, I'd say Apple will have to offer a solution to that, and one that immediately comes to mind as individual headphone makers start customizing the DAC & amp to their products, is an integrated app that allows the built-in Apple audio controls to sense the headphones installed and allow their control via the parameters specified by the app. Hopefully seamless for the user.
In the end, this meme of "Removing the jack is a solution to a problem that doesn't exist" is tiresome, because none of us know what problem exists that is driving Apple to potentially drop a universally used standard. If they do it, there's obviously a good reason, especially with Apple poised on the precipice of declining profits and stock devaluation. If the competition can keep the headphone jack and offer point for point the same tech as well, Apple will take a huge hit. I'm still not convinced that the 3.5mm jack is that widely used anymore (another reason Apple might chose this time to do this), but it's still widely used, and will be hard to overcome with Apple's usual marketing spin, without a damn good justification, or at a minimum, a flagship phone industry also posed with the same dilemma of removing the jack or not and following suit.
The other meme that this move will not be about quality, and only about making the phone slimmer, is also tiresome. As if Apple is foolish enough to shoot themselves in the foot, and give the competition a strong foothold merely to make a slimmer phone, as if there is no other possible reason. It's cynical at best, unrealistic at worst. If Apple is truly just making a money grab, or elitist design, and has no concern about the quality, then this will absolutely fail, just like if they are doing it in a market where their competition does not have to likewise remove the jack. Assuming even one of those things are true, then the other is necessitated by default or Apple loses it's shirt, as well it should.
And the final cynicism, removing the sound card from all future Macs, is likewise just as ridiculous. With the exception of the rMB which would require removing the 3.5mm jack to add a Lightning port in it's current design, but with the added advantage of a second USB 3 capable data and charging port; most Macs could probably retain the 3.5mm jack while also adding Lightning -- something that actually makes sense as USB-C takes over and a dedicated charging method is desired. But, just like the iPhone, there will always be a need to include a DACs, ADCs and amps to drive speakers and mics. But those are no replacement good quality remote speakers and headphones, just a convenience when higher quality devices aren't available. Even professional studios who do install much higher quality sound cards, or outboard gear, in their Macs, still rely on the built-in speakers every now and then.
Yesterday I took a 12 hrs flight bringing my iPhone and my Shures 1540s along: No need to charge them before the trip, able to use them on my iPhone and the aircraft's entertainment system without any adapter of dongle, etc. Simple, easy and great.
We were extremely lucky in the past that the whole industry agreed upon a standard port, which proved so successful that it has been adopted any- and everywhere. No matter, what country, brand or device. There will probably never again another similar instance of standardization of a port within the industry.
And some of you can't wait to see it go.
Lunatic!
We were extremely lucky in the past that the whole industry agreed upon a standard port, which proved so successful that it has been adopted any- and everywhere. No matter, what country, brand or device. There will probably never again another similar instance of standardization of a port within the industry.
And some of you can't wait to see it go.
Lunatic!
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wireless is going to get better in time sooner or later.
i like my music and i own a pair of M50s and Beat Pros. I plan to get a pair of sennhiesier later on, I love to compare the differences as well.
Especially if i get hands on some high quality audio files.
The average consumer isn't worried about this and its not in their interest to cater to a niche group. Then the 17" MacBooks would still be around.
Wireless Technology is only going to improve and of course the future is going to be headed towards a cable-less route.
I'm sure in times to come, carrying cables would be like carrying a CD-player with multiple CDs a portable source of music.
I do like to collect CDs of my favorite artists though, more as decoration for the home though.
I actually think the average user will be far more upset by this change than audiophiles.
Both of my parents have iPhones. They also only have an auxiliary port in their car, not Bluetooth. They also plug their phone into a boombox by the pool and a very old (but very good) hifi system in the house.
My grandparents both have iPhones. They also both have (probably) decade-old Bose noise cancelling headphones.
The iPhone is 65% of Apple's business because everyone has one, and older generations don't have that burning need to upgrade everything at all times. My grandparents will use those Bose until they break.
Young people are switching to Bluetooth and don't even care if the audio quality has caught up (it is/will). But Apple has A LOT of customers of all kinds.
They even have crazy people as customers... Cause I've been asked if I'm afraid to wear my Apple Watch a few times because of the wireless. These people are never putting Bluetooth on their heads.
companies don't invest money towards the past, they invest money towards the future.
Thats the same thing as if your grandparents still wanted to use CDs in a brand new car rather then use their smartphone. the fact is that although the automobile industry had a more subtle approach in getting rid of the CD player (very slowly), they'll soon get rid of the AUX as well.
Apple is just doing it abruptly because it can. I'm sure damn well American automobile companies wouldn't dare make a bold move as to get abruptly get rid of the CD player early and shoot themselves in the foot. Nor would the Japanese companies want to do it early and give other competition (especially in the US) a chance to catch up.
Nearly all consumer industries could care less (unless their catered to, like senior apparel and technology for senior citizens) about the aging generations.
Companies that offer products like Apple and Toyota aren't going to base their mainline products on 'older generation'. It will always be geared for the future and younger generation.
But i do agree its a bit ballsy to get rid of the 3.5 jack like this and head for a more subtle approach like what the auto industry did with the CD player.
But apple does like to set the standard. They gave us the smartphone, so theres that.
But can it really? Sales are already down for the first time ever. If this phone is not revolutionary in a dozen other different ways, sales might be even worse. I am surely not going to buy it and I usually like to get the newest iPhone just because I am fascinated by the technology. Being water proof and a bit of a better camera might not cut it. If only Android wasn't such a malware ridden OS.