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Intel Touts USB-C as Future of Digital Audio as Apple Set to Ditch Headphone Jack
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Wake me when the future arrives. And by future, I mean wireless headphones that don't need to be charged every day, can also deliver as good or better sound than 3.5mm, and also do NOT contain built in DRM.
The future is far from bright, with this move by Apple.
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This wouldn't be a problem if Apple adopted USB-C or included aptX support in their Bluetooth stack.
We switched from 30 Pin to Lightning after 5 years of iPhone. Next year will mark 5 years of Lightning connectors, seems like a good time to make one final switch to USB-C and call it done.
I know Apple loves proprietary ports, but if we're killing something as common as 3.5mm, the replacement NEEDS to be just as versatile and available... and no, buying one pair of headphones for my iPhone and a pair for other devices isn't a good solution either. Nobody wants to do that.
We switched from 30 Pin to Lightning after 5 years of iPhone. Next year will mark 5 years of Lightning connectors, seems like a good time to make one final switch to USB-C and call it done.
I know Apple loves proprietary ports, but if we're killing something as common as 3.5mm, the replacement NEEDS to be just as versatile and available... and no, buying one pair of headphones for my iPhone and a pair for other devices isn't a good solution either. Nobody wants to do that.
Does lightening connector offer benefits over realistic use of currently available USB-C for a mobile device? That's the question I don't see clearly answered. And let's be honest. cost matters. USB-C might be compelling, but is it currently better? Or does lightning offer everything that USB-C does and then some? That's today, at today's volume production and pricing. I will happily buy a dongle for a few needs if the overall functionality is better. This is the crux I see. What's the real deal here? Standards in today's tech reality have little meaning. The pace of innovation is so fast that throwing the line in the sand at one tech point is meaningless.
In many cases, I am. In this particular case, the "bleeding edge" is inferior in sound quality and more of a hassle than what's currently available. Unless, of course, Apple has something amazing up their sleeve. Which could very well be the case.
You can do all this today. I love my BT phones for certain uses. For the gym and the car, they're great. I even use them when walking around town and on the subway.
But when I want to just sit and listen to music, nothing currently beats wired headphones. The sound quality is better in every way. In time that will change, but I've been through dozens of pairs of wireless phones, looking for anything that sound as good as even my low-end Grados. I've found nothing.
Maybe it would help if Apple actually supported AptX in iOS. Maybe that's on the way.
That's a cool feature, if your headphones support that. Many of my BT phones do not. (And when I plug in the pairs that do, the improvement in sound quality is notable.)
I'm also not sure how I'm supposed to listen to music as I fall asleep at night with my phone charging. I guess I'll have to purchase a splitter now, too?
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the problem is not the removal of the audio jack but having only one port for charging and listening to music
Tim and Jony: "let's bring the overpriced adapters and splitters !!!! more money for us !!!"
Great Jony, keep removing ports and great Tim, let Jony care about thinner thinner thinner, that's what really matters !!!
these two fouls are both a combination of incompetence and lack of care
they already made hundred of millions so they don't give a f of what apple users want or need
Tim and Jony: "let's bring the overpriced adapters and splitters !!!! more money for us !!!"
Great Jony, keep removing ports and great Tim, let Jony care about thinner thinner thinner, that's what really matters !!!
these two fouls are both a combination of incompetence and lack of care
they already made hundred of millions so they don't give a f of what apple users want or need
I think "Amazing product" is actually trademarked by apple, and must be used in every conversation while an apple employee....no factual reference to "amazing" nor "product", its like a greeting, confirmation....
lol are you arguing that USB-C is hard to find? Give me a break. Does lighting cable can connect monitors, transfer data from HDD or SSD, tether from camera, charge up to 100w, support 5k, and etc? NO. Thunderbolt 3 is also USB-C type port. It supports more too such as 40gb/s which USB 3.1 can't even support, external graphic card, one cord docking system, 4k displays, and etc. You see, USB-C type port can do more things. Lighting port is limited and can't support more.
[/QUOTE]Why don't you wait until Apple announces the new iPhone before you assume they aren't going to introduce any improvements to wireless audio when they do remove the 3.5mm jack.[/QUOTE]
It will take a long time for that dude. Im talking about NOW. Yeah, I said NOW. Why are you even talking about the future in present time? Apple had a chance to add USB-C port but they still didn't. Also, wireless is not that stable and reliable. I used a lot of headphones and earphones for several years and wireless headphones and earphones are still way behind wire versions and much expansive compare to its specs and performance. I assume that you should check current trends in technology field first before you even reply.
Nobody has to do that. They already make headphones today that are platform agnostic. People will only need to buy one set of headphones with a digital interface, and then swap out the cable for whatever they use most, USB-C, Lightning, 3.5mm, USB-A, whatever. The initial investment is never lost. I also expect to see hybrid cables that offer several plug options via the same cable, so a person can plug into anything without carrying around adapters or swapping cables.
And no, now is not a good time to toss 4 years worth Lightning cables into the trash to replace them all with USB-C which isn't even widely in use. Especially when we won't likely be using cables for anything in another 5 years. 30-pin docking connectors have been around for 10 years, that was one of the big selling points of the iPhone is that it was compatible with all the dock devices that already existed. Switching to Lightning after 10 years was tough enough, I'd rather not switch to USB-C in less than 4, especially when I probably won't even need cables in 4 more years. And neither do half-a-billion iDevice users around the world. Besides, I can buy a Lightning cable at 7-11 at 3AM. Until I can do that for USB-C why would I want to change?
USB-C is IRRELEVANT to the discussion of whether or not anyone should get rid of a headphone jack. The lightning connector is already sufficient for a digital connection, if desired. I think Intel is pressuring Apple to switch to USB-C. Perhaps they should (USB3 is superior to USB2 equivalent Lightning connections and USB-C will be the STANDARD the rest of the world uses so Apple putting itself in an incompatible box "just because" is so 1990s), but the headphone jack argument is MEANINGLESS.
My 2008 Macbook Pro has a dual-purpose mini-jack for both headphone/speaker use and digital output. In that sense, such connectors aren't exactly a quantum leap and there's nothing inherently "superior" about putting a DAC in a headphone instead of inside the phone itself! In that regard, I find Intel's "argument" absolutely STUPID.
The ONLY question should be what's best for the consumer? In an oversized "XL" type phone, there's plenty of room for a headphone jack plus USB-C plus stereo speakers on one edge, let alone considering it has other sides where jacks can exist. So for the saving of a few cents, the consumer should have to buy dongles and/or new headphones??? I'm sorry, but that's one sad sorry excuse of an argument.
I understand the appeal of wireless headphones, but Intel would do better to help improve the Bluetooth standard so it can handle even Redbook CD audio standards without having to use some form of compression (i.e. Bluetooth is SLOOOOOW).
My 2008 Macbook Pro has a dual-purpose mini-jack for both headphone/speaker use and digital output. In that sense, such connectors aren't exactly a quantum leap and there's nothing inherently "superior" about putting a DAC in a headphone instead of inside the phone itself! In that regard, I find Intel's "argument" absolutely STUPID.
The ONLY question should be what's best for the consumer? In an oversized "XL" type phone, there's plenty of room for a headphone jack plus USB-C plus stereo speakers on one edge, let alone considering it has other sides where jacks can exist. So for the saving of a few cents, the consumer should have to buy dongles and/or new headphones??? I'm sorry, but that's one sad sorry excuse of an argument.
I understand the appeal of wireless headphones, but Intel would do better to help improve the Bluetooth standard so it can handle even Redbook CD audio standards without having to use some form of compression (i.e. Bluetooth is SLOOOOOW).
There are several simple ways to achieve this without splitters:
An pass-through connector is the most obvious in the Lightning power cable. Insert the charging cable, then add whatever device you want to add. Optional pass-through Lightning cables for headphones and devices will allow you to add as many Lightning devices as Apple allows.
A Lightning port in the charger block itself, in addition to the USB port. That way, a set of Lightning equipped headphones can plug into the charging block along with the iPhone and the signal will be based through.
Assuming a pair of Beats Lightning headphones, a pass through built into the headphones like the 3.5mm passthrough is already built into some. Plug power into the headphones, and the headphones into the iPhone.
And so on ...
And I acknowledge what you're saying about already being able to do all the stuff with Lightning and wireless, so no need to remove the headphone jack, which is generally true. But again, we don't know why Apple is specifically removing the headphone jack. I'm in the camp that they have a reason for adding new technology. But even so, it's hard to push people in the direction of new technology if there's no reason to give up what they're already doing, especially if what they're already doing costs less. I'm sure you'd agree there are a lot of people out there who use the free earbuds that Apple provides, or other cheap drugstore earbuds they pick up when they lose or damage their Apple ones, who don't really care about sound quality. They might even like to use wireless headphones, but can't afford them. So boosting demand for new alternatives by removing the cheap current tech they're used to, increases competition, drops the price, improves quality and everyone benefits.
And this is the part I really like about going to a digital interface -- aside from improved compatibility between the DAC & amp, and speakers, it means the headphones are going to sound identical on any digital source they're connected to. Right now, every pair of analogue headphones is completely dependent on the third party DAC and amp that's supplying them. Add to that, every headphone jack is already compromised providing an output that is both suitable for driving a basic pair of headphones, and most line-level stereo equipment. And depending on what's attached, the results are met with varying degrees of success. And like anything else, until there's a standard of digital audio interfaces, developers can't rely on investing too much into anything in any significant way. Once they know there's a digital standard customers are obliged to buy, then they can develop accordingly. This technology will really take off when customers can easily try on any pair of headphones, easily pair them to any source, and compare them on equal footing, choosing the sound they prefer without any influence from the source equipment.
But right now, my only choices are BT 4, with varying degrees of quality and ease of pairing and setup, limited selection of mostly expensive options, and a hodgepodge of Ligtning implementation with no easy to use lossless source files, often expensive, usually cumbersome, and very limited selection, especially of integrated headphone systems. I'm expecting Apple to introduce new MFi standards, and new hardware which sets the bar for the third parties. And that will pave the way for customers to embrace the change. Who knows, maybe the current iPhone isn't very exciting intentionally, so that customers won't feel compelled to upgrade if they avoid the latest flagship without the headphone jack, giving the industry a year to catch up with products just in time for the next iPhone which will introduce all the new exciting features. Well just have to see what they do ... Not long now.
Apple's done an impressive job using proprietary cables to lock in customers while generating massive profits. Easily conned into believing the hype, Apple Devotees love the clever names like "lightening" "retina" "pro".
Apple's world class marketing draws them in. The obscenely high prices create an image, perceived status, that appeals to the vain. Showing off their iPhone or Apple Watch is the confidence booster they pay for. Apple's marketing department is crucial to the companies success. More than anything Steve Jobs true talent was as a salesman.
sorry, but the end of proprietary things is the end of Apple. Part of what makes apple special and magical are the custom-designed details.
Without differentiation, Apple will slowly slide into being another HP/Dell/Lenovo/Samsung.
Not sure if this is Cook's fault or it was inevitable.
Without differentiation, Apple will slowly slide into being another HP/Dell/Lenovo/Samsung.
Not sure if this is Cook's fault or it was inevitable.
Good point.
I am personally all in favour of getting rid of the headphone jack, once it is gone we will see a larger push for R&D in this area which will result in some great products; we are already starting to see good wireless devices come out now with good battery life and for the general consumer i personally believe we have 'good enough' devices.
But I always thought of the removal of the jack as the beginning of the end of wired headphones not a transition to USB-C/lightening and you're right one good thing about headphones is regardless of manufacturer you can wack em in anything; now we might have USB-C vs Lightening headphones and that's not good all around.
I hope apple drop the proprietary lightning port and use USB C for iphone 7S- the capabilities are endless.
Difference is USB-C cables will be a lot cheaper than lightning cables.
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Wouldn't that same argument apply to the lightning port?
You can make a phone waterproof and still keep the headphone jack
I'm guessing they would make the MB port lightning if not for the fact that nothing will be compatible with it, namely accessories and peripherals down the road when most PC makers switch to USB-C. iOS devices can still afford to have lightning port without too much user backlash simply because most good mobile accessories has to support iPhones to make money, making sure the lightning port won't have much incompatibility issues.
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Yes, but most people won't be trying to charge their phones in a pool, but a good number will probably want their phone to be usable for audio in the water.
Apple makes money selling lightning licences to cable manufacturers.
They could make life easy for the customer and use an open standard. Or they could make money with licences. Of course they could also make money, by making products their customers would actually want, but let's not get daydreaming here.
They could make life easy for the customer and use an open standard. Or they could make money with licences. Of course they could also make money, by making products their customers would actually want, but let's not get daydreaming here.
Same plug! It was the standard! Still is.
1/4" phone plug, 1/8" phone plug (now called 3.5mm), Ethernet (RJ45) are very old standards that still survive today. Similar to the Ethernet plug is the more modern phone plug (RJ11).
Old School Rocketman
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There won't be USB-C vs. Lightning headphones. The same headphones will be platform agnostic and work on both with a simple cable swap or adapter. Apple will continue to use Lightning, Android will switch to USB-C. Wireless headphones will work on either, or with optional cables for either. And in the end, who wants cables anyway?
Assuming you can find one when you need it. I don't know, I can buy Lightning cables for $2 a cable on Amazon. The cheapest USB-C cable I can find is $6. But I'm sure that will change once somebody actually starts using it.
You have an Ethernet port on your iPhone? RJ11 may still be around, but I couldn't tell you the last time I saw anything plugged into one, or a device that actually had one.