Removing the audio jack and making you use a dongle is equivalent to removing the AC from your car and telling you to wind down the window.
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Apple's Headphone Jack Adapter Remains a Top Seller at Best Buy
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It might be analogous in some aspects, but certainly not equivalent.
apple car: window crank comes seperately, that's a $20 accessory. don't forget the DLC pack for your GPS system. batteries not included!
Indeed, that's what I do. My adapter is connected to my wired headphones right now, which I keep just in case my B&O in-ear bluetooth battery dies. But I honestly haven't used my wired headphones in over a year.
I'm sure wired headphone users significantly outnumber wireless. I'm also sure that globally, most of those users, use their headphones with multiple devices. However, I don't think it's really that common in the US to justify that number of American sales. I say that due to bias though, as all of my friends with iPhones that still use wired headphones have lost and misplaced the adapter at some point, yet almost none of them actually use the headphones in another device. One uses her headphones in her laptop, another uses his headphones to plug into his Playstation Dual Shock controller, another uses it for their portable gaming device. But they're still less than 10% of the people that I know who use the adapter and lose them. More frequently sales exist in the couple of families that have children, and direct them to put their headphones on when they are using their portable gaming devices, or watching something on their iPad. Alone they probably buy more adapters than all of my friends combined, and they are compelled to buy it for the sake of their silence. It's not something they would say, "I'm not getting you another one if you lose it." Nor would they even say, "if you lose it, you can't use the device anymore." As that would mean their children are no longer occupied. For the sake of their peace / sanity / avoidance, they'd rather take the L and buy a new adapter.
But comparing that situation to the majority of adapter buyers in the US, I believe they are rare. I think most people in the US lose them because they believe they needed to take the adapter off. Those that actually use multiple devices, would just be more vocal about it. Not many would shout, "oh, I didn't realize I could do that!" But I've personally experienced people reacting that way when I suggest it (since it's what I do, I suggest it to others).
In any case, most are upset by their own irresponsibility.
They're indirectly saying, "I shouldn't have to keep track of it" and wish to not be responsible. Personally, I think the only people that are validated are those with children, who haven't developed appropriate responsibility. But, I'm biased on multiple fronts, because I've also never lost an adapter for any device.
Yes, 18% is a small number in comparison, but that alone is meaningless. It doesn't factor new players entering the market, new devices being released, or the price point that most opt for. Comparing Apple to an overall market it doesn't compete in, is pointless. Revenue aside, on pure sales units Apple has 60% of global market for $400+ phones, and 81% of the $600+ market. Their 18% overall is simply because many more companies sell cheaper phones. It has nothing to do with the brand, nor the issues you take with them ... it's pure economy.
In reality, since the invention of the iPhone, Apple has only increased their number of customers. There were a couple of quarters where sales were weaker, but even then, they didn't lose more customers than gained. It was just weak in a year-over-year comparison. They still grew, just not as much as they were expected to, and traders / weak-investors who thought Apple was always going to go up like a rocket ship, became scared.
According to the chart you provided, there's a quarterly ebb and flow of the market that existed before Steve Job's death. The uptick occurs when Apple releases a new iPhone. Then in the months that follow, as newer Android devices are released, new Android manufacturers enter the market, iPhones are no longer new in comparison and their market share decreases. That chart compares a couple of individual proprietary companies, to systems that are open to thousands of phone manufacturers. It validates that Apple is able to hold its own against all of them. It's like saying, "yeah, make two times more Android budget phones this year, with 20% more companies, and we'll still keep up, by ourselves, using a device we only release once per year."
That's not even factoring in revenue, the pure sales numbers speaks volumes on how well Apple is doing. So yes, you'd see weakness, but you're only validated in your imagination.
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Apple removes functionality from a phone that people want and use. They dis-integrate functions and expect you to pay for it. My iPhone 6S work with WIrELESS AIRPODS AND EarPods just fine! So why REMOVE a useful feature? You STILL have a hole in the bottom, You still have the same thickness....you have enhanced NOTHING except your ego (courageous decision) and you have made sure I have one less reason to "upgrade" and pay you more money. That guy who keeps buying Apple stock....call me in a year LOL. Apple has become a gigantic and overblown company w/o innovation and a tiny product mix (for it's size).
If Apple really thought that the audio jack was obsolete and that Bluetooth is so much better, they would have removed the jack from all of their products and not just the iPhone.
The truth is, it was just to push sales for their wireless headphones, and to save on manufacturing costs for the iPhone (I know the jack was cheap, but millions of them add up). Having the option to have both Bluetooth and an audio jack wouldn’t have hurt iPhone sales, and it would have pleased everyone.
The truth is, it was just to push sales for their wireless headphones, and to save on manufacturing costs for the iPhone (I know the jack was cheap, but millions of them add up). Having the option to have both Bluetooth and an audio jack wouldn’t have hurt iPhone sales, and it would have pleased everyone.
Pretty sure they got those with headphone jacks too (and I think even basically water proof ones too rather than just resistant).
Of course people need it. That’s why the adapter is included in the box Lol. What people are buying are replacements, which is their fault at the end of the day. I know SEVERAL people who lose the adapter and AirPods regularly because they’re so small.
Pretty arrogant statement. Many people that bought iPhone didn't get the adapter (earphones with lightning port) and need to buy the adapter separately if they want to use any other Ear/Headphone products. And believe me, there are better quality wearable products then what Apple has to offer.
I'm not fine with it at all. You can still use bluetooth earphones on iPhones with phone jacks; people with nice wired headphones can't use them on the jackless models. Wireless headphone people gained/lost nothing when Apple removed the jack. Wired people lost everything and had to buy the d*(ned dongles or redundant, less functional, wireless headphones with assorted batteries. I'm sticking with my 6S-plus. We'll see if, by the time it finally bites the dust, if wireless technology has improved enough to justify another iPhone purchase.
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Not even in the same category, sport. Wired headphones are still top-of-the-line accessories for sound aficionados. We get it that 1.4 MB floppies have bit the dust. Superdrives are still useful for folks that still have use for DVDs.
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Those complaints, funny though you find them, are real. The reason there are so many complaining is that it was a stupid decision for Apple to lose the phone jack while it remains a leading sound interface throughout the music industry. Your love of wireless was not affected by inclusion of the phone jack. The converse is not true, which is why there are "6 pages" of complaints. The notch sucks as well, IMO. Won't pay mega bucks for a notch, infrared face scanners, and no phone jack.
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Ditto on both your suggestions - bought an Android last year with phone jack and 4 channel DAC. Works great, and I still have a life sans $1000 plus for a crippled iPhone, notch and all.
No, no, I'm all for people complaining about a decision that negatively affects them. The dumb thing is when you say a company thinks it will earn more money by doing things for the sole purpose of pissing off their customers.
The market for Bluetooth Handfree are exceptionally high in profit margin. Purely from an BOM cost perspective. Of coz once you factor in R&D you will need a volume to cover those. But Apple doesn't need to account its AirPod as its own R&D as it is being part of the iPhone experience. The biggest cost for the AirPod is actually its chip, which Apple already owns. And for other players, the cost of distribution is far higher and even more the BOM itself. And Apple already owns its distribution. I would be surprised if Apple don't make their normal 50% margin if they are selling AirPod at $49 in 2020.
Before you ask why the heck is apple selling it at $159, they need money to recoup the initial investment of design and manufacturing, the casing etc. It normally takes around 3 years for that, but given how well AirPod as been doing and likely even Apple didn't expect this. It may take even less time. 2019 is right around 3 years time frame, that is why I expect the next AirPod to be the same price as $159, with more innovation such as better battery, better chip, better sound quality, water proof etc. And the old one priced at $99, likely the same with updated chip only. Both continue to sell and gain healthy margin, and three years later Apple could finally drop it down to $49.
I don't understand this logic. The CD-drive offered a significant improvment in terms of data volume being stored in comparison to the floppy disc. And the CD drive became obsolete, when fast internet connections were established and data could be download in huge volumes with no need for a physical data carrier.
The wireless headphones offer no real improvment over wired headphones, the pro's are at least outweight by the con's (You might get right of the cables but you need to charge them). Getting rid of the headphone jack is just change for the sake of change and having to add a dongle is in fact a confession, that the idea isn't that great. They just did it to force you to buy their wirless headphones.
And why not the top seller... It just proves one ting... People still like their old headphones 
"So, what is driving all of the sales?"
So many users can loose them...its tiny thing. Or just needing a spare, in case they loose them.. road trip/holidays etc..
The fact of an adapter always adds to the reason of buying more. I must of gone through a dozen EIthernet adapters on my Macbook Pro.
"So, what is driving all of the sales?"
So many users can loose them...its tiny thing. Or just needing a spare, in case they loose them.. road trip/holidays etc..
The fact of an adapter always adds to the reason of buying more. I must of gone through a dozen EIthernet adapters on my Macbook Pro.
Umm.... Samsung since the Galaxy S5 have had better water resistance than the latest iPhone. They still include headphone jacks.
Samsung's latest Galaxy devices both earned themselves a rating of IP68 in the IEC 60529 tests. While a very high score — higher than the 2017 line of iPhones' IP67 — these phones are not waterproof, just water resistant.
- IP: The abbreviation of "Ingress Protection," the rating system for a device's dust- and water-resistance.
- 6: An IP rating's first number represents a device's dust protection rating. A "6," although smaller than the S9's second IP number, actually means the device is completely dustproof. Good on you, Samsung!
- 8: Water resistance is denoted by the second number of the rating. An "8" shows that the S9 devices can be fully submerged in water as deep as 1.5 meters for up to 30 minutes. For reference, the iPhone X, which scored a "7," can be submerged for 30 minutes at 1 meter deep.
From what I heard, the bezelless design of the iPhone X necessitated the removal of the headphone jack. I guess that was also (partly) Apple’s endgame as well. The iPhone 7 was the sacrificial lamb which bore the brunt of the outrage over the removal of the jack so that by the time the iPhone X was released, this was for most part a non-issue.
You’re comparing now versus then, pal o’ mine. A decade ago when Apple introduced the MBA people were buying USB opticals because Remote Disc was useless. Then several years ago Apple released the rMBP and killed the optical in the pro line too, and more manufacturers got on board building USB-powered opticals. You can still buy them (including a SuperDrive) but I’m betting sales peaked >5 years ago. My point is when a new paradigm happens, accessories and adapters allow people to use current tech until the new paradigm catches on and the current tech becomes legacy tech. The lightning-to-3.5mm dongle is part of this. One day cords will become quaint and we won’t need audio dongles at all.
True, but there were (and are, although floppies are all but EOL) plenty of third party floppy drives to choose from. I notice you didn’t mention optical drives. See above.
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I can give you one reason right here and now.
Airpods have made me largely indifferent to the absence of a headphone jack on my iPhone. And if the removal of the jack can incentivise headphone companies to channel more resources towards making better wireless headphones, all the better (for me), because I am gaining in an area which is relevant to me, while losing in an area which doesn’t really affect me.
It’s not entirely true to say the headphone jack doesn’t affect me as an Airpods user, especially if the opportunity cost is in companies not channeling as much resources into wireless headphones as they could due to them also working on wired headphones.
Does that make me selfish? Perhaps, but I don’t make the rules. Apple does, and I simply play by them the best I can, and it just so happens that the way Apple currently does things.
In for a penny, in for a pound.
Somehow Samsung has managed to keep the headphone jack and even have a slightly better water resistance rating on their flagships.
Well removing the port is also good for camera makers because the more they make it difficult for smartphones to plug in audio in/out, the better dedicated cameras look.
First they went for the removable batteries, then they went for the memory cards, and now the audio jacks. They’re purposely making smartphones not user-friendly and not replacing cameras for video.
First they went for the removable batteries, then they went for the memory cards, and now the audio jacks. They’re purposely making smartphones not user-friendly and not replacing cameras for video.