Headphone Jack uproar reminds me of when they introduced Lightning.

[andyp350]

I remember back when Apple retired the 30 pin adapter and introduced lightning there was the same sort of backlash and uproar as there has been over the removal of the headphone jacks.
Fast forward a few years and I don't think many would argue that the change was for the better. It was worth the year or so of mild annoyance at having to use adapters for older devices so that today the technology that we are all using is not old and dated.

I feel the same way about the headphone jack. It's going to be annoying for a while for people who still use the 3.5mm connection on a daily basis. But I'm hopeful it will be worth it in the long run for technology to move forward. At least Apple actually included the adapter this time around.
I think if we could fast forward a few years to when lightning headphones are in abundance and when wireless headphones will have hopefully really taken off, people will realise that, like the change to lightning, the change is moving things forward.

 

[thats all folks]

I remember back when Apple retired the 30 pin adapter and introduced lightning there was the same sort of backlash and uproar as there has been over the removal of the headphone jacks.
Fast forward a few years and I don't think many would argue that the change was for the better. It was worth the year or so of mild annoyance at having to use adapters for older devices so that today the technology that we are all using is not old and dated.

I feel the same way about the headphone jack. It's going to be annoying for a while for people who still use the 3.5mm connection on a daily basis. But I'm hopeful it will be worth it in the long run for technology to move forward. At least Apple actually included the adapter this time around.
I think if we could fast forward a few years to when lightning headphones are in abundance and when wireless headphones will have hopefully really taken off, people will realise that, like the change to lightning, the change is moving things forward.

so many words but what are you saying? for either of your examples, what is old and dated and what is moving things forward? what technological advancement did we get from those changes? what really is the improvement, the step forward, the breakthrough? what bad idea did we leave behind? what way forward was blocked before?

 

[sunking101]

Yeah, I'm not really buying this "it's for the best" stuff. Apple removed an option and gave us nothing new. We had wireless before, we had Bluetooth before. The vast majority of people didn't mind wired earphones at all and for those who did, Bluetooth earphones have been on sale for years. Apple removed a cheap, cheerful and widely used interface from the iPhone and we're supposed to applaud it because, well, Apple said so.

 

[F1Mac]

This article sums it up perfectly: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jvchamary/2016/09/16/apple-iphone-headphone-jack/#248dfe853019

 

[dotnet]

Apple removed a cheap, cheerful and widely used interface from the iPhone and we're supposed to applaud it because, well, Apple said so.

You're not supposed to applaud, or even agree. You're supposed to vote with your wallet and walk away, like millions of people are doing. Oh wait, no they're not...

This article sums it up perfectly: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jvchamary/2016/09/16/apple-iphone-headphone-jack/#248dfe853019

All it says it "Adblock detected". Doesn't seem relevant.

 

[sunking101]

This article sums it up perfectly: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jvchamary/2016/09/16/apple-iphone-headphone-jack/#248dfe853019

Sums it up perfectly for whom?
Apple products used to be famed for their audio quality, so how can a cheap as chips DAC in a dimestore adaptor 'improve' on what went before? Bluetooth (*including Apple's version) is nowhere near as good for audio reproduction as a hardwired connection. Ultimately I don't care about the future, I care about the present. Music playback on the iPhone 7 is just not as good nor as simple as it used to be. Apple should ditch the jack when they can offer an alternative which is at least as good. All this chirping that it will improve things at some point in the future is marketing BS. So is that Forbes article.

 

[joeblow7777]

Not much point in arguing about it anymore, but the reasoning for removing it would be more convincing if they had actually used the space for something new, and if most of the points raised didn't begin and end with "it's old".

Switching to the Lightning port was never that big a deal. For one, there are clear advantages. Secondly, the 30-pin connector was only universal insofar as iDevices. The headphone jack, however is present on just about every machine ever made that provides audio output, so of course people won't be happy about needing an adapter to use headphones and earbuds that work with every other device that they own just to make them work with their iPhone.

But as I said, there's no point in arguing any further. What's done is done. Other articles have suggested that Apple did it simply to sell their expensive new AirPods and to make older devices seem behind the times, thus prompting people to buy the iPhone 7 so as not to be left behind. People will believe whichever motivation they want, but the truth is usually somewhere in between.

 

[F1Mac]

Apple should ditch the jack when they can offer an alternative which is at least as good. All this chirping that it will improve things at some point in the future is marketing BS. So is that Forbes article.

And how many "Lightning headphones" do you think will pop up in the coming months? It is B.S for you not everyone.

 

[AustinIllini]

They could have mitigated this issue by issuing lightning headphones with the intro of lightning.

 

[sunking101]

You're not supposed to applaud, or even agree. You're supposed to vote with your wallet and walk away, like millions of people are doing. Oh wait, no they're not...

With the 6S last year Apple gave us a smaller battery in order to make room for the haptic feedback module, when battery life is one of the essential requirements of a smartphone.

This year the iPhone 7 has no aux jack, which at the very least offers no improvement in functionality or sound quality but it does prevent simultaneous listening and charging, which is a massive issue for a lot of folk who used to use their aux jack directly into a hifi/car stereo/etc. Having to use an adaptor for something as commonplace as listening to music is dumb. As for the aux jack being old tech, so is the wheel.

 

[F1Mac]

Apple products used to be famed for their audio quality,

You think Apple used high-end DACs all these years?....
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This year the iPhone 7 has no aux jack, which at the very least offers no improvement in functionality or sound quality

Wait til Lightning headphones from Sennheiser and the others are announced. Of course there's no improvement for your current headphones!

 

[CAWjr]

Switching to the Lightning port was never that big a deal. For one, there are clear advantages. Secondly, the 30-pin connector was only universal insofar as iDevices. The headphone jack, however is present on just about every machine ever made that provides audio output, so of course people won't be happy about needing an adapter to use headphones and earbuds that work with every other device that they own just to make them work with their iPhone.

This is my thought exactly. Going from the 30-pin to lightning was an Apple proprietary connector to a new Apple proprietary connector. The outrage was only heard by people who had 30 pin accessories that could only be used with Apple devices, and with the entire line shifting to the new connector, eventual obsolescence was easy for Apple to control.

The 3.5mm jack is a universally accepted and globally utilized standard. Just because Apple did away with it does not mean that everyone else will. Apple got rid of physical media drives, but somehow computers still ship with drives. Redbox still exists. And Best Buy still sells physical media. Just because Apple decided to make this change does not mean the rest of the world will follow.

 

[bluespark]

The analogy to the 30-pin-to-Lightning transition captures the fact that people's opinions tend to soften over time, but it fails as to most of the specifics. Unlike that transition, Lightning doesn't replicate the functionality of the headphone jack. Most importantly, it outputs a digital signal, meaning that every device connected to it must have its own DAC to work. That imposes costs and other disadvantages on the industry, with no corresponding consumer benefit (because omitting the headphone jack wasn't necessary to allow digital audio from the Lightning port). Also, the devices that fit the old 30-pin connector were all purchased to fit Apple products. By contrast, wired headphones are designed to work with everything. Because of that, if headphones were to transition to the Lightning connector (as 30-pin devices did to the Lightning connector), that interoperability would be lost. This raises an important additional problem: a significant minority of people bought headphones as a significant investment, and in some cases a lifetime one. The idea behind purchasing more costly headphones was not to quickly transition away from them. Also, the transition to Lightning took away the ability to listen to wired headphones while charging. That may not be an issue for a lot of people a lot of the time, but it is the type of issue that was not present in any way with the 30-pin-to-Lightning transition.

I could go on, but this is enough to show that the analogy is, at best, imperfect.

 

[sunking101]

And how many "Lightning headphones" do you think will pop up in the coming months? It is B.S for you not everyone.

We didn't need them before though did we? Why should we have to spend money on new non-standard kit? Oh and you still won't be able to charge and listen at the same time. As of today this move by Apple benefits nobody so stop defending it like it's an amazing new feature.

 

[thats all folks]

This article sums it up perfectly: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jvchamary/2016/09/16/apple-iphone-headphone-jack/#248dfe853019

"perfectly" is generous and your response is lazy and the journalism you reference is lazy. that article justifies itself only in the realm of playback of high resolution audio and justifies itself buy linking to a 16 page synopsis of a meta-study of 18 other studies. no mention of iPhones or headphone jacks, 30 pin or lightening connectors.

is your entire defense of your position that no Apple device can convey 24bit/96Khz or greater uncompressed source files through a headphone jack? that is the reason we should get rid of that jack? are all headphones with an analog jack deficient? are all DAC/amps that provide an analog headphone jack deficient?

please lay out your case.

 

[F1Mac]

is your entire defense of your position that no Apple device can convey 24bit/96Khz or greater uncompressed source files through a headphone jack? that is the reason we should get rid of that jack? are all headphones with an analog jack deficient? are all DAC/amps that provide an analog headphone jack deficient?

Obviously no!!!! Did you read that between the lines in my previous posts or something?

I don't have to "defend my position", what I'm saying is that for me, it's not a big deal, sorry. Having to use the adapter with my current headphones is not a big deal. When comes the time to change my headphones maybe I'll get Lightning ones, who knows. Ditching the jack leaves room for other components and improvements in the phone itself. Anyway, I'm not trying to "prove I'm right" or whatever.
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As of today this move by Apple benefits nobody so stop defending it like it's an amazing new feature.

That's NOT WHAT I'M DOING.

I'm barely saying it may not be the end of the world either. I linked the forbes article above because it has valid points *IMO*. Would I have preferred a headphone Jack on my 7+? well I wouldn't have minded one that's for sure. Can I live without it? Certainly.

 

[thats all folks]

Obviously no!!!! Did you read that between the lines in my previous posts or something?

I don't have to "defend my position", what I'm saying is that for me, it's not a big deal, sorry. Having to use the adapter with my current headphones is not a big deal. When comes the time to change my headphones maybe I'll get Lightning ones, who knows. Ditching the jack leaves room for other components and improvements in the phone itself. Anyway, I'm not trying to "prove I'm right" or whatever.

I responded thinking from how your post was presented, that you were the OP defending your opening position. apologies. didn't mean to call you specifically out in such a way but I'm not clear on why you posted that or what it is supposed to do for the conversation.

I'll offer that the phone could have been "improved" with the headphone jack remaining. the shape, volume and weight of the iPhone is not constrained to it's current form by any external force. it has been thicker and heavier before and still successful. the Apple Watch got thicker and heavier as a result of being improved.

 

[sunking101]

Obviously no!!!! Did you read that between the lines in my previous posts or something?

I don't have to "defend my position", what I'm saying is that for me, it's not a big deal, sorry. Having to use the adapter with my current headphones is not a big deal. When comes the time to change my headphones maybe I'll get Lightning ones, who knows. Ditching the jack leaves room for other components and improvements in the phone itself. Anyway, I'm not trying to "prove I'm right" or whatever.
[doublepost=1475245016][/doublepost]

That's NOT WHAT I'M DOING.

I'm barely saying it may not be the end of the world either. I linked the forbes article above because it has valid points *IMO*. Would I have preferred a headphone Jack on my 7+? well I wouldn't have minded one that's for sure. Can I live without it? Certainly.

Samsung managed to fit a bigger screen, S-Pen, SD card slot *and* an Aux jack into a smaller phone than the iPhone 7+ so the "leaving room for other components" argument falls somewhat flat. If they're 'preparing for the future' then why not just give us the future as and when it arrives. There was no need for preparation this year.

 

[noobinator]

It's Flash.
It's Lightning.
It's USB-C on MacBook.

and on and on.

 

[F1Mac]

I responded thinking from how your post was presented, that you were the OP defending your opening position. apologies. didn't mean to call you specifically out in such a way but I'm not clear on why you posted that or what it is supposed to do for the conversation.

I'm not trying to pick a fight over this so my apologies if there was any misunderstanding on my part.

I'll offer that the phone could have been "improved" with the headphone jack remaining. the shape, volume and weight of the iPhone is not constrained to it's current form by any external force.

You may be right. I guess for one thing the taptic engine was more important than the headphone jack from Apple's standpoint.

 

[mrex]

This article sums it up perfectly: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jvchamary/2016/09/16/apple-iphone-headphone-jack/#248dfe853019

There are lots of this and that - but somehow they (apple) forgot to mention that every company making accessories using the lightning port needs to pay nice cash for apple. (There is this same thing in the article shortly. For more info - use google.)

They (apple) didnt either mention how many plug-unplug cycle the lightning port lasts.

 

[F1Mac]

If they're 'preparing for the future' then why not just give us the future as and when it arrives. There was no need for preparation this year.

Well it could be argued that when the future does arrive, you just catch up with it if you were not prepared in advance.

 

[cynics]

Aside from aesthetics and reversibility I'm still not a fan of lightning vs 30 pin.

It seems the main focus of lightning was control via mfi. Even at the expense of additional lag vs 30 pin.

It is what it is though.

 

[Mac 128]

Sums it up perfectly for whom?
Apple products used to be famed for their audio quality, so how can a cheap as chips DAC in a dimestore adaptor 'improve' on what went before? Bluetooth (*including Apple's version) is nowhere near as good for audio reproduction as a hardwired connection. Ultimately I don't care about the future, I care about the present. Music playback on the iPhone 7 is just not as good nor as simple as it used to be. Apple should ditch the jack when they can offer an alternative which is at least as good. All this chirping that it will improve things at some point in the future is marketing BS. So is that Forbes article.

People buy headphones based on how they sound. What is his hyperbole about "cheap as [sic] chips DAC in a dime store adaptor"? Customers won't care what's inside the headphones as long as they sound good. If they don't, they won't buy them. So there's the incentive for manufacturers to use quality parts.

The analogy to the 30-pin-to-Lightning transition captures the fact that people's opinions tend to soften over time, but it fails as to most of the specifics. Unlike that transition, Lightning doesn't replicate the functionality of the headphone jack. Most importantly, it outputs a digital signal, meaning that every device connected to it must have its own DAC to work. That imposes costs and other disadvantages on the industry, with no corresponding consumer benefit (because omitting the headphone jack wasn't necessary to allow digital audio from the Lightning port). Also, the devices that fit the old 30-pin connector were all purchased to fit Apple products. By contrast, wired headphones are designed to work with everything. Because of that, if headphones were to transition to the Lightning connector (as 30-pin devices did to the Lightning connector), that interoperability would be lost. This raises an important additional problem: a significant minority of people bought headphones as a significant investment, and in some cases a lifetime one. The idea behind purchasing more costly headphones was not to quickly transition away from them. Also, the transition to Lightning took away the ability to listen to wired headphones while charging. That may not be an issue for a lot of people a lot of the time, but it is the type of issue that was not present in any way with the 30-pin-to-Lightning transition.

I could go on, but this is enough to show that the analogy is, at best, imperfect.

Why do people keep suggesting that expensive headphones are now useless on the iPhone 7? At a minimum there's a free adapter provided by Apple. Most expensive headphones have detachable cables which can be used with a custom Lightning cable, or even a wireless dongle. Expensive 3.5mm headphones aren't going anywhere, and will have a place in Apple's ecosystem for years to come.

And yes there is a benefit to consumers -- a DAC and amp paired permenantly to the headphones ensures consistency of sound regardless of the device they're plugged into. That's something no 3.5mm pair of headphones has at the moment, each source coloring the sound with its own component quality.

 

[NorthSeaBeach]

Everything Sunking says. Skipping the jack is just a rip-off. Pure greed. A wireless connection will never be as stable and noisefree as a wired one. It's a pain in the ass.