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Apple to Sell Standalone Lightning to 3.5mm Headphone Jack Adapter for $9, Lightning EarPods for $29
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Exactly. In my head it was probably $20.
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Wonder if it has less battery consumption and better sound in older iPhones?
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You get a free adapter and earphones that use the new system already in the new phone. I usually complain about Apple m, but in this case they are atracking it aggressively so that people stop nagging about it havjng no port anymore.
I would guess that the 3.5mm-lightning adapter has a rather simple custom chip that identifies itself when connected with the iPhone and the iPhone then sends L and R analog signals to two of the lightning leads thus using the DAC and analog amp within the iPhone when using the adapter. Otherwise, it's still digital at the lightning port on the iPhone. That's simple and relatively inexpensive for all.
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HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
I think that's a good guess. But after months of arguments about how going through Lightning yields "preserving the digital stream" for "higher quality audio" via "higher quality DACs & AMPs", if you are right- and I suspect you are with this priced at only $9 retail- the net effect is having to roll with an adapter for the very same quality of audio for 3.5mm headphone users. Ummmm, hooray???
I think this is highly unlikely, given that - according to the product page - the adapter works even with the oldest Lightning iPhones and iPods from 2012. We also know that Apple's Lightning-to-30-Pin adapter contains a DAC, which would have been unnecessary if Lightning had supported analog audio all along. So, it seems more likely that the adapter contains a DAC/amp module, and probably not a good one at that price. Of course, it is also possible that Apple is willing to give out this adapter at a loss to help reduce potential backlash over the loss of the headphone jack.
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Age has nothing to do with this. Even the oldest devices are using the same lightning connector. Apple could have simply made a software change to allow lightning to pass analogue audio. (Conveniently after they sold millions of $40 lighting to 30-pin adapters...)
It's not impossible that this new adapter includes some sort of tiny dac/amp, but at that size and price, it's going to be garbage - which would be really unfortunate for people who want to retain use of their high-end headphones. Apple would have killed their reputation as a very solid portable media player in one fell swoop. I'd much prefer they are actually passing analogue audio directly.
Analog output over Lightning would (among other things) require routing the analog audio signal from the amp inside the phone to the Lightning connector via some switching logic. If this wasn't designed into the logic board from the start, it cannot be achieved with a software update.
I can never hear anything over the noise of the plane anyways...
I would hope that anyone heading onto a plane with their iPhone 7 would assumedly prepare in advance and bring the adapter that shipped with their phone in the first place.
I think you're giving far too much credit to the average airline passenger. Savvy fliers will surely come prepared, but thise same folks are also much more likely using something else for audio besides Earpods (which are horrible in environments with high ambient noise such as an airplane) so they would already have to be bringing an adaptor. However "Ma & Pa Kettle" who fly once every five years (if that) likely won't even think twice about it, especially if they haven't flown recently and still think that inflight audio is delivered via a stethoscope style headset.
In any case, it would seem that the cheapest & simplest solution is to just offer earbuds for free to those who need them. Many airlines already do this, particularly on long haul flights. It certainly doesn't seem like a big enough problem to warrant spending millions to add lighting ports to existing IFE setups.
*Edit to add*...
I forgot to mention that $9 is a reasonable price for an Apple adaptor and definitely makes this pill easier to swallow.
On a plane, you need either passive sound isolation (silicon or foam tip that creates a seal with the ear) or active noise cancellation. More open earphones like the Apple earpods that let the noise in don't work well.
There is no adapter to make Lightning headphones work in a 3.5mm jack (it's technically not possible with a simple passive adapter since the headphones only accept a digital signal and a 3.5mm jack cannot power an ADC or the DAC/amp in the headphones).
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$9 seems cheap until I start loosing 3 or 4 of them
Sounds like you have some issues you need to work on. You don't have to lose them if you work in it.
It would help them with their money grab if they would bother to put out new Macs with the lightning connector so it would be an option...No, buy new Macs, silly boy.
Buy new headphones or airpods. Buy adapters. Buy new Macs. Buy a new car. Etc. All the problems you can conjure with today's announcements are easily solved by just spending some money. Bonus: another thing can get "thinner"... your wallet!
But this move is NOT... I repeat.. is NOT about a money grab.
I really hope the adapter uses the lightning port to passthrough the phones on-board DAC and AMP!
Yeh, the sourcing of a decent Y adaptor for charging and headphone jack is a deal breaker for me.
If the Lightning to 3.5 MM headphone adaptor is included with the iPhone then why doesn't Apple sell the Y adaptor separately, instead of offering what is already included with the iPhone. I mean more people would be interested in a Y adaptor than that.
But then if Apple are selling the Lightning to 3.5 MM adaptor separately they are somewhat indicating that these small things are going to get lost easily which no doubt they will and people are going to need to replace them. So people are going to be forking out more money for things they don't really want.
If Bluetooth headphone sound quality was as good as wired headphones then this really wouldn't be a problem.
Lets hope that the AirPods sound as brilliant as wired headphones.
If the Lightning to 3.5 MM headphone adaptor is included with the iPhone then why doesn't Apple sell the Y adaptor separately, instead of offering what is already included with the iPhone. I mean more people would be interested in a Y adaptor than that.
But then if Apple are selling the Lightning to 3.5 MM adaptor separately they are somewhat indicating that these small things are going to get lost easily which no doubt they will and people are going to need to replace them. So people are going to be forking out more money for things they don't really want.
If Bluetooth headphone sound quality was as good as wired headphones then this really wouldn't be a problem.
Lets hope that the AirPods sound as brilliant as wired headphones.
I seriously doubt this is the case. If Apple wanted to pass analogue out of the Lightning port, they would have most likely taken that approach with the 30-pin dock adapters 4 years ago, and they didn't.
Let's see what's in the box first. Im hoping Apple does something as simple as add a passthrough port to the Lightning charging cable which will solve this problem easily. I'm a little less optimistic since I don't see it added to the Apple Store, but it's not like Apple doesn't already offer this solution in other adapters already. So this is nothing new. The external battery case already shows a working prototype for this exact functionality.
But where is the 3.5mm (source) to Lightning (headphone) adaptor?
I kept shaking my head during the keynote, then went online to check things out. No way to use your new Lightning headphones with your old Apple gear like iPods and Macs, or anything else, all but guaranteeing that a customer needs to carry two sets of headphones with them!
They're bundling Lightning headphones AND a 3.5mm adapter, so why not just bundle the old 3.5mm headphones with the 3.5mm adapter? At least that way a customer only needs one set of headphones, and an adapter to use them with the iPhone. I guess existing iPhone customers can just use their old earbuds with the new adapter which just seems to defeat the purpose.
I'm all for lightning headphones, but this seems like a half-baked roll-out. I hope to see Lightning ports added to the Macs at an event in October, but even then, it doesn't address legacy Macs. And where are the adapters? Heck I would take a Lightning to USB-C adapter even, but they would also need USB-A. So why not just a much simpler and cheaper 3.5mm adapter with an analogue passthrough chip, which could be used on all current Apple products?
Seriously where's the support for this transition?
Considering this exact same technology costs $30-60 in Apple's various docks and adapters, adding little else, I'd say Apple is eating the profits on it to avoid a complete backlash. I wonder if Apple will offer it with the 7s.
But the quality is my big question. We'll have to wait for a tear down to find out if it's the same chip and amp used in the iPhone 6s. I doubt the 7 uses a chip and amp even that good to drive the low quality internal speakers, which may save them enough money to make up some of the margins they're evidently sacrificing. But keep in mind they're including two DAC/amp chipsets ... One in the headphones and one in the adapter.
Yeah I know, but you still miss my point. I'm strictly talking about the $9 cost and their ridiculous margins. If you're going to force such a huge (and unnecessary) change, at least have the courage to lower your margins and make this adapter ubiquitous in the transition time.