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Apple Surveying MacBook Pro Users About Headphone Jack and Other Ports

brand said:
What are you going to replace your MacBook Pro, iPhone, and iPad with when they remove the audio port?

Its one thing to say you will do something and another thing entirely to actually do it.
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Lol, it simple. I will actually switch completely to PC and sell all my iMacs and Macbook Pros. I've been a loyal customer for decades, but they'll never get my business with decisions like these. The MacBook Pro line already lacks enough USB ports for a regular working musician. It's annoying to constantly add more accessories to perform basic functions.
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BeefCake 15 said:
Get rid of that useless Thunderbolt port and get us USB-C, users of TB are more of a minority than the headphone jack ones...
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Yep Thunderbolt is
Michael Brian Bentley said:
There was a time when Apple laptops (this is from memory of an old old MBP) did not have audio jacks. I also remember using a Plantronics headset with a USB connector with my MBP17 at the time, around 2008, and Mac OS X had problems with secure wifi and audio support through USB.

I personally do not need an audio jack present. I currently connect a pair of old Bose speakers to the laptop via that jack but it isn't critical it be a simple audio jack.
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What are you talking about. I still have a 2006 Powerbook, 2010 MBP, and 2013 MBP. They all have headphone jacks.
 
I want them to send me this survey so I can say, "YES, I use the headphone jack literally EVERY DAY on my 15" MacBook pro AND my iPhone."
 
Mac Fly (film) said:
You've a lot to learn. Without Apple the tech world would be a steaming pile where Flash and resistive touch screens reign supreme. Single use ports days' are numbered.
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It's actually a dual use port since they already removed the Mic input a few years ago to combine it with the headphone jack.
 
aaronhead14 said:
I want them to send me this survey so I can say, "YES, I use the headphone jack literally EVERY DAY on my 15" MacBook pro AND my iPhone."
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Unless there is massive backlash from consumers regarding the 3.5mm jack removal on the iPhone, I think we will never see it again on the iPhone.

So then if Apple has the courage to follow their own marketing crap, they should remove the 3.5mm jack on every device they make, of course to match their comments of "the 3.5mm jack is obsolete" or "we had the courage to remove the 3.5mm jack".

Well Apple, let's see how much courage you really have. Go ahead and remove the 3.5mm jack on every device you make and see what consumers think of you then.

What a mess.
 
falainber said:
That's plain false. Wired headphones are sold (as part of a package) with every smartphone. They outsell BT headphones probably by two orders of magnitude at least.
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I can buy some for $1 at retail, so hey, yeah they outsell for sure.
On Alibaba, even decent ones you could get in bulk of a 100 for less than $5-8 bucks each.

In 3 years, Wireless headphones at the low end will be barely more expensive, maybe selling for $3-4 dollars retail, while good ones will go for $10 minimum. That's how cheap things can get when mass produced in Asia.
By that time, wired will be quaint for most people. Time will have moved on.
 
Val-kyrie said:
I have 2 Macs wired via Ethernet and file transfer is much faster (and more reliable) than wireless.
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Honestly, I've never had an experience where wireless was ever superior to wired. The same, maybe. but never better. I've always had problems with the reliability of wireless anything on my Macs, at least relative to wired everything else.
 
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It's just ludicrous. There is no reason whatsoever to be eliminating the headphone jack, SD card slot and HDMI port - when we're paying for a FULLY functional MacBook Pro. I don't want to have to be adding annoying, flimsy dongle adaptors all over the place just to make the MacBook functional. It's ridiculous. I pay the extra bucks for a MacBook Pro because it makes my life and work easier. When it stops doing that - which it will if they eliminate all of these ports - then I'll stop buying from Apple.

I use the SD slot on a regular basis because it's a fast, easy way to transfer files and photos that requires little clicking and scrolling.

I've already made a firm decision to hang on to my iphone 6 because I value the headphone jack and refuse to buy an iphone that doesn't have one. (I'm hoping they bring it back for the iphone 8). While I own PowerBeats bluetooth earphones and they sound great, I still use regular earphones at least half of the time. Why? Because the bluetooth headset has a battery, which has to be recharged - and the headset is generally more fragile and susceptible to breaking than regular earphones. (I'm on my second pair of PowerBeats in less than a year).

Why would I want to pay big bucks for an iphone that requires me to plug my earphone into an adaptor - instead of directly into the phone - when this would make it bulky and more susceptible to fraying, damage and shorting out? There's a much bigger chance of wires shorting out when you have two sets of connections and two sets of wires instead of one. Of course - I'm guessing this is exactly the reason Apple is doing this - More money for Apple when people have to buy replacement adaptors and replacement bluetooth headsets. cha-ching! Soooooo greedy. And shameful. ... If they bring this ridiculous approach to the MacBook Pro, I will have to move to "the dark" side - back to PCs.
 
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Avenged110 said:
Honestly, I've never had an experience where wireless was ever superior to wired. The same, maybe. but never better. I've always had problems with the reliability of wireless anything on my Macs, at least relative to wired everything else.
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I agree, wireless is cool, but I have also found wireless to sometimes not be as reliable as wired. There have been times in the past when I experienced a Wi-Fi speed or connection issue, so instead of messing around, I simply connected an Ethernet cable. Bluetooth headphones are cool, but every once in awhile a have seen a pairing issue. Ninty-nine percent of the time, my iPhone pairs with my car, but once in awhile I have to reboot the phone and/or restart the car to get a good pairing/sync, or simply break the pairing and repair the phone.

Don't get me wrong, if wireless was as reliable as wired connections, it would be fantastic and I am not saying wireless is fraught with problems, it's not. I do see wireless connectivity continuing to improve, but there still seem to be those anomalies where a wired connection is still superior.
 
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brand said:
What are you going to replace your MacBook Pro, iPhone, and iPad with when they remove the audio port?

Its one thing to say you will do something and another thing entirely to actually do it.
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What will people do? Go back to PCs, of course, where they still listen to what consumers want and still offer all of the ports people want and need.
 
"Not sure" being a genuine option, seriously?

How about more on-target options like:

Always
Often
Sometimes
Rarely
Never
Only when in public places
Not even in public places so they can enjoy my idea of what music is since only mine is right

etc?

Apple's already stepped into the market, with wireless devices, so maybe if Apple can do something good for the industry by promoting replaceable open standard li-ion power supplies instead of encouraging more of the same closed proprietary and more expensive alternatives... oh, wait, that helps the customer and environment and we can't have that. How come nobody on Apple's engineering staff or director board can think of these things that have been in the market for long enough to see genuinely beneficial-on-multiple-levels feature opportunities? Of course, the predominant reason is also cynical, but if Apple can change so can all the critics afterward.
 
Wow, when I read this article the obvious conclusion to me is that these ports are already gone and they're trying to figure out which accessories to include in the box. Sorry guys, but welcome to the future.

Anyway, hardware being released in 2016 is fully baked at this point, so there is no other reason to survey these types of questions at this time.
 
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melody-nyc said:
It's just ludicrous. There is no reason whatsoever to be eliminating the headphone jack, SD card slot and HDMI port - when we're paying for a FULLY functional MacBook Pro. I don't want to have to be adding annoying, flimsy dongle adaptors all over the place just to make the MacBook functional. It's ridiculous. I pay the extra bucks for a MacBook Pro because it makes my life and work easier. When it stops doing that - which it will if they eliminate all of these ports - then I'll stop buying from Apple.

I use the SD slot on a regular basis because it's a fast, easy way to transfer files and photos that requires little clicking and scrolling.

I've already made a firm decision to hang on to my iphone 6 because I value the headphone jack and refuse to buy an iphone that doesn't have one. (I'm hoping they bring it back for the iphone 8). While I own PowerBeats bluetooth earphones and they sound great, I still use regular earphones at least half of the time. Why? Because the bluetooth headset has a battery, which has to be recharged - and the headset is generally more fragile and susceptible to breaking than regular earphones. (I'm on my second pair of PowerBeats in less than a year).

Why would I want to pay big bucks for an iphone that requires me to plug my earphone into an adaptor - instead of directly into the phone - when this would make it bulky and more susceptible to fraying, damage and shorting out? There's a much bigger chance of wires shorting out when you have two sets of connections and two sets of wires instead of one. Of course - I'm guessing this is exactly the reason Apple is doing this - More money for Apple when people have to buy replacement adaptors and replacement bluetooth headsets. cha-ching! Soooooo greedy. And shameful. ... If they bring this ridiculous approach to the MacBook Pro, I will have to move to "the dark" side - back to PCs.
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The simple answer is that Apple says the 3.5mm is obsolete, even if there are billions (that's with a B) of devices that use the 3.5mm jack. Apple is saying they have courage, which I take to mean the rest of us don't have courage. Apple is saying they are smarter than we are and will do whatever they want, the rest of us can be dammed for all they care.
 
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Well this is a very bad development.

How many of us like to use headphones while we use our computers?

Probably most of us.

Wireless just doesn't cut it for an audiophile, and often not even a regular user.

Already looking at what Android phone I could get instead of an iPhone next upgrade...

I really don't want to have to go back to buying PCs... and I hope Apple isn't this determined to chase away anyone who likes sound...
 
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DCINKC said:
Agreed


Good post. I was thinking about doing one similar to it but you beat me to it. I'm always amazed at the level of angst whenever Apple changes anything and at the statements that it's "over for Apple" and "Steve would never had done" this or that. One of the reasons that I purchase Apple products is because they tend not to hold on to legacy technology the way manufacturers do.
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Like still offering a 5400rpm drive in a $1500.00 Imac? Or maybe you are referring to their "Superdrives" that can't even read Blu-rays?
 
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There will no longer be a MacBook Pro. There will only be MacBook. To get "Pro" you will need a USB C adapter that gives you a lightning port and then you'll need an adapter to turn your lightning port into a single USB type A and a headphone jack.
 
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bitslap47 said:
No, I didn't forget about fiber optic at all. The on-board optical is typically not used in a studio environment. Again, I have not seen those ports used, and if they are used it is not in a critical capacity.

The Pro Engineers aren't going to abandon Macs over removal of these ports.

Feel free to prove me wrong if they do and there is verifiable detriment to Apple's market share.

I'll expect to never hear from you on the subject though ;)
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'Pro Engineer'? Remind me again when DJ's and bands were called 'Pro Engineers'?
Also I didn't realise film editors and photographers were called 'Pro Engineers' either.
 
I didn't use any of these ports on my rMBP, all i would keep is probably 2 x usb-c and MagSafe.

I have a rMB now and don't miss any of them.
 
Apple: 'there is no space in our pro line of computers for a headphone port, no space, no go buy some bt earpods pretty please." btw " we are also thinking of removing the data features on that single usb c port as well. everything wireless or proprietary yay!"
 
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