It will be a long, long time before the headphone jack is ready to be succeeded, considering there are probably an order of magnitude more audio capable devices in regular use around the world with a headphone jack than smartphones without one.
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Gurman: Apple Considered Removing Lightning Connector on iPhone X
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No revenue to be made by Apple unlike the MFi program. Wonder why Apple has provided itself a distinct advantage with the W1 chip that is closely integrate with the iPhone hardware and software. Why not license it, the core connection of AirPods is Bluetooth, W1 pre-negotiates and saves these settings (think co-processor Bluetooth). Apple has quite the experience in this area, why not make a small profit and improve the Bluetooth industry.
No royalties to be paid or receive for a well established universal connector that is perfect until a comparable alternative (inexpensive/free and long battery life/no battery) is widely available. I didn’t realize people hate for wires, what were people doing 5-10 years ago or longer, this reminds me of those “As Seen On TV” commercials were people have the most absurd troubles with items or object that the masses have used for decades, and now this new product is the solution.
Wires do not bother me, I don’t mind wireless, I hate charging them as it defeats the purpose, being it still requires a wire to recharge the battery.
The plan is to get you to buy AirPods. If there was something new, better and innovating coming, they would have removed the headphone jack from every Apple product. Not just the iPhone.
But does this not feel so quintessentially Apple? Because Apple controls the entire ecosystem, they can afford to "cripple" a product in a certain way due to some design milestone they wish to hit, because they know they can modify another complementary product to pick up the slack. Timed properly, they have make the transition so seamless that the average consumer doesn't really notice that anything has changed.
For example, the 2011 MacBook Air had one thunderbolt port while losing virtually every other display port, and Apple also release the thunderbolt display that year. Both these products were clearly made for each other, and helped to manage the flaws and shortcomings of each other. The thunderbolt display made the MBA's absence of ports a moot point, while the MBA took full advantage of what was otherwise a fairly niche and under-utilised standard because its design essentially mandated the removal of so many ports. There was just something so elegant about the way two obviously flawed products complemented each other so well and made up for each other's shortcomings.
And I guess that is what I like to see in my Apple products. Elegance. Even if it means sacrificing a certain degree of versatility for that.
I get the point you're trying to make, despite your MacBook air example not being appropriate (and if you want I can post in detail how it doesnt compare to the removal of the headphone jack). Where we disagree is what constitutes pushing the boundaries for innovation versus good ol' fashioned greed and ripping off your consumer. Over the years Apple has done both and using the example of one does not negate the other. In this circumstance, the headphone jack removal is IMO the latter for the reasons I outlined in my previous post.
Also, I disagree with your notion that removing the headphone jack was necessary to propel the wireless headphones industry because there was significant innovation in that field beforehand and I can not pinpoint any correlating positive effect since that resulted purely from said removal. I'll even go further, instead of just spouting words like that give us naysayers an example, concrete proof that we are wrong and shut us up indefinitely.
But if I may piggy back on your example earlier and gently modify it to make my point, from my POV, the thunderbolt display you mentioned would be a closer analogy to removing the headphone jack instead of the MBA because Apple dropped backwards compatibility with previous video input standards. However even then you the user were not required to spend $150-200 to in order to solve the problem that Apple created.
Furthermore, over the long run did pushing thunderbolt technology succeed? The answer is objectively No because ultimately it did not become the standard video input across the industry and even Apple admits as much, if not in words then in actions, that's why fast forward to today and Apple have dropped out of the display market & adopted USB-C across its laptop range.
I also want to see Apple innovate, it's the reason I love the company and that love is why I'm wasting my life debating things like this on the internet, but i also recognize that not every decision Apple makes and every technology Apple forcefully pushes is the right decision objectively (Don't even get me started on FireWire) and sometimes even the people you love deserve criticism.
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Sometimes, pushing for a new standard doesn’t necessarily mean you succeed. It just means you tried.
Your arguments do make sense. I largely agree with what you say, and they have given me new perspective. I don’t see myself changing my outlook on Apple anytime soon, but I will keep your words at the back of my head as I continue to frequent these forums.
I guess part of what attracted me to Apple was its whole rebel attitude. How they went against the grain and did the opposite of what their detractors said they ought to do, and end up proving everyone wrong. Thinking back, it was amazing. The way Apple stood alone against the rest of the world. And won.
Having had some time to think about this the past few days, I do see the logic behind the argument that since Apple is no longer the scrappy underdog but the Goliath in the room, it probably does deserve more scrutiny, not blind support and adulation.
Sometimes, pushing for a new standard doesn’t necessarily mean you succeed. It just means you tried.
And no shame in trying, Lord knows we want them to keep trying, but it doesn't mean they can't be wrong. As an aside, trying assumes pure intentions and we disagree on that per say but truly, I appreciate the dialogue and respect your point of view.
Yup. Apple pushes these changes to sell new tech products. Can't blame 'em. But we'd be foolish to think it's about convenience options for customers. IMO Apple is sometimes too drunk on the minimalism thing and their own eco system.
