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Agreed. If they replaced a universal standard with another better universal standard (USB C), then I think many people wouldn't mind. Instead, they are replacing a universal, open source standard with a proprietary one with royalty fees. To make matters worse, your expensive headphone replacements won't work on any computers, just your phone and tablet. I think people that do buy the iPhone 7 will just go straight to bluetooth because that, at least, is a universal standard.

And that's the likely goal isn't it? Move everybody to wireless, and eliminate the hassle of cords. I can't think of a single thing that will improve a customers enjoyment of an audio product more than eliminating the cables. Assuming of course there's no loss in audio quality from their current experience, it's not much more difficult to use with different equipment, and the battery lasts long enough to be a reasonable replacement for most. Even still, most customers would likely exchange the need to recharge their headphones every so often for losing the cables. The other two points are potentially addressed.

I'm not sure where you get your expensive headphones replacements (assume you mean Lightning) won't work on any computers. If you buy a set of headphones with a hard wired Lightning cable, then there's an adapter available that will allow it took just fine with anything. But like most who buy digital headphones, simply swapping the cable will make them compatible with anything. So depending on the type of computer you use, the headphones will work just fine. And New Macs will likely come with aligning ports, so no need to swap anything. In fact, there will likely be third party cables that have built in plugs for compatibility with any standard without swapping anything, or keeping track of adapters if that's a problem for some.

Yup. And in a few years the lighting port will be abandoned for yet again another new port, while the adapters, dongles, and proprietary ear buds pile up. I'm usually fine with new data ports that come along with a smaller form factor and increased speed, but this idea of nixing an industry standard analog jack is simply going to make much of my iphone usage a real hassle. Running a 3.5mm cable from my phone to a PA or home audio system while simultaneously charging is something I do on a weekly basis, if not daily.
[doublepost=1470506459][/doublepost]

That tiny lighting jack will fit nicely in my pocket. I'm sure with heavy use it won't break either. #extremesarcasm

Sounds like it will simplify your situation. Instead of running two cords, you'll have one. Will it cost you a little more money? Yes, but it's a cable you can't easily, or cheaply buy now -- I know I've tried -- and it will make your life more convenient. Not really sure why you think it will be a "real hassle".

Not sure why you think the adapter won't just fit seemlesly onto the end of your existing headphones cable which has to be be wadded up and untangled in your pocket every time you put them away and use them anyway. And everything breaks. But I'm also not sure why you think the adapter will be any more prone to breakage than any other part of the headphones.

Thank you for your thoughtful comments

While my comments were obviously not intended to be courteous, your particular comment has been stated dozens of times by almost as many people. And it's been rebutted almost as many times as it's been posted. Like it or not, dropping this particular comment on page 32 of a thread without previously participating in the earlier conversation demonstrates a special kind of arrogance undeserving of much more consideration or respect than I gave it.

Okay great argument. If Apple engineers can't do it then it must be totally impossible. Right...

Well for starters, Apple engineers were not solely responsible for USB-C, so you'll have to hold your superior engineering credentials a little higher and help them out as to how the 3.5mm Jack can be used for all the same functionality. For that matter why bother inventing USB-C when USB-A is a universal standard that based on your engineering expertise can accommodate all the same features as USB-C, without making everybody throw out all their old equipment or buy adapters. I mean if 3.5mm Jack can be engineered to do everything USB-C and Lightning can do without adding 9 conductors or making it larger, then engineers can do the same thing with the USB-A connector too, right?

Or why have more than one connector at all? Just have one port, and make that port a 3.5mm plug since it is the only universal connector throughout the world, and just have the engineers update it to do everything anyone could ever need it to do without changing a thing about it. That way nobody would ever have to upgrade anything again.

Must be a conspiracy.
 
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how would that be any more messy than having two full-length cords plugged into two different spots on the phone?
Just does not feel like a finished item for some reason. My gut feeling that is. Two cords would not always be in together where as a splitter will always be there. Just doesn't feel right if that makes sense.

Find out soon anyway.
 
Nah I don't forget to charge my headphones daily anymore than I forget to charge my portable charger or tablet or kindle or any of the equipment I need. Try again bud.
I can see Loco's hovel now - a 9 outlet powerstirp with 9 chargers plugged in at all times(all using electricity while NOT plugged in), each one married to a device every night before going to bed.

Sorry, that's a situation I try to minimize, not embrace.
 
Just does not feel like a finished item for some reason. My gut feeling that is. Two cords would not always be in together where as a splitter will always be there. Just doesn't feel right if that makes sense.

Find out soon anyway.
the splitter would only be there when you are charging and listening to music at the same time. i really don't understand your logic.
 
@Mac 128 its interesting to me that you defend the potential elimination of the headphone jack, and yet this was your response to the idea of Apple ditching lighting for usb-c:

So instead of just buying an adapter to use my old headphones with aligning, I now have to throw out my investment in 4 years of accumulated Lightning cable and accessories, invest in a whole new set of USB-C cables and accessories, AND buy an adapter to use my old headphones only on a Apple devices since almost no one else has implemented USB-C yet? Especially considering that by the time USB-C achieves a critical mass in the marketplace, wireless may well have taken over entirely for mobile devices.

Good plan.

While I agree that it's too soon to ditch lightning for usb-c on iOS devices ( I own accessories as well), it would still be a move that made more sense to me than removing the headphone jack. No one else is going to adopt Apple's proprietary connection but Apple. The lightning port will never be a universal standard, especially for headphones. At least usb-c adoption would seem like an actual push forward and open up new possibilities for the iPhone.
 
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And that's the likely goal isn't it? Move everybody to wireless, and eliminate the hassle of cords. I can't think of a single thing that will improve a customers enjoyment of an audio product more than eliminating the cables. Assuming of course there's no loss in audio quality from their current experience, it's not much more difficult to use with different equipment, and the battery lasts long enough to be a reasonable replacement for most. Even still, most customers would likely exchange the need to recharge their headphones every so often for losing the cables. The other two points are potentially addressed.

I'm not sure where you get your expensive headphones replacements (assume you mean Lightning) won't work on any computers. If you buy a set of headphones with a hard wired Lightning cable, then there's an adapter available that will allow it took just fine with anything. But like most who buy digital headphones, simply swapping the cable will make them compatible with anything. So depending on the type of computer you use, the headphones will work just fine. And New Macs will likely come with aligning ports, so no need to swap anything. In fact, there will likely be third party cables that have built in plugs for compatibility with any standard without swapping anything, or keeping track of adapters if that's a problem for some.



Sounds like it will simplify your situation. Instead of running two cords, you'll have one. Will it cost you a little more money? Yes, but it's a cable you can't easily, or cheaply buy now -- I know I've tried -- and it will make your life more convenient. Not really sure why you think it will be a "real hassle".

Not sure why you think the adapter won't just fit seemlesly onto the end of your existing headphones cable which has to be be wadded up and untangled in your pocket every time you put them away and use them anyway. And everything breaks. But I'm also not sure why you think the adapter will be any more prone to breakage than any other part of the headphones.



While my comments were obviously not intended to be courteous, your particular comment has been stated dozens of times by almost as many people. And it's been rebutted almost as many times as it's been posted. Like it or not, dropping this particular comment on page 32 of a thread without previously participating in the earlier conversation demonstrates a special kind of arrogance undeserving of much more consideration or respect than I gave it.



Well for starters, Apple engineers were not solely responsible for USB-C, so you'll have to hold your superior engineering credentials a little higher and help them out as to how the 3.5mm Jack can be used for all the same functionality. For that matter why bother inventing USB-C when USB-A is a universal standard that based on your engineering expertise can accommodate all the same features as USB-C, without making everybody throw out all their old equipment or buy adapters. I mean if 3.5mm Jack can be engineered to do everything USB-C and Lightning can do without adding 9 conductors or making it larger, then engineers can do the same thing with the USB-A connector too, right?

Or why have more than one connector at all? Just have one port, and make that port a 3.5mm plug since it is the only universal connector throughout the world, and just have the engineers update it to do everything anyone could ever need it to do without changing a thing about it. That way nobody would ever have to upgrade anything again.

Must be a conspiracy.
Conspiracy? No one said anything about a conspiracy. You pushed that into the conversation. It's just there's a lot that could be achieved with the 3.5mm.
Even Apple (oh my!) has been looking into what could be done with the existing 3.5mm.
There's lots that can be done.
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-...XT&s1=9142925.PN.&OS=PN/9142925&RS=PN/9142925
[doublepost=1470515110][/doublepost]Well done Apple on your "environmental" record. Or more accurately, adding to landfill.
 
I'm aware it's here now. I'm just not going to whine about removing 3.5 since it isn't that big a deal especially for my demographic of 18-30

I mentioned it to my younger brother who is 13 and he was like it doesn't matter. That's why my headphones are wireless lmao. Many people will care. Many people won't. Eventually if Apple does it right people will stop whining and deal. If I do switch back to windows 10 mobile exclusively I kinda hope Microsoft does the same and remove the jack. And you know if it's successful Samsung will copy Apple lmao.

Though people must realise the motive behind this is profit ...and MFI program on a proprietary connector. Sony has tried many times to achieve this, and iPod kicked ass as a result.

The others will not follow unless there is a way they can make profit out of it . They will let Apple pull the Sony move and watch .... All wireless devices will continue to work with their devices, they are just offering an extra connector you can ignore.

Wireless has been here for a very long time, and most choose not to use it, the average user who is not tech savvy has no time to deal with BT connection shenenigans and charge headphones in my opinion

Same reason I have only one port on my MacBook , so I would buy a couple of adapters..... It's crap when you cannot use and charge a device at the same time ....you buy the adapter....Apple makes more money
 
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@Mac 128 its interesting to me that you defend the potential elimination of the headphone jack, and yet this was your response to the idea of Apple ditching lighting for usb-c:



While I agree that it's too soon to ditch lightning for usb-c on iOS devices ( I own accessories as well), it would still be a move that made more sense to me than removing the headphone jack. No one else is going to adopt Apple's proprietary connection but Apple. The lightning port will never be a universal standard, especially for headphones. At least usb-c adoption would seem like an actual push forward and open up new possibilities for the iPhone.

Not sure why this is interesting to you, the two are not mutually exclusive ideas.

Lightning will never be a standard, but then neither will USB-C. The standard is wireless. If you understood what I wrote, you'll see that my theory is that by the time USB-C achieves any kind of substantial market saturation, that wireless audio as well as data and charging will have advanced to a point, that at least for mobile devices, that USB-C and Lightning will both be unnecessary. Apple's goal is likely to have port-less products within a decade.

Add to that USB-C may never take off as an audio standard of any kind except on mobile devices, and even if it does, there's likely to be yet another standard in a decade to replace it too.

So if Apple converts entirely to wireless on mobile devices in 3-5 more years, why should I replace all of my Lightning accessories and equipment now, when I'm going to need an adapter to use USB-C anyway (for years to come), only to eliminate cables completely by the time USB-C makes any real impact on the market as a whole? Apple is saving me money here.

As long as I have to use an adapter anyway, what difference does it make if its Lightning or USB-C, especially when the end of wires for mobile devices is near?
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Conspiracy? No one said anything about a conspiracy. You pushed that into the conversation. It's just there's a lot that could be achieved with the 3.5mm.
Even Apple (oh my!) has been looking into what could be done with the existing 3.5mm.
There's lots that can be done.
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=/netahtml/PTO/search-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=9142925.PN.&OS=PN/9142925&RS=PN/9142925
[doublepost=1470515110][/doublepost]Well done Apple on your "environmental" record. Or more accurately, adding to landfill.

Ah yes, the "flat" headphone jack to allow a slimmer profile on an iPhone, but still have universal compatibility with standard ports. You realize of course that it creates the exact same problem as Lightning headphones -- you still need an adapter to use your old headphones on the new iPhones, which seems to be one of the biggest complaints anybody has with this. That's real innovation there! /s

And what else could it be besides a conspiracy if engineers could easily adapt all the the features of USB-C and Lightning to the universal standards USB-A and 3.5mm TRS so that customers wouldn't have to give them up? Oh right, they're just not smart enough? Or they're too lazy? What was your implication again?
 
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Why would Apple want to encourage users to continue to use their old audio equipment, and continue to invest in cheaper 3.5mm equipment? That only encourages continuation of the existing industry, rather than creating demand for wireless and digital headphones, which in turn creates competition, innovation, quality improvements, and drives the cost down so as to be indistinguishable from 3.5mm devices to the average customer in a few years time?



So instead of just buying an adapter to use my old headphones with aligning, I now have to throw out my investment in 4 years of accumulated Lightning cable and accessories, invest in a whole new set of USB-C cables and accessories, AND buy an adapter to use my old headphones only on a Apple devices since almost no one else has implemented USB-C yet? Especially considering that by the time USB-C achieves a critical mass in the marketplace, wireless may well have taken over entirely for mobile devices.

Good plan.
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Oh please do elaborate on the advanced engineering you propose then. How foolish to even create a USB-C connector when they could have just implemented all 24-pins into a standard TRRS connector! How foolish all those engineers will feel when you explain how easy it is to do.

Apple will want to know this as well so they can allow the iPod Shuffle to charge and play music at the same time on this exact method you propose.

Mate there is no such thing as digital headphones ....

If Apple really wants to make huge striding advancements in heaphones , they can fix the biggest issue that has been present for over 20 years, ***** earbuds !!! Apple sells cheap crap heaphones at high prices....fix that ! Innovate and improve it.

When they make life more difficult For me cause I owe quality headphones , and want money now so I can use them now with he new iPhone 7, they are very very mistaken I'm a blind fanboy who hands over money, I don't have to jump ship even, I can just stick with my current iPhone for years

What changes, Apple has just lost someone who upgraded each iPhone generation cause they were happy with the product.

Apple fanboys and management are arrogant enough to expect it's users will blindly follow. 2016 is going to possibly be a very big reality check for them.

What the iPhone needs right now is a fresh design or a killer feature to bounce back, we got same design, and incremental upgrades followed by removal of the most basic functionality to push more profits .... Some of you will need to buy multiple devices this time round so you can keep telling us how successful the 7 is ...

Let's see how the public responds . Cause we on tech sites are not the average user. I'm the only one among my friends and family that has BT headphones...many also don't use the iPhone to listen to music..... And many will not care ....cause be it 3.5 or lighting , they will not use headphones.
 
It's tough to call something proprietary with 1 billion in existence. It's like saying the power plugs in Europe are proprietary because I can't use my standard 3 prong plug in them without an adapter.

And the "faithful believers" hyperbole much?

Compared to the universal availability of the 3.5 mm Headphone jack (media devices, alarm clocks, airplanes, etc), then yes, it's absolutely proprietary.

And your comparison with the power plugs falls a bit short. In Europe I can plug in the same connector in the living room and the bed room without adapter.

Last time I checked my Macs don't have a Lightning port.

But these discussions lead to nowhere. So many arguments and views have already been exchanged. I will simply vote with my wallet.

Just like I stopped or skipped regular Mac or iPad upgrades because of IMO disappointing hardware design decisions, I will do the same with the iPhone.

Software wise Apple has driven me to Adobe, which gives me in a sense more freedom.

If other manufacturers can squeeze is tons of features into their phone PLUS a headphone jack, I will look into the options available.
 
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Compared to the universal availability of the 3.5 mm Headphone jack (media devices, alarm clocks, airplanes, etc), then yes, it's absolutely proprietary.

And your comparison with the power plugs falls a bit short. In Europe I can plug in the same connector in the living room and the bed room without adapter.

Last time I checked my Macs don't have a Lightning port.

But these discussions lead to nowhere. So many arguments and views have already been exchanged. I will simply vote with my wallet.

Just like I stopped or skipped regular Mac or iPad upgrades because of IMO disappointing hardware design decisions, I will do the same with the iPhone.

Software wise Apple has driven me to Adobe, which gives me in a sense more freedom.

If other manufacturers can squeeze is tons of features into their phone PLUS a headphone jack, I will look into the options available.
Lightning ports no longer meet the definition of proprietary, they are just another standard when you can buy a charging cable for a few bucks at monoprice.com.

By the by, I was just in iceland(which is in Europe), I needed an adapter set, no standard 110V plugs there, that I found.

But you are right, vote with your wallet, if that is the right thing for you to do.
 
Lightning ports no longer meet the definition of proprietary, they are just another standard when you can buy a charging cable for a few bucks at monoprice.com.

By the by, I was just in iceland(which is in Europe), I needed an adapter set, no standard 110V plugs there, that I found.

But you are right, vote with your wallet, if that is the right thing for you to do.

See I7 how inconvenient it was for you to have to use an adapter in Iceland (Beautiful country and great for visits, btw)? It would have been great if you could have used all your existing gear without a hassle.

The 3.5 mm jack is probably the most universal connector of them all. It's a remarkable achievement that it's adapted literally everywhere. I am sure, the alarm clock in your hotel in Island had one, too.

And now we are getting rid of it. For very questionable reasons.
 
Lightning ports no longer meet the definition of proprietary, they are just another standard when you can buy a charging cable for a few bucks at monoprice.com.

By the by, I was just in iceland(which is in Europe), I needed an adapter set, no standard 110V plugs there, that I found.

But you are right, vote with your wallet, if that is the right thing for you to do.

I recently rented a car with only a 3.5mm Jack, and stopped into a convenience store off the beaten path, to pick up a cheap 3.5mm male-to-male cable to use with my iPhone. Sadly they didn't have one, so I didn't get to listen to my phone on that trip. But they did have a rack of Lightning cables. Seemed pretty "standard" to me.

I think the other point was you don't have to use an adapter in one room and not in the other of the same house, like using an iPhone right next to your Mac. Of course, that could happen in the US if you have an old house and buy a new device with a 3 prong grounded plug. In the Living room, which has older 2 prong plugs, you'll need an adapter. In the kitchen where the plugs have been updated you won't.

Rather similar to the situation I'd say -- it's the same electricity in both outlets, and the device uses it the same way. But in one case an adapter is needed to access it. So in the same way, someone shouldn't reasonably assume their old, or existing, equipment should be compatible with new devices. New Macs may just as likely get a Lightning port as not, so the solution to avoid using and adapter may simply be to upgrade, just like the updated outlets in the kitchen.
 
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Wrong.
You obviously know nothing about digital vs. analog, lossless audio, 24-bit audio, etc.

YOU keep thinking that your $400 pair of analog headphones weren't a scam.

You cannot listen to audio until it has been converted to analogue. Our ears cannot listen to 0's or 1's.
A DAC (digital to analogue converter) does just that.
Headphones are analogue.
All Apple are doing is to take their DAC from out of their iPhone and put it on the headphone cable instead. This will reduce the cost of producing their iPhone whilst also making you spend more for their proprietary headphone-plus-DAC's.
This does not make the audio quality better. It means that people with good quality headphones will now have to buy another DAC dongle thing to plug them into before going into the iPhone. More dongle, more wires, more money BS.
 
That's not very "Apple-y".

Apple would have used the same size connector as the standard lightning cable and then housed the required electronics inside a slightly larger control-clicker higher up on the cord.
would that be the same Apple that produced the humpty battery case for the iPhone?
 
See I7 how inconvenient it was for you to have to use an adapter in Iceland (Beautiful country and great for visits, btw)? It would have been great if you could have used all your existing gear without a hassle.

The 3.5 mm jack is probably the most universal connector of them all. It's a remarkable achievement that it's adapted literally everywhere. I am sure, the alarm clock in your hotel in Island had one, too.

And now we are getting rid of it. For very questionable reasons.
I came prepared when I travelled to Iceland. I had an anker battery pack, travel adapter set, cables, international calling plan etc. I could be without plugging the phone in for a week. I also bought b/t ear phones do I could be without wires.

My existing Apple earphones will most likely be useable with the new iPhone. I don't care what I plug them into is the point.
 
I came prepared when I travelled to Iceland. I had an anker battery pack, travel adapter set, cables, international calling plan etc. I could be without plugging the phone in for a week. I also bought b/t ear phones do I could be without wires.

My existing Apple earphones will most likely be useable with the new iPhone. I don't care what I plug them into is the point.

Fair enough and good for you, if you are satisfied with it. But for those who prefer to go wired route, the existing jack is the most universal and flexible option.

You said you came prepared. That is the key. Now you have to prepare yourself going for a trip if you want to something as simple as to plug in headphones into the phone or the entertainment system of an airplane.

Imagine if Apple would introduce their own wireless protocol which would only work on their iOS devices if it didn't offer a significant improvement in sound quality, etc. That would be equally upsetting for those who prefer wireless.
 
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Oh please do elaborate on the advanced engineering you propose then. How foolish to even create a USB-C connector when they could have just implemented all 24-pins into a standard TRRS connector! How foolish all those engineers will feel when you explain how easy it is to do.

Apple will want to know this as well so they can allow the iPod Shuffle to charge and play music at the same time on this exact method you propose.[/QUOTE]

^ Are you always a total ass when making comments or is this new for you?
 
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Fair enough and good for you, if you are satisfied with it. But for those who prefer to go wired route, the existing option is the most universal and flexible solution.

Imagine if Apple would introduce their own wireless protocol which would only work on their iOS devices if it didn't offer a significant improvement in sound quality, etc. That would be equally upsetting for those who prefer wireless.

Depends. How would an adapter work with a wireless protocol?
 
I came prepared when I travelled to Iceland. I had an anker battery pack, travel adapter set, cables, international calling plan etc. I could be without plugging the phone in for a week. I also bought b/t ear phones do I could be without wires.

My existing Apple earphones will most likely be useable with the new iPhone. I don't care what I plug them into is the point.

Interesting comments. There was a time when every hotel I stayed at had an alarm clock with a 30-pin dock connector as "standard". It's interesting what over a billion active devices can achieve in the world. I wonder how many hotels will have Bluetooth capabilities in their alarm clocks within the next decade?
 
Interesting comments. There was a time when every hotel I stayed at had an alarm clock with a 30-pin dock connector as "standard". It's interesting what over a billion active devices can achieve in the world. I wonder how many hotels will have Bluetooth capabilities in their alarm clocks within the next decade?

That is true. I just came back from a trip where the hotel room had a Sound System (Bose) with a 30-pin dock. What a pity that for them that Apple has moved on to Lightning and they didn't upgrade their equipment.

It had a 3.5 mm jack, though. ;)
 
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