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Belkin's $40 Lightning Adapter Lets You Listen to Music and Charge Your iPhone 7 at the Same Time
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$40! Now I'm crying....
They couldn't have put 2 lightning and a 3.5 jack in here for the price...?
I'm sorta thinking it's one of these, given that it's db25-to-db25, but allows connecting any arbitrary wires, which would be helpful for such a project.
Spend $40 or more on adapters just to charge your phone and listen to music at the same time and people are excited about it? OK...
My guess is the iPhone 7 is using the lightening cable for headphones OR charging as a interim method until the next release, which will probably offer wireless charging and make this dilemma mute. But then again if they do offer wireless charging they may do away with a headphone connector all together. Either way it sounds like we will be spending more money.
I feel the iPhone 7 was thrown out there just to keep customers happy. The next model may finally provide some innovation. By then Samsung will be offering floating phones with a holographic display.
My guess is the iPhone 7 is using the lightening cable for headphones OR charging as a interim method until the next release, which will probably offer wireless charging and make this dilemma mute. But then again if they do offer wireless charging they may do away with a headphone connector all together. Either way it sounds like we will be spending more money.
I feel the iPhone 7 was thrown out there just to keep customers happy. The next model may finally provide some innovation. By then Samsung will be offering floating phones with a holographic display.
A diagram:
Remember folks, iPhone 6 and 7 are both the same thickness at 7.1mm but for some reason they couldnt fit the headphone jack into the iPhone 7. That's apparently innovation.... or maybe it's courage?
Remember folks, iPhone 6 and 7 are both the same thickness at 7.1mm but for some reason they couldnt fit the headphone jack into the iPhone 7. That's apparently innovation.... or maybe it's courage?
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Oh thank goodness! Now to plug in my headphones and charge while driving, I just plug my headphones into my 3.5 to lightning adapter, plug my usb cable into my car charger, plug that usb into Belkin's new adapter, plug the 3.5 to lightning adapter into Belkins adapter, and plug Belkin's adapter into my phone.
Thanks Apple for working closely with Belkin on this solution to your courage!
Why would you listen to headphones while driving...?
Don't do that.
In terms of the Lightning vs 3.5mm conversation, whilst I don't think Apple have necessarily made the wrong decision I think that maybe they have screwed up the roll out, and their secrecy hurts them. If as they announced the iPhone 7 they had said "and by the way, the next round of Macs will all include a Lightning port so you can use your expensive new headphone across all your devices" then it might have made people more comfortable.
It's strange that they didn't update the Lightning dock to include a second Lightning port to enable charging and listening!
Actually going back to my point above, if you think these solutions are a mess, what is the solution for an adapter that allows you to use headphones with a lightning connector with a 'legacy' device that doesn't have Lightning? Some kind analogue to digital converter that also has a power supply built in?
Slightly off topic, but what strikes me most about this thread is the number of people making comments to the effect of "surely everyone has a car with a USB port or bluetooth". No they don't. In fact I bet the vast majority of iPhone owners don't have cars with either of those options. Our main car is a 6 year old Subaru and it has neither. I'm hoping to get at least another 6 years out of the car! There was a similar attitude in the comments about the wireless backup camera license plate frame thing a few weeks ago. "Surely anyone who can afford a $500 accessory already has a car with a backup camera!" or conversely "if you don't have a car with a backup camera then you probably can't afford this product!". Given the average new car payment in the US now is in excess of $400/month, the folks who drive 5+ year old cars that are paid off probably are the ones most likely to have $500 to spend on a one-time accessory...
It's strange that they didn't update the Lightning dock to include a second Lightning port to enable charging and listening!
Actually going back to my point above, if you think these solutions are a mess, what is the solution for an adapter that allows you to use headphones with a lightning connector with a 'legacy' device that doesn't have Lightning? Some kind analogue to digital converter that also has a power supply built in?
Slightly off topic, but what strikes me most about this thread is the number of people making comments to the effect of "surely everyone has a car with a USB port or bluetooth". No they don't. In fact I bet the vast majority of iPhone owners don't have cars with either of those options. Our main car is a 6 year old Subaru and it has neither. I'm hoping to get at least another 6 years out of the car! There was a similar attitude in the comments about the wireless backup camera license plate frame thing a few weeks ago. "Surely anyone who can afford a $500 accessory already has a car with a backup camera!" or conversely "if you don't have a car with a backup camera then you probably can't afford this product!". Given the average new car payment in the US now is in excess of $400/month, the folks who drive 5+ year old cars that are paid off probably are the ones most likely to have $500 to spend on a one-time accessory...
Buy this: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/alurate...dio-receiver-black/6581843.p?id=1218759758130
You now have Bluetooth in your car. Did this a long time ago since I was going through 3.5 mm cables like crazy. I can use the Lightning port for charging and Bluetooth for music.
You now have Bluetooth in your car. Did this a long time ago since I was going through 3.5 mm cables like crazy. I can use the Lightning port for charging and Bluetooth for music.
You are absolutely right. And Apple executives didn't see this coming? That you need a killer feature to replace something so ubiquitous?
Tim doesn't deserve his 60 million he just made on dumping those shares. Courage + stupidity isn't a good thing.
Ah, makes sense.
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I was specifically talking about headphones, not aux input.
It drives me crazy when I see people driving while listening to music via headphones/earbuds. People already don't pay enough attention as it is...
Because they did??? Most people just use the Earbuds, so they won't notice any issue. The next group of people have a set that they want to use, so they will put the tiny adapter on and never think about it again. (No, no one will notice it or think twice about a two inch extension to their already pain in the ass cord).The third group only streams and never uses headphones so they won't give a hoot but will love the new stereo speakers and better wireless. So, it is a very tiny number if folks who will whip themselves up in a frenzy. But even they will soon notice that BT headphones have already taken over and the Lightning works just fine and gives a lot advantages, so they will look for some other issue to worry and fret over.
No, the whining few would have railed that Apple had horribly disrupted their lives by making them buy new cases and despite what Apple said, it was all just a plot by Apple to sell people new cases. BTW, the Lightning equipped headphones will work just fine with your iPad and soon the new MacBooks and iMacs
I already have one of these:
https://www.amazon.com/ClipR-Blueto...?ie=UTF8&qid=1473394615&sr=8-1&keywords=ClipR
I mainly bought it to get Bluetooth Audio to use with my Ety earphones when I was on the treadmill, but it will work in the car ( my girlfriend's car doesn't have Bluetooth or a USB port for music and we often use it for road trips). I think there are similar devices for less money.
My car has Bluetooth and an iOS compatible USB input, so the only time I use the aux is on those road trips. Luckily, I already have the solution. I actually like the idea since I can still use the phone while streaming music without dealing with the aux cable. Wish I had thought about that before.
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That's the spirit. Keep shooting holes in the theory that people's lives will be irreperably harmed.
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Belkin today announced the Lightning Audio + Charge RockStar for the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus, an accessory that will allow iPhone 7 users to charge their iPhones and listen to music at the same time.
According to Belkin, the Lightning Audio + Charge RockStar was developed "closely" with Apple, and it does indeed resemble Apple's own iOS adapter accessories. The Lightning connector on the end of the RockStar plugs into the iPhone for passthrough charging (up to 12W), while additional Lightning ports on the device accommodate either the Lightning-based EarPods or headphones with a 3.5mm jack using Apple's 3.5mm to Lightning adapter (included with the iPhone 7).
Belkin's Lightning Audio + Charge RockStar doesn't seem to be a perfect solution to the charging while listening issue. The Lightning end needs to be plugged into the iPhone, while a Lighting cable needs to be plugged into one port for charging and Lightning headphones (or headphones with an adapter) need to be plugged into the other port, resulting in a mess of cables. Adding in the 3.5mm to Lightning adapter makes the situation even worse, with a total of two adapters and a Lightning cord plugged into the iPhone.
The Lightning Audio + Charge Rockstar supports 48 kHz 24-bit audio output and it's able to work with a variety of cases, including the iPhone 7 Smart Battery Case. It is Made for iPhone certified.
Belkin plans to start selling the Lightning Audio + Charge Rockstar on October 10 for $39.95. It will be available from the Belkin website, the Apple online store, and Apple retail stores.
Article Link: Belkin's $40 Lightning Adapter Lets You Listen to Music and Charge Your iPhone 7 at the Same Time
Yes, for a mere $40 (+ Shipping and sales tax) your new iPhone 7 can once again walk and chew gum at the same time, almost as well as previous versions!
I'll hang on to my 6 another year, hopefully this adaptor will drop to a more reasonable price... $40 for a y-splitter? Sigh.