Apple Supplier Cirrus Logic Releases Kit for Creating Lightning-Based Headphones Ahead of iPhone 7

[Uofmtiger]

Personally, I don't see a reason for getting rid of it, but I will wait to see how they explain it to see if it makes any sense. As for lightning sounding better, it will depend on the headphones and the lighting adapter (DAC/amp) you use. As was already mentioned, you can use an external DAC with a lightning adapter already, so this isn't giving us something new from the lightning adapter, it is just eliminating the much more popular option.

For me, it would be a very minor issue since I rarely ever use the headphone output. I currently use Airplay, Bluetooth, or a Dragonfly DAC paired to the current lightning port (much easier to access with some cases I use). I know I am the exception to the rule, but each person will have to make a cost/benefit (of new features) analysis before upgrading. It definitely doesn't sound like a smart move on the surface, but I will wait for Apple to explain before completely passing judgment.

 

[Jakexb]

Yeah, too bad you missed the most important part: "high-performance DAC and headphone driver". In this quote they are referring the the amplifier (and called it a headphone driver).

Way back in the other Lightning headphone thread I already explained this. The DAC is only one component. The amplifier that drives your headphones is also very important. Not all amps can properly drive all headphones, especially ones that use unconventional drivers (like planars). By having your own custom amplifier you can choose to use whatever headphone drivers you like, regardless of their impedance of other qualities. This will have a significant effect on audio quality and output levels.

The thing for me is that you can do that now, if you want to.

 

[s15119]

I'm sure joggers are going to love the more expensive, thicker, wider, bulkier cable. Hooray "progress" !!!

Apple no longer cares about stupid "users". If they make things easier for developers but worse for users, that's the CORRECT call for the idiots running Apple today. If they make it much harder for users, but more profitable for Beats... THAT is the correct call.

Essentially, the exact OPPOSITE of what Apple used to stand for. They've "gained the world, but lost their soul"

On a scale of 1 to 10... Apple cares about phones, watches and cars(wtf?) at a 10 level. Computers are less than 1.
On a scale of 1 to 10... Apple cares about Apple, Beats, and Wall Street projections at a 10 level. They care about users at a level of 2.

If Apple could make an iPhone with ZERO connectors.... they absolutely would. This stems from Mr. Ives insane desire to remove EVERYTHING to accommodate his clean lines and aesthetic concerns. From a software and hardware standpoint... Ives believes that the best feature is one that has been REMOVED. He keeps talking about it, but the sooner Ives retires the better.

Personally, i think this is the line in the sand. "User Hostile" doesn't go far enough. People are NOT going to go for this. It's just laughable to think that average Joe users are going to think this is "better" or an "improvement". In every possible way it's a step in the wrong direction.

They are already losing phone market share, this will accelerate this at a level that Ives, Ferengi and Cook aren't ready for. They are going to face actual "backlash" that will make the Final Cut X fiasco look like a warm hug. They could wave that away by blaming those bastard "power users" ( you know.... those bastards that kept Apple afloat during 1990-2007 ). Average persons are going to view this ( correctly ) as a huge middle finger and buy a Samsung. And only a massive sales decline in PHONES will get Apple's attention.... maybe.

Watches are not a success, iPhones are losing market share, and they barely make computers anymore. Well played Apple. Big raises for everybody !!!

Apple WITH Steve Jobs... insanely great!!
Apple withOUT Steve Jobs... just insane

Sounds like you're in the wrong forum. You should shop elsewhere.

 

[bobborries]

Really!? You can't think of a single way in which this can be easily accomplished without buy anything extra?



Do you know how many 3.5mm cables I've had fail in my lifetime? Well I don't either, but it's far more than any Lightning cable I've ever used fail -- which is zero. And I must plug and unplug my Lightning cable that came with my first 5s, several dozen times a day. Still works perfectly as the day it was new.

No, I mean the other end, the port on the iPhone not the cable that goes into it.
[doublepost=1467234938][/doublepost]

My phone has fallen out of my pocket while biking with headphones in, and I sometimes also get the wire caught on something by accident. If I was using Lightning headphones, both the connector and the cable would surely have been totally wrecked by now.

BTW, did you check if there's crud in your connector? I used to have problems charging my phone, and I solved them by poking around in there with a needle to pull out lint and scape off caked-on dust.

Good tip, thanks

 

[jdillings]

Having a thick connector on lightning based headphones to house the DAC is going to make them DOA in the eyes of the public.

 

[PotatoLeekSoup]

Natural progression. Like ditching the floppy drive or Ethernet jacks.

 

[citysnaps]

The day Apple gets rid of the headphone jack is the day I stop buying iPhones.

No way I want some pathetic lightning cable that frays even when stuck in one place and isn't moved.

Yup. Heard the same thing when Apple canned floppy and optical drives on computers. Guess they'll be doomed. Again...

 

[The Game 161]

people will find it hard to adjust at the time but people will get used to it like they have done previously with changes. It will still sell like crazy that i'm sure of.

 

[pat500000]

This is great. The next iPhone will be for those who won't need to use music app anymore. I won't be able to listen to music without wireless mic which I won't.

 

[EricTheHalfBee]

The thing for me is that you can do that now, if you want to.

Sure you can, with headphones from companies like Audeze. But with something official from Apple on the next iPhone (and now a major company like Cirrus providing a developer kit), we should start seeing a LOT more choices. And Apple might also update iOS with new features to support advanced functions for Lightning equipped headphones. Some that I can think of are:

- Downloadable EQ profiles. You have a "standard" Lightning MFi adapter from any company of your choosing. You buy headphones and download a profile which gets loaded into your cable. Now your cable/DAC/AMP is optimized for your headphones. This could go further with the ability to store more than one profile if you have more than one set of headphones.
- iTunes introducing a new high-end audio format for music that's downloaded or streamed.
- My daughter is hearing impaired. She could have a special set of earbuds, that when plugged into the iPhone are automatically recognized as the ones she wears in school and signal processing is tuned specifically for classroom learning (making speech more intelligible).

These are probably others, but that's three I could think of right off the top of my head.

 

[GoodWheaties]

Not in the slightest. I believe the current output limit for Lightning is 20ma. Even if they increased it to 50ma, it would still take 60 hours or more (at max continuous volume) to drain your battery. Your iPhone will be dead from other uses long before the headphones will kill your battery.

Just curious, then how is the iPhone 6s only rated at 50 hrs audio playback? I think that is usually rated with the screen off. Not that I wouldn't mind being able to drive better headphones from my phone, but it seems like it would have to make an impact on battery.

 

[EricTheHalfBee]

Just curious, then how is the iPhone 6s only rated at 50 hrs audio playback? I think that is usually rated with the screen off. Not that I wouldn't mind being able to drive better headphones from my phone, but it seems like it would have to make an impact on battery.

Because the main power draw is NOT the headphones, rather the processor and associated electronics that are all consuming power to decompress and play back your audio (and perform any other background processing even when your iPhone is doing almost nothing). The iPhone 6 headphone jack only puts out around 30mW. The battery in the iPhone 6 could drive headphones at 30mW for 300 hours.

 

[Galley]

Hopefully this will mean higher end headphones with detachable 3.5mm cables will be able to have a lightning cable with DAC used instead. I have a pair of B&W P7s which are in the "made for iphone" program. It would be handy if B&W make a lightning cable with DAC that can be purchased separately. Would save me from having waste money buying new headphones.

Sony just introduced a new set of headphones designed for Hi-Res Audio that uses interchangeable cables: USB, Lightning and 3.5mm.

 

[McScooby]

Sony just introduced a new set of headphones designed for Hi-Res Audio that uses interchangeable cables: USB, Lightning and 3.5mm.

Wouldn't base too much on that, they've had the MDR-1ADAC out for a few years. I was tempted to buy until I found out that:
1) iPhone doesn't have hi-res natively, even with headphones;
2) While it has lightning cable, you can't answer / receive calls when using them (something to do with the DAC)

 

[macs4nw]

.....Let Tim stew on a few million useless iPhones that no one wants. That will teach apple to be more consumer aware

Or you could say they're bold and willing to take some heat to advance technology. A few years years from now, after a bit of an inconvenient transition period, we'll all be blissfully enjoying higher-quality audio from our iDevices, and no-one will miss their 3.5mm jacks.

 

[Bluestrike2]

Or you could say they're bold and willing to take some heat to advance technology. A few years years from now, after a bit of an inconvenient transition period, we'll all be blissfully enjoying higher-quality audio from our iDevices, and no-one will miss their 3.5mm jacks.

Using a Lightning cable isn't going to magically result in "higher-quality audio." You might hear it on high-end earphones that have a quality DAC and amplifier built into them. Cheap headphones will come with cheap DACs, just at a slighter higher cost to cover the increased cost of the additional components. At best, you'll get something comparable to what you have now with your iPhone but at an increased size. The smaller they try to make the earbuds, the greater the tradeoffs in audio quality now that you have to cramp an amp + DAC combo inside them.

It isn't an advance in technology. It's just a shift; it moves components from inside the phone to your earphones. That's it.

If you want higher quality audio, you'll have to pay. That's no different than it is today. Look for whatever advantages you might think a single connector could offer, I suppose, but don't set unreasonable expectations for yourself.

 

[benji888]

...

• Can charge my phone and use external headphones or speakers at the same time!

...

Uh, no, if headphones are plugged into lightning port, can't use that port to charge unless you have special connector that has a second port. What we see here does not have this extra port.

I would only be ok with this if apple includes wireless charging with this iPhone!

But, why would apple make such a major change now and not for the 10th anniversary iPhone next year? I'm not sure if these rumors are real, or pertaining to this year's iPhone... Apple has been known to have more than one prototype. Anyone remember iPhone 5 rumors and all we got was the 4s? That slanted iPhone 5 never made it to production.

I could see headphone jack removal and wireless charging next year, not this year. They'd have to give us something not just take away for sake of thinness.

 

[The Game 161]

This is great. The next iPhone will be for those who won't need to use music app anymore. I won't be able to listen to music without wireless mic which I won't.

Thats simply not true at all. I use Music alot and using earbuds isn't an issue at all.

wireless headphones are the way forward anyway

 

[eltaurus]

get ready to buy multiple headphone, as we all know how strong and unbreakable lighting cables are .. how many charging cables u bought

 

[NEC2016]

I swear Apple could make an iPhone where it would self destruct after 6 months and you must buy a new phone and you'd still buy it and call it revolutionary.

 

[Uofmtiger]

Uh, no, if headphones are plugged into lightning port, can't use that port to charge unless you have special connector that has a second port. What we see here does not have this extra port.

The way that is done now is with the new camera connection kit that has USB and lighting inputs. They could just as easily make an adapter that has two lightning ports for those that want to charge while listening to headphones.

 

[tubeexperience]

How about Apple do things people actually want like getting rid of Lighting and go with USB-Type C?

 

[falainber]

Sounds like you're in the wrong forum. You should shop elsewhere.

One can shop here? Who knew.

 

[tubeexperience]

It's the beginning of the end for 3.5mm jack.... And it scares me.

Lol, no it isn't.

 

[Mac 128]

Uh, no, if headphones are plugged into lightning port, can't use that port to charge unless you have special connector that has a second port. What we see here does not have this extra port.

I would only be ok with this if apple includes wireless charging with this iPhone!

But, why would apple make such a major change now and not for the 10th anniversary iPhone next year? I'm not sure if these rumors are real, or pertaining to this year's iPhone... Apple has been known to have more than one prototype. Anyone remember iPhone 5 rumors and all we got was the 4s? That slanted iPhone 5 never made it to production.

I could see headphone jack removal and wireless charging next year, not this year. They'd have to give us something not just take away for sake of thinness.

Two immediate ways to do this -- a pass through Lightning connector on the headphone cable, and a pass-through Lightning connector on the headphones themselves, which also allow your friends to daisy-chain via your headphones to share your music without a headphone splitter adapter.

Then there's the rumor of the smart connector which could allow charging.

I also believe there might be some very inexpensive earbuds like these pictured (which I don't believe are Apple's), which are designed to be cheap, and for brief uses, not complete functionality. This issue of charging and listening to headphones comes up a lot on these forums, but I'm not convinced that the majority of iPhone users actually do this, or even a significant percentage. And for the ones who need it, they will buy the type of headphone cable that provides it, assuming Apple doesn't provide an alternate method of charging.