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Barclays Predicts 2018 iPhones Won't Come Bundled With Lightning to Headphone Jack Adapter
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YEAH!!! WHY SHOULD I HAVE TO USE BLUETOOTH! ALSO I WANT 30 PIN - LIGHTNING ADAPTERS INCLUDED BECAUSE WTF. AND WHY SHOULD BUY A USB-SERIAL ADAPTER IF MY COMPUTER DOESN'T SUPPORT USB - INCLUDE THAT IN THE BOX TOO. WHY SHOULD I HAVE TO USE AIRPLAY???? PUT A LIGHTNING TO HDMI ADAPTER IN THERE. WHY SHOULD I HAVE TO PAY EXTRA FOR APPLE TO SUPPORT MY OUTDATED TECHNOLOGY????Hooooray! About time. We consumers that care about best sounding audio really want to pay extra so we can hear it. Truly a dream come true. I wish they hadn't waited so long.
Now, please, please, please Apple: Eject the internal battery next. That will let you have your 5 seconds to tout "Thinnest & lightest iPhone ever," ship the first 2 generations without an internal battery but WITH your own battery case (putting battery case makers out of business), then cease including a battery case 3 generations from now.
Keep the iPhone price the same or raise it (we prefer the latter of course). Then, sell us only your battery case starting with that 3rd generation. Don't worry: while some of us will whine about this move, the bulk will just fall right in line because whatever you decide is best for all of us IS actually best for all of us. Don't be fooled by naysayers who offer counterpoint. They know that whatever a corporation decides is actually best for all consumers: "$2XX Billion in the bank can't ever be wrong"
Ideally, roll out Lightning 2 right before you stop including a battery case in the box and be slow about approving third parties for Lightning 2 accessories, so that only YOUR battery case can power the iPhone that rolls out with Lightning 2. Charge as much as you want because you'll be the only supplier. Again, don't worry: while some will whine about this, the bulk will work overtime spinning it as best for everyone and shouting down anyone who "thinks different." Unlike this headphone adapter, you can make even more money from us because ALL of us will need to buy a battery case.
Tweak the wireless charging standards, patent the tweaks and basically repeat with the slow licensing, so that only an Apple wireless charging pad is also sold as an add-on accessory.
Then, repeat this tactic with the camera. Shift it out to an add-on module, include it for a generation or two, then roll out several ("collect them all") camera modules at premium prices and stop including any camera module in the box. Make sure the camera module connector is proprietary and do the slow licensing thing so that only Apple camera modules are available for purchase for months after launch. And again, do not cut the price of the phone itself. We would MUCH rather you INCREASE the price so we can keep slinging around "but who makes the most profitable phone" in all those market share threads.
In both scenarios, raise the price of the phones and just lengthen the payment plan terms so that you and some of "us" fans can spin seemingly cheap monthly payments "it's only $X.XX more per month." That the payment plan people are on the hook for 36 or 48 or 60+ months doesn't matter- just get the payment amount low enough so that any higher price can sound like it's not much higher spread over ever-lengthened payment time tables.
The future is bright! All hail the Apple.
There is a difference between forced to use something whose downsides you don't like, aka wireless, and having to spend something extra on adaptors.
If that's the stupidest comment you've read today you need to read more. Or maybe it's just early in the morning...
It's not self-centered to acknowledge that there's a cost associated with providing the dongle and that the price I pay for the phone includes that cost of the dongle that I don't need.
Theoretically, removing the dongle should lower the price of the phone. Even if that makes you laugh because we're talking about Apple, it would lower the likelihood of a price increase.
The people that don't need the dongle are essentially subsidizing the price for the people that do want the dongle while getting nothing of value in return, so I'd argue it's actually more self-centered to demand that they keep making me buy a dongle because you happen to want one.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Same old tired argument. Why don't you just go back and weave in SCSI and floppy discs too?
Your desire/approval/use of bluetooth and/or Lightning was fulfilled BEFORE Apple jettisoned the headphone jack. If either are judged superior by you, you had them whether headphone jack stayed or not.
Meanwhile, Apple HAS kept the jack in everything else- just not in this ONE Apple product. The world outside of the garden has not adopted Lightning ANYWHERE else and Bluetooth is still heavily niche mostly in computer products. Headphone jacks work in just about everything.
Homepod just launched as "latest & greatest" new from Apple without Lightning, and thoroughly gimped Bluetooth only for initially setting it up. Certainly if either is "the future," why would Apple leave "the future" out of its latest product especially dedicated for audio playback?
But sure, we prefer to comply because a corporation has decided we should like it as they wish to serve it up... even if they don't serve it up in their other products.
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They’ve got to make those profits though... no matter how.. really pikey move but this is Cooks Apple...
Replace the cable and you're good to go for another 1, 2, 5, 10, 30 years depending how you treat them?
Wireless headphones have a very fixed shelf life, and must be replaced after ~3 years.
I'm not happy to give apple $160 every 2 year for AirPods, where I can't even change the volume without asking f*cking Siri...
Steve Jobs must be rolling in his grave how about bundling AirPods with iPhones instead since you are pushing people to get wireless headphones. First no more support for Airport and now this Tim Cook officially is a moron and greedy punk might as well move all customers back to Windows.
And the case never runs out?
And in 2-3 years, when the li-ion battery is permanently depleted, will you buy another pair for another $160? And will you then repeat this purchase for the rest of your life?
Your dislike of cables is gonna end up costing you...
None Tim Cook cares only for his wallet and his overseas accounts to escape from paying any U.S. taxes.
The user "cost" includes more than the $$ spent. There's the gathering & storing & carrying around of y-jacks for charging/listening simultaneously as well as the $9 "cheap" adapters. iPhones & mabooks keep getting smaller, making room in your pocket/bag for dongles, adapters, usb hubs, etc. etc. etc. So where's the "win" except that each port/interface device removed gives Marketing something new to do each year and also lets Jony sleep contently knowing another bump or hole has been minimized away?
They do have a choice. Either use the dongle or not. If you can't handle the dongle don't buy an iPhone. People used wireless headphones less before because they weren't as good as they are now. I have ALWAYS found wired headphones a hassle while running and went through many Bluetooth headphone options trying to find something better. Now there are better options.
1/8” analog connections (aka headphone jack) are the worst audio connectors available. It’s only redeeming feature is that it’s small. And it’s pure crazy to argue better transmission/interference with a wireless digital connection where there is absolutely zero crosstalk.
And then with Apple’s W1 signal, which easily bests anything a 1/8” analog connection can muster.
Which is all just further irony by headphone jack enthusiasts arguing sound quality, because headphones are the worst monitoring devices. Every headphone design ever produced, trades audio quality for isolation and portability.
Keep an eye on how many likes that original post criticising Apple's decision had, and how many yours gets....
I suspect that Apple is going to all it can to reduce the cost of the iPhone 2018 models and the dongle is a casualty.
The earnings call tomorrow is going to be painful.
Anyhow, they’ll no doubt launch AirPods 2 and other BT headphones in September as well, so the lack of a supplied dongle will act as a hint to buy one of those too!
The earnings call tomorrow is going to be painful.
Anyhow, they’ll no doubt launch AirPods 2 and other BT headphones in September as well, so the lack of a supplied dongle will act as a hint to buy one of those too!
How is it bad? Just a couple of reasons will do
Tell me one better/more appropriate audio port for use in a phone?
3.5mm is absolutely perfect for the job.
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Nope. It's also quick to implement (no Bluetooth switching for those of us who use multiple Bluetooth speakers, no app lag, etc) and near-universally used/available still, and will be for decades outside of Apple's little world.
In my 2012 Tacoma last night driving for 6 hours, I got a much hotter and cleaner signal inputting from my ipad to car stereo via 1/8" cable than I could via Bluetooth or with a lightning cable plugged into the USB port. Much stronger, louder, and better.
And when moving from car to car, like into friend's cars - instant plug-in to their stereo. No having to stop just to pair my iPad to their car's Bluetooth. These lags add up but are too often discounted. Removing the jack introduces a whole lot of added inconvenience to many just like it's virtually to invisible to many.
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The reason people were okay with using the traditional headphone jack in recent years in comparison to bluetooth which was minuscule in scale is because no one was truly pushing bluetooth like they are now. Bluetooth was always more expensive, but prices are dropping now to the point where more and more companies are able to sell bluetooth headphones at prices many people can afford. While its inconvenient now, bluetooth is the future of audio for the majority of consumers. Nearly all of my family and friends own bluetooth headphones now. You have to think like a consumer, not a pro. I will always have a soft spot for Wired audio but the gap in sound quality is shrinking between bluetooth and wired as more and more bluetooth headphones and speakers evolve to incorporate higher quality sound, and even true stereo.
Wait until you're on a long drive/plane and the battery dies. Or in 10 years time when you add up how much you've spend on wireless audio tech over the previous decade.
Or when you next need to hook up your phone to something other than your own personal headphones.
Then you'll think twice.
You say no-one was pushing bluetooth before and that's why no-one used it.
You literally acknowledge, no-one actually wanted to use it given a fair choice.
Most people were more than happy to stick with wired. People literally had to be made to buy these things.
So now that apple has made it pretty close to impossible to use anything but wireless, suddenly you love it?
Suddenly you don't mind re-buying your headphones every few years when their battery gives in?