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Audio is quiet... Apple better improve audio for future iPhone releases (hardware)

P

pdinstardom

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 3, 2008
6
0
United States of America
I noticed that whenever Apple talks about upgrading the iPhone to improve it, they never mention the iPhone audio issue.

I have a Blackberry 8830 which has great audio not to mention a great speakerphone as well. However, in the future an iPhone would be neat to have.

However, when I've tried the iPhone out for myself or heard about it from owners, they always complain of the poor audio (and I do too when I ask to try it out). The audio especially is an issue when outside in a noisy part of the city (everywhere!) for example. The audio on the iPhone is drowned out.

I did a little research and it seems that this was an issue with early releases of other smartphones such as the Blackberry. But as the companies released new versions, they modified the hardware so that along with great features came great audio.

I am deeply concerned because the next iPhone has been all about the 3G network... which leads me to believe but not necessarily conclude (since I don't know for sure) that audio problems will be ignored.

Audio problems have been discussed but promo releases seem to ignore this issue. It seems to me that since so many people complain of the audio quality, it would be a great advantage for Apple to boast improved audio quality on their internal speaker (as opposed to having to use earbuds all the time) as well as the 3G network compatibility.

~Patrick
 
Volume was a main complaint during the original ATT trials, as well as with many initial owners.

If Apple wishes to ever use the phone as a navigation device in a car with spoken output, volume will be an even bigger issue.

So hopefully it's being taken care of.
 
My brother has a blackberry pearl and the speaker on his is head and shoulders above my iPhone.

We were both playing some music over the air the other day. If you turn up the iPhone all the way, it starts getting very distorted. If you don't, you can't hear it.

His BB on the other hand was pumping out tunes that I could hear clearly across the room with minimal distortion.

Plus I drive a wrangler that I keep the top off for the whole summer. It's pretty much impossible to hear the other person if I talk on the phone while driving. Didn't have that problem with previous crappy Nokias and LGs that I had (and they were the 99 cent kind...)
 
Thanks for your responses. Yeah, I have a Blackberry 8830 World Phone (silver) from Verizon and its audio quality is excellent. The speakerphone it has is really good too.

Someone let me test an iPhone (original, not 3G) and it was so hard to hear and understand the person on the other end. Also, I'm a person that would rather not depend on using earbuds, etc. to get better audio.

However, with the introduction of the iPhone 3G, I have noticed people saying the audio has improved a little bit. There's less echo I believe and better quality audio.

The issue I see that people need to be careful of when reviewing the iPhone is making sure they distinguish between the audio quality of the iPhone itself (with only internal audio hardware and the speaker on the device itself) and the audio quality that comes out of headphones attached to the iPhone.

But it sounds like Apple will probably eventually bring the iPhone's audio up-to-par with Blackberries, etc. Just not yet! The issue of a smartphone's technology/features vs. its hardware "foundation" (including sound) has long been an issue for these types of phones. It seems to always take a few models before these two elements find a good balance. I imagine better audio hardware takes up more space and so research has to constantly be done to make smartphones slim but functional for their phone component. For example, Apple could clearly introduce a new iPhone right now with excellent audio quality that's better than all the Blackberries but it would come with the price of a lot of bulkiness. Those iPhones have the disadvantage (which is an advantage for design) of being marketed as slim devices. There's all sorts of things that come into effect when you have the design concept and have to decide how best to put the speaker in there!

But Apple should know there is no excuse for not coming out with an iPhone with fabulous audio quality. I'm thinking the next release will have much improved audio that the iPhone will be able to compete better with other smartphones like Blackberries. I mean, if you are a business executive and you're talking into two phones, even "fair," "okay," or even "good" audio quality is just not good enough!

Best Regards,

~Patrick
 
This does aggravate me.. if I'm driving my Jeep, it is nearly impossible to hear the other person (even with the top up, with or without the included wired headset). My 3G seems a bit better than my 1st gen, but still is not even close to cutting it.
 
Have you all checked that both speakers are working on the iPhone - it's apparently quite a common fault that only one speaker is working and the other stays silent
Yes, I know that there is only one speaker on the iPhone, it was a sarcastic dig at all the "one of my speakers isn't working posts" ;)
 
Phil A. said:
Have you all checked that both speakers are working on the iPhone - it's apparently quite a common fault that only one speaker is working and the other stays silent
Yes, I know that there is only one speaker on the iPhone, it was a sarcastic dig at all the "one of my speakers isn't working posts" ;)
Click to expand...

ROFL :D
 
Yes, the audio on my 2g iphone is pretty lame. The ringtones aren't loud enough, the speaker phone is useless, and even the earpiece volume is too low in noisy areas. I actually poked holes in the speaker cover with a needle and it made a very big difference, but it's still not loud enough.


I tried the 3G phone in the store and it didn't seem any better than my phone after I poked holes in the speaker cover.:mad:
 
ya thats the iphone for you a sweet nice looking phone with great software but as usual apple is forced with crappy hardware :/ Dont get me wrong i have a iphone and love it but the vibrate sucks so i have to kinda rely on the speaker plus i wish it can be unlocked for traveling purposes like every other god darn phone :mad:
 
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