Apple Preparing Fix for Glitch Causing Lightning EarPods Remote to Stop Working

[PowerGala]

I have never seen the CD as a direct replacement for the floppy disk. They both had very different use cases. I am not going to burn a presentation to a CD and pass it around, for one. USB would only come later.

The removal of the headphone jack will usher in a new generation of Bluetooth headphones and help spur their adoption. If you look at what Apple has done with the airpods, it's clearly Gen1 of a new wave of wearables designed to bring Siri to your ears (and subsequently other sensors and trackers).

Either way - my stance is this. What's done is done. The headphone jack is gone from the iPhone and it is never coming back, however much people whine. The people who think Apple is doing this simply to sell more headphones and adaptors for a quick buck clearly don't know Apple, what Apple stands for, nor do they understand how Apple does business.

You can either continue to complain and hold out for as long as you can, switch to a competing platform, or you can embrace the future as prophesied by Apple. It will make no difference either way.

Wired mechanical keyboards are still superior to Bluetooth keyboards, so I don't see wireless headphones coming close to wired anytime soon.

If Apple gets enough backlash they'll back off on the stupid proprietary headset ports like Microsoft and Nintendo did before them. If not, then I'm sure someone will sell me a detachable cable by the time I need to replace my 6S so it's not the end of the world. I'm honestly more upset by the touch pad replacing the home button.

...If Apple truly wants to get on the all wireless train, then they should have probably started with wireless charging. That's actually something I want and it's been available on Android for years. Hell, even my toothbrush has wireless charging for crying out loud.

Yes, the floppy was around for 100 years before it was replaced.
I didn't morn the loss of the floppy as I used it very rarely. For my use case, the headphone jack is used on a daily basis in various settings.

I use my headphones 8+ hours a day every day at work. It's primarily hooked up to the computer to save on data, but I use my iPhone quite a lot with it too. I've also had the same pair for about 8 years and they're still rock solid.

 

[AZ63]

Good luck waiting for a headphone jack on the next iPhone.

Unless Apple's internal numbers tell them they are under selling in big numbers, the new phone is already past that design phase and next year will be without.
That doesn't mean that they wouldn't create an upgraded 6SE with a headphone jack.
That is my only hope. If not I ride this 6s as long as possible and give my money to another company.

 

[Hanzu Lao]

I shall order a recall immediately. This is outrageous.

 

[Kaibelf]

The 3.5mm jack will be around for another 100 years...

So far the removal of the jack has been nothing but a pain in the ass all around.

Yeah these past FOUR days have practically destroyed civilization.

 

[AZ63]

I think you were heard when that dongle was free in the box? The fidelity of that jack wasn't very hot, btw - this path leads to even better sounding headphones with built in DAC. But I'd like to see AirPlay headphones show up, to be honest.

So where does this fabulous DAC go in your awesome EarPods? Oh, I mean incredibly small and cheap DAC.

 

[HEK]

So where does this fabulous DAC go in your awesome EarPods? Oh, I mean incredibly small and cheap DAC.

Oh you mean like the incredibly small SoC that has 3.3 Billion transistors. Small don't mean cheap. What's on the W1 chip?

 

[AZ63]

That's because Samsung was a bunch of wusses who lacked the conviction to stand behind their design choices.

Apple has a plan to usher in the 2nd wave of wearable technology starting with Airpods and they are not going to let something as inconsequential as a small group of audiophiles being inconvenienced by the lack of a headphone jack stand in their way.

We are on the precipice of a post-iPhone era and the only thing some people can focus on is that they can no longer plug in their wired headphones and charge at the same time. Talk about being shortsighted and completely missing the forest for the trees.

You aren't the only one hoping that Apple screws up. My advice - save your energy. People bet against Apple to their own detriment.

Or maybe, Samsung wanted to make a phone people would buy.

 

[s1m]

People are still complaining about the removal of the jack? Why is anyone using Apple EarPods?

 

[AZ63]

Oh you mean like the incredibly small SoC that has 3.3 Billion transistors. Small don't mean cheap. What's on the W1 chip?

Not the DAC

 

[s1m]

Or maybe, Samsung wanted to make a phone people would buy.

But they didn't make a phone that wouldn't explode and they had to do a full recall. I would rather have a phone that some people didnt like (which is fine for me) than one which has stuff I dont use and could kill me.

 

[AZ63]

But they didn't make a phone that wouldn't explode and they had to do a full recall. I would rather have a phone that some people didnt like (which is fine for me) than one which has stuff I dont use and could kill me.

Like Apple never had a battery issue. At least Samsung didn't tell everyone they were charging it wrong.

 

[Abazigal]

Or maybe, Samsung wanted to make a phone people would buy.

And therein lies the difference between Apple and Samsung.

One skating to where the puck will be, vs another doomed to forever be chasing pucks.

 

[Icaras]

If not a majority of Apple customers, there is a loudly vocal minority who will not stand for the removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack without a non-proprietary solution that can transmit audio at the same fidelity as the 3.5mm jack. We will be heard.

No, you will be forgotten. As Apple's history on legacy tech as proven time and time again.

 

[AZ63]

So you're buying the iPhone 7 while complaining? Mind = 'blown'

Nope, not buying. 6s please and thank you.

 

[tentales]

Very much this.

There is a large group of people on these forums for whom it is unthinkable that Apple would do anything wrong. It's always the users fault and the users should go buy products from Samsung instead of complaining.

Similar to US politics, it's all black & white these days, nuance and etiquette are apparently as old as the headphone jack and have been replaced by shouting, rudeness and utter disrespect.

Anyone remember the early days of MR, like around 2003 (when I first joined..) and discourse was a lot less fanboy-ism and Apple bashing.

These days there are 3 main camps, the zealots, the haters (usually Droiders) and the disgruntled/disappointed ex-Apple cheerleaders. I would count myself in the last camp.

FWIW, the headphone jack should've remained for now until there was a viable, technically superior solution. Proprietary connectors, dongles (really?) and higher priced wireless headphones are not the way to entice buyers going forward.

The iPhone 7 will probably do fairly well in the face of the Note7 debacle and Samsung's ineptness in dealing with the crisis. Granted, they readily admitted to it and similar to VW's Diesels are doing a mea culpa instead of Apple's typical ignore stance / fix silently.

Nevertheless, my point is, I miss respectful discourse as much as the headphone jack. Go ahead, call me old-fashioned.

 

[Icaras]

Okay, 100 year technology works better and is more convenient than Apple's we know best replacement that gives less choice and more inconvenience.

Of course you have choice. Apple isn't the only brand making smart phones. So go to your favorite local or online electronics retailer and knock yourself out on the power of choice.

It's that simple folks.

 

[RedWing512]

Perhaps it would have been better if Apple had designed a 1/16" micro headphone jack rather than this.

Or, they could get over their stupid obsession of making their crap thinner. Then they wouldn't have to worry about "lack of space" and they could have used the same jack.

 

[Icaras]

Talking to people who support the jack removal is like talking to a wall.

Same as talking to people who don't support it. That's why different opinions exist.

 

[RedWing512]

But they didn't make a phone that wouldn't explode and they had to do a full recall. I would rather have a phone that some people didnt like (which is fine for me) than one which has stuff I dont use and could kill me.

Honestly. Any phone you use has the risk of killing you, even an iPhone. All it takes is one bad batch of batteries, and it can happen to anyone. It just so happens that karma is a bitch and Samsung got the short end of the stick after their impressive S7 sales.

 

[JosephAW]

When I unplug my analog headphones on my iPhone 6 it stops playing too. It's supposed to do that.

Maybe the Lightning connection is doing the same thing. Several times a week my apple charger says unsupported device on the lightning connector. Have to unplug and plug in.

 

[doctor-don]

Remember how the 3.5mm jack used to "just work"?

My 3.55mm headphones work just fine on my 6S. Shouldn't have changed it to a proprietary port.

3.55mm? Hmmmm...

Android phones will continue to have the 'antique' 3.5mm headphone jack.

 

[jwdsail]

So let me get this straight, you think that using an onboard DAC to act as a crutch for that old port is the "old standard"? There's nothing analog about that jack that isn't the same as what is in this headset. In fact, when you take a step back and look at this solution vs. the headphone jack, it's even more of a simplification and a return to the "old standard" as it was in the days before CD players.

Using this, a glitch fixable through a software update, as an example of why this whole thing is a failure is reaching so far I think you might just hurt yourself.

The headphones, listening and controlling content, is one of the basic functions of the iPhone. Part of that "It's all one thing" speech. You know, something that "just worked" in the v.1.0 of the iPhone w/o a f'in glitch?

Sigh.

I've been an Apple/Mac user, likely longer than you've been alive, and often wished I had Guy Kawasaki's job. I'm about as far from an Apple hatter/troll as you'll find here, and I'm sorry, but this is just f'in BS. If you want to contort yourself into a pretzel making up BS excuses for incompetency, be my guest! Just don't expect anyone w/ an IQ over 40 to agree with you.

 

[bjet767]

Apple is in total software fail mode at this point..

It's not a total failure and Apple is not in total fail mode. If you have done any amount of development you'd know something as complex as the iPhone and iOS will have bugs and they can't be found until a very large number of users get a hold of the product.

Yes the old headphones work well and the wireless won't plug into an old car sound system with an aux-in port.

Two years from now we'll wonder how we lived with a wire around our necks.

 

[javco]

My lighting EarPods work fine. I've tried many things trying to replicate this problem but the control works perfectly.

 

[smacrumon]

These companies are rushing products to market, and effectively what Apple is delivering is beta versions of devices and software that is fixed and patched along the way. And if first reactions to iPhone 7 is a guide, it is getting worse over the years. How can fans get pumped about iPhone? With the price point Apple occupies, there's real opportunity for a new entrant to take up the space with actually refined and new fresh hardware and software.