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People were mad at a lack of cd drive in the macbook pro, but guess what? It still sells. The App store is the new norm,

Apple removed the 3.5 inch floppy disk. They're doomed!
Apple removed the CD/DVD drive. They're doomed!

Nice bit of dodgy logic there. "Apple removed X and it wasn't a problem => therefore removing Y isn't a problem - QED".

1.4MB floppies were already becoming useless when they were dropped (and had been optional extras in Powerbooks for some time) and the alternatives were head-and-shoulders better. By the time optical drives went, people like me were already choosing to rip the superdrives out of their MacBooks to fit in extra HD drives. You certainly didn't need them "on the road" - a USB drive in a cupboard at home was fine and worked on all of your computers - PC or Mac.

It's not so clear that the 3.5mm jack is that obsolete yet. Given the choice, I'd use wireless - but 3.5mm is a useful fallback. The main reason I use the jack is not for headphones, but to plug into a HiFi - in which case, not being able to charge at the same time is a pain. I've got some nice full-size Bluetooth headphones - with an optional 3.5mm cable for when the charge runs out & I've got various cheap'n'cheerful earbuds secreted at home, at work, in bags should I forget the decent ones. The biggest pain is that I also have non-Apple devices.

(NB: I think its now OK to use Bluetooth on planes - apparently wireless devices will no longer make planes fall out of the sky, now that airlines have latched on to the possibility of selling WiFi - but do all cabin staff agree on this point?)

OK - in perspective - carrying a lightning-to-3.5mm dongle is not going to break your back and solves all your issues. OK, you can probably contrive not to charge & listen at the same time - and, lets face it, if you think you can hear the difference between Bluetooth and direct analogue, I have some $500-per-yard speaker cable to sell you... No, the problem is that the iPhone 7 doesn't sound as if is going to have any compelling features other than this minor downgrade.

The 3.5mm jack is a possible point of failure - lightning is more mechanically robust - and that's about it.
 
I know right?! I thought I was the ONLY one to see this as an unsightly HUGE plug that would break the plug itself or the port.

Please understand this is not an Apple video and the earbuds you see are not Lightening earbuds.
 
"..turned up in our office.." ?

OK, I'm calling fake. As in, not an Apple product, but a 3rd party manufacturer has created these.

I'm keeping my money on wireless EarPods being in the box with the next iPhone.
That makes more sense with the charging omission the plugin ones would cause.
 
You get no better quality but you keep thinking that.
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.
 
Although I advocate for bluetooth earphones bundled with the iPhone (I'd find it more correct from Apple as they would be compatible with every device with bluetooth) for my use case I prefer a wired version of EarPods.
I use them for making calls and I like the mic to be close to my mouth. During the call I often change the volume so a physical button in a convenient place is more than welcome.
Anyway I won't buy iPhone 7 so I'll have one more year with my 6s and the 3.5 jack so I'm not really concerned now
 
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So many will need a break out cable for this just like they need a break out cable for the Macbook. There must be more than a few at Apple questioning this direction.
 
Well, that's a poor example. You do realize that vinyl is making a comeback and it's revival has been covered extensively over the past couple of years?

Vinyl shipped 17MM units in 2015 vs over 2BB digital downloads. That's not touching on streaming or on non-vinyl legacy physical purchases. There will always be audiophiles who go to niche products and technologies to squeeze out a marginal return in their listening experience. More power to them, they have passion and enjoy it, that's great. They represent a small fraction of a percent of the total audience though and we'll fine that outside of enthusiast circles (such as ourselves) the world will use the lightning earbuds, their existing bluetooth devices, buy new, or be satisfied with the adapter. There won't be a massive uprising in the streets or a huge exodus from Apple over this, we will move on.
 
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I don't understand the value in this. You still need a DAC either inside the phone through a minijack, or inline after the digital lighting out.
Or am I misunderstanding that Apple will place analog signals somewhere in the Lightning connector based on accessory type?
 
Anybody who cares about audio would not see bluetooth as an "upgrade" over great wired headphones.

While a dongle may be an option, I still do not see any solution for charging+listening. And dongles are simply ****** ways of getting me to pay an extra $29.95 to use my phone how I want to use it (and have been using it.)
What about non connected charging similar to the Apple Watch?
 
I know that the entire forum is waiting on my opinion, but if this is the case I will be skipping this.

I am a heavy user of the earbuds, both apple and non apple. I am not really interested in great quality but I want availability and low prices for music. I use Apple's earbuds, my kids use their stuff on my phone when needed, I leave them around etc.
Last week I forgot my earbuds at home, and I want to listen to radio shows or even some music during the day. Choice: don't listen to anything or buy $4 earbuds so that I can listen to SOMETHING, although not at a great price. I got the $4 earbuds, you know they're compatible. This would've been IMPOSSIBLE with the (alleged) iPhone 7. Nope, I can't.

And removing the jack is far more different than removing the floppy drive.
 
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They look just like the same earpods that most people I know leave in the box because they are so darn uncomfortable. Too bad Apple can't figure out that earpods with removable rubbery/gel tips (in different sizes) are the way to go.

Surely your not speaking for all ears, as the EarPods in the box have suited me just fine and plenty of others.
 
Yeah...this is why this change will suck. Too much hardware needs to go in that little adapter, meaning you take an already insanely tall phone and add an inch to the bottom for your headphones. It is fine for over or on-ear designs, but for buds the plugs are going to be just as inconvenient.
 
They represent a small fraction of a percent of the total audience though and we'll fine that outside of enthusiast circles (such as ourselves) the world will use the lightning earbuds, their existing bluetooth devices, buy new, or be satisfied with the adapter. There won't be a massive uprising in the streets or a huge exodus from Apple over this, we will move on.

That maybe true but it doesn't mitigate the fact that Apple have been wrong multiple times about product trends. So despite what their research may say to the contrary losing a regular mainstream jack and forcing people to buy new or use more expensive products may have a detrimental effect.

Of course if they pack in some awesome Bluetooth phones that would help quite a bit.
 
Bad idea to remove the ubiquitous 3.5mm audio jack that works on laptops, desktops, automobiles, music players, mobile phones, even the in-seat audio connections on airlines.

Millions of people have spent good money on high quality headphones and earbuds that use the 3.5mm standard to be left out in the cold.

Actually such a brilliant idea! If companies like Apple don't dear making a move to distance themselves from an ancient technology, the world would be stuck on the past!! All this crying about removed 3.5mm audio jack would seem very laughable to read in the next year or 2. You would agree that reading people's complain about removed floppy disc would be laughable, wouldn't you? You may say the time is not right? I think it is the perfect time. I say go for it Apple, just do it.
 
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