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Does someone have an actual good reason for Apple to kill the headphone jack?

N

Noble Actual

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 10, 2014
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So this is old rumors but the iPhone 7 might not have the headset jack and instead require it to be plugged in with the lightning connector

Can someone give a legit reason that this is good for people?
 
Same reason Apple killed the floppy drive with the iMac. Same reason Apple killed OS9 and then Classic with OS X 10.5. Same reason Apple killed PowerPC. Same reason Apple killed Rosetta with OS X 10.7. Same reason Apple killed the optical drive with the MBA.

Because it works for Apple.
 
Noble Actual said:
Can someone give a legit reason that this is good for people?
Click to expand...

Sure. Less space needed to be taken up within the device by a headphone jack means more space for components, battery, or even to thin out the device further if they chose to.

Whether you agree with Apple doesn't really matter. If they do it then you'll either get with the program or move on to alternatives. Apple will survive (and thrive) regardless.
 
Hal~9000 said:
Sure. Less space needed to be taken up within the device by a headphone jack means more space for components, battery, or even to thin out the device further if they chose to.
Click to expand...

Exactly....The jack itself takes up quite a bit of internal space in an iPhone. Removing it allows for a much more packed iPhone in terms of internal components and battery size. In the iPhone 7 the removal will likely give more room for the stereo speakers and haptic engine.
 
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So they can sell us exclusive (read: overpriced) Beats headphones, I imagine.

Good luck getting your Bluetooth earbuds to connect on a crowded subway car where 100 other people are doing the same thing... And have fun listening to music with a lightning adapter while trying to charge the battery.
 
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At some point it makes sense to let go of legacy technology. The world is digital, but the 3.5mm jack is an analog port. So a few reasons to let it go are:

1. Moving to digital.
2. No internal space needs to be dedicated to what is quite a large port. That space can be used for something else. You can see how large the part is in this MacFixit photo (https://d3nevzfk7ii3be.cloudfront.net/igi/fdaWRVGrZhxlZoJH.huge).
3. It lowers the cost of manufacturing.
4. It lowers the part count.
5. It may permit the iPhone case to be thinner.
6. It might permit more control from inline remotes, considering that it's a digital interface.
 
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Any possible benefit of using Lightning headphones is already available to people since the Lightning port is already there.

For the consumer, there is no improvement to losing functionality. For Apple, it could be worth more money.
 
chabig said:
At some point it makes sense to let go of legacy technology. The world is digital, but the 3.5mm jack is an analog port. So a few reasons to let it go are:

1. Moving to digital.
2. No internal space needs to be dedicated to what is quite a large port. That space can be used for something else. You can see how large the part is in this MacFixit photo (https://d3nevzfk7ii3be.cloudfront.net/igi/fdaWRVGrZhxlZoJH.huge).
3. It lowers the cost of manufacturing.
4. It lowers the part count.
5. It may permit the iPhone case to be thinner.
6. It might permit more control from inline remotes, considering that it's a digital interface.
Click to expand...

lmao

You can't hear digital sound. In the end it needs to be converted to an analog signal (inside your bluetooth earbuds or at the 3.5mm port).
 
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chabig said:
At some point it makes sense to let go of legacy technology. The world is digital, but the 3.5mm jack is an analog port. So a few reasons to let it go are:

1. Moving to digital.

That logic is straight out of the Samsung 'Next Best Thing' where the lady is happy about the Lightning port being digital.)( Needs a DAC adapter to be able to hear it.

2. No internal space needs to be dedicated to what is quite a large port. That space can be used for something else. You can see how large the part is in this MacFixit photo (https://d3nevzfk7ii3be.cloudfront.net/igi/fdaWRVGrZhxlZoJH.huge).

Can possibly see this....but not for something as pointless as the rumored second speaker. Stereo speakers an inch a part provides little value.

3. It lowers the cost of manufacturing.

An audiojack is likely one of the cheapest components of the device.

4. It lowers the part count.

But not if it's replaced by a more complex part
5. It may permit the iPhone case to be thinner.
6. It might permit more control from inline remotes, considering that it's a digital interface.
Click to expand...

Let's cut to the quick. Moving to a Lightning interface means a whole lot of sales of new headphones. It's a straight money grab. I don't blame Apple, it's their job to increase sales/revenue. But I'm not going to buy the line of BS that this is somehow making the product better by providing a 'digital' experience, stereo sound or a thinner device.
 
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OP,
Depends on what you consider good. Here is what I don't consider good: thinner device.

Lots of discussion about battery but, if the loss of the jack gives us anything but a marginal increase in battery capacity I will eat my hat. Especially when looking at the leaked chassis that are, surprise surprise, thinner!

I'd give up the headphones jack for a few goodies though.
- Waterproofing
- Wireless charging (not relevant to giving up the jack but would soften the blow)
- Louder speakers (not just an extra one)
- Better integrated battery case (the 6s case is, imo, worse than third party offerings)
- USB-C (lol. I dare to dream)

Probably won't see all or most (any?) of these things though. It wouldn't surprise me at all that it's just thinner with a "wonderful new lightning powered headphones in every box". But apple surprised with the SE for sure. Maybe I'll be blown away here too.
 
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Because wireless is the future. You can argue we are not 100% there yet (in terms of sound quality, battery life, cost, etc.) but you can't argue it's not the future. Will we have wires in 10 years? In 20 years? If we're gonna get rid of it anyway, someone should just take the lead and do it, like yanking off a band-aid, and Apple has historically been that company.

A few points:

1. No one is forcing you to buy an iPhone 7 on launch date. If you are buying the latest and greatest, you're likely an early adopter of technology, so you should expect be a few years ahead of everyone else.

2. You can use any headphones you want. No reason why there wouldn't be a 3.5mm to lightning adapter you can plug into the end of your headphones and never take it off again. If Apple expects backlash, and think it will impact sales, they will probably include an adapter in the box.

So what is the negative here? Why would anyone not want to remove a redundant component when there's so precious little space inside their phones?
 
For your proponents of wireless headsets, I've noticed these days there are less people using those BT thingies.

For me, having another thing to charge would be a pain.
 
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To propel us into the new age...and make you buy adapters in the short term.

It's a pain. BT technology isn't there yet and I don't need more things to charge. I like a wired connection and now I have to use an adapter, but as long as the adapter has a decent DAC, I'll live.
 
Mrbobb said:
For your proponents of wireless headsets, I've noticed these days there are less people using those BT thingies.

For me, having another thing to charge would be a pain.
Click to expand...

yep, one extra thing to charge. also can't share the bluetooth signal when listening with my wife (on a plane, etc.). however, i did jump on the boat today in anticipation of the change. gotta get on, get off or get ran over.
 
Depends...

- If it's an open standard then it's probably going with the trend with everything wireless.
- Otherwise, if it's proprietary it's just lock in like iMessage to deter you from jumping ship.
- Could also be that they're aiming for water resistance certification.
- More profitable since there's less expense to mill and fewer components.
 
Apple had a very hard time embracing anything wireless back when others like Google's Android worked diligently to embrace a wireless world.

Apple's deep seated fear of cutting the wires was understandable given its massive profits from a phone tethered to iTunes.

Even today's technologies like wireless charging seem to frighten Apple.
 
maxsix said:
Apple had a very hard time embracing anything wireless back when others like Google's Android worked diligently to embrace a wireless world.
Click to expand...

I'd like to hear more about this. What are you talking about?

ETA: More unsubstantiated nonsense. I'm not surprised, considering the source.
 
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I haven't used the headphone jack on my iPhone or iPad since December. Been using a pair of these (http://www.earin.com) since then and it's highly unlikely i'd go back to wired earphones again, whether 3.5 jack or lightning connector.
 
It is beyond the comprehension of most people here how removing a legacy component like the headset jack changes the entire design approach for the device.

The end user will likely see benefits of: Thinner phone, more water resistant, and dual speakers.

Apple will also obviously bundle either Bluetooth or Lightning earbuds. Probably Bluetooth that have a way of recharging with the Lightning connector into the Lightning port of the iPhone.
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Noble Actual said:
Can someone give a legit reason that this is good for people?
Click to expand...

How about a legit reason why its not?

Apple will obviously bundle a pair of new EarPods that be used with the new phone, and UNDOUBTEDLY there will be a Lightning-to-3.5mm adapter for the people who 'need' it.

I'm already LMAO at the people who A) even dare mention "charging while listening via headphones"...I just have this hilarious image of someone with their head tethered to the wall. Yeah, lets accommodate that. B) spent a lot of money on headphones and think they are getting decent quality audio through a 3.5mm jack.
 
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I use the phone on work conference calls so I need to charge while using head set - I am not tethered to the wall but to an extension cord specifically placed on my desk for that purpose.
I like the idea that I can use the same headset for my phone, my ipad, my MBP, and almost everywhere else I use headset like the gym for their builtin TV's. I'm not big on "high quality" music from my iPhone so I really don't want better sound I just want sound.
Is this the biggest deal in the world - no but it will be inconvenient or expensive to get adapter for this and that.
I don't care about a thinner phone - if they were going to provide a larger screen in a smaller package that would be great.
doing it for design reasons - bad idea
 
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