Intel Touts USB-C as Future of Digital Audio as Apple Set to Ditch Headphone Jack

So we're supposed to bin our expensive wired headphones and replace them with lightning ones, which we then can't plug into our Macs and PCs.

Genius at work. Which clown signed this nonsense off?
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MacDarcy said:
Just like the floppy disc, people will bemoan the removal of the traditional headphone jack...but in time, ALL other smartphone makers will follow Apples lead.
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Oh no they won't. Having a headphone jack will be a massive seeking point for Samsung for years to come. You'll see.
 
dukeblue219 said:
Everyone knew the floppy was dying. It was slow and way too small, even for the late 90s. The question was what would replace it (which super floppy / zip disk technology). Apple just saw the writing on the wall that portable hard drives and flash memory were the future, and nobody missed the floppy.

The Lightning port was clearly better than the old 30-pin connector. People hated changing, but it had to happen eventually.

The 3.5mm analog headphone jack is still the king. They aren't replacing it with something "better." It's not like HDMI replacing RCA cables on your TV. For most iPhone users it will seem like change for the sake of change -- with no clear benefit to the user and lots of downside. That's why this is different.
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Thank you, Well said.
 
From a connector standpoint, I prefer Lightning over USB C as Lightning male part is a complete solid part, no holes on it that can trap dust/dirt. I do expect Apple to transition to USB C plug on the other end of the cable, replacing the current type A jack. I also expect Apple to deprecate current USB type A and Thunderbolt jacks on Macs, replacing them with USB C.

Motorola already took the plunge, eliminating the headphone jack on the Moto Z. Recent Android phones have already switched to USB C, replacing microUSB. It's only a matter of time.
 
arkmannj said:
I'm personally one of the people that wants to keep the 3.5mm headphone port regardless of the future of lightning.

With that said, I wouldn't mind seeing Apple move from lightning to USB-C, but I'm betting Apple likes its adaptor/cable/charger/MFI-certification income and will keep a proprietary port (lightning in this case).

I've never used USB-C before, can it plug in either direction like lightning? I love that about it.
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USB-C can be plugged in either direction.
 
Sakurambo-kun said:
So we're supposed to bin our expensive wired headphones and replace them with lightning ones, which we then can't plug into our Macs and PCs.
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You don't have to replace them. Just like the Moto Z, there will be adapters.
I remember the "transition" from 6.3mm audio jack to 3.5mm. I still remember having to get adapters to the smaller 3.5mm jack, with some companies including those with their headphones.
 
I would rather Apple choose to switch to a standard of they insist on removing the 3.5mm jack.

I don't like the change and will remain negative towards the idea until I see what the plans are to make up for the loss of such a critical and universal port. I know how people presume it will work and I don't like what people are saying. It's easy enough to adjust, but frustrating that an attempt to simplify could actually have the opposite effect.
 
Rocketman said:
At least this explains why Apple is going to include a Lightning to 3.5mm (1/8" phone plug) converter with the product. The product lifecycle of Lightning audio equipment will indeed be quite short and will be supplanted by a mountain of USB-C audio stuff.

Historical note. The 1/4" phone plug is how traditional phone calls were connected by operators.

ba4ddcd0-928e-4993-a0ee-f29338483e33-A13203.jpg


That entire room and many others like it was replaced by one instance on a single server. in a building where there are hundreds of servers and thousands of instances.
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That woman is giving me the sexy eyes.
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nt5672 said:
Does anyone know if either USB-C or lightening allows the phone to power the headphones? Or do we now have to wear batteries on our head also?
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yes. It does
 
dukeblue219 said:
Everyone knew the floppy was dying. It was slow and way too small, even for the late 90s. The question was what would replace it (which super floppy / zip disk technology). Apple just saw the writing on the wall that portable hard drives and flash memory were the future, and nobody missed the floppy.

The Lightning port was clearly better than the old 30-pin connector. People hated changing, but it had to happen eventually.

The 3.5mm analog headphone jack is still the king. They aren't replacing it with something "better." It's not like HDMI replacing RCA cables on your TV. For most iPhone users it will seem like change for the sake of change -- with no clear benefit to the user and lots of downside. That's why this is different.
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I agree 100%. The audio jack is just everywhere, it's easy to use (reversible and familiar) and you can plug in everything from small Hi-Fi, high end hifi, car, headphones. Everything.
Obviously having a digital connection and signals is better, but most people listen to crappy-wuality audio on crappy quality gear, so exchanging the audio jack for something else will be just a pain in the a** for most people. They won't hear it their in-the-box headphones while listening to crappy stream or downloaded mp3s.
That's not to say that the transition will happen sooner or later. But if Apple changes audio jack for Lightning or Bluetooth then I'm gonna show them the finger. I've spent too much cash on their proprietary cables over the years to fall for that one again...
 
dukeblue219 said:
The 3.5mm analog headphone jack is still the king. They aren't replacing it with something "better." It's not like HDMI replacing RCA cables on your TV. For most iPhone users it will seem like change for the sake of change -- with no clear benefit to the user and lots of downside. That's why this is different.
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1. Sound quality TBD
2. Space saving, while power utilising
3. Issues with 3.5mm maintenance - numerous issues with stuck or broken, wet jacks.
4. Water resistance.
 
mavericks7913 said:
And are you saying that USB-C port is not welcomed for iPhone? IT IS A STANDARD. That's the big point. Also USB-C port can do more than lighting port can do. So, what's the point of keeping lighting port for?
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If it's such a standard then why can't I guy a USB-C cable at 7-11 right now, but I can buy a micro USB cable and a Lightning cable? When I can do that, feel free to make your argument again. I'll bet by the time that happens, I won't need any cables to use my iPhone at all, and the "standard" will be moot.

What difference does it make if USB-C can do more than Lightning on an iPhone? Lightning 2 is capable of USB 3 speeds, which is likely faster than the internal hardware can even support. What else do you need it to do?

mavericks7913 said:
It is future but not reliable yet. The audio quality can not be even compare from wired headphone. Also, there are only few wireless system so far. It's slow also.
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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.
 
NO!

People are still cooling off from having to upgrade all their cables/docks/stereos from the last round of connector changes!
 
MacDarcy said:
Just like the floppy disc, people will bemoan the removal of the traditional headphone jack...but in time, ALL other smartphone makers will follow Apples lead.
Click to expand...
Everyone always brings up the floppy. It's days were numbered. If you want a better comparison, remember that time Apple ripped out all the then-standard ports and put in USB ports instead. USB was nothing like widely used at the time, good peripherals using it were few and far between. And there was all the same complaining about breaking standards that we're hearing now. But few would try to argue now, in retrospect, that we aren't better off with USB as a near universal standard than we were before with the hodgepodge of serial, parallel, PS/2, and ADB ports that USB replaced.
 
I'm surprised by how many people think an adapter is an acceptable solution. Does nobody remember the original Android phone, and how people were annoyed that it had no headphone jack?

This is going to be such a mess. So glad I just picked up a 6s to tide me over for a few years while they sort all this out.

Somebody wake me when Apple provides a solution that is universal, lossless, and interference- and battery-free. You know, like the 3.5mm jack.
 
kinich_ahua said:
Tim Cook is using ethernet because he needs to be behind Apple's corporate firewall to access the super secret Apple intranet. If he was on wifi, the connection would be slower, and he'd have to be on VPN all the time.
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I know you're essentially agreeing with me, but I don't see how being on WiFi necessitates using a VPN for secure access. If the AP is behind the firewall it'll be OK (the security implications of WiFi notwithstanding).
 
smacrumon said:
When Lightning was introduced, it was described as being the way forward for the next ten years. I wonder if it will see out the ten years or will something else replace it? Could Lightning be discarded in favour of wireless everything?
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yes please

Derekuda said:
I don't care what Apple or Intel says. I WON'T be buying any phone that does not include a headphone jack.
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eventually you will. And I don't know what all the fuss is to be honest.
 
deadshift said:
I'm currently using the headphone jack to get music from my iPhone to my 2010 subaru because my battery case and subaru argue about connecting over USB, and the bluetooth is only the low bandwidth version for hand-free speech and can't do stereo hifi. So, 6 year old car, no bluetooth, USB would require removing my case. The headphone jack has been a standard for my entire life and I still use it daily. A decent DAC in every iphone should still be the norm. I'm not ready to upgrade my car to match my phone.
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Spend $100 on a new head unit. ;)
 
Cosmoknot said:
I'm surprised by how many people think an adapter is an acceptable solution. Does nobody remember the original Android phone, and how people were annoyed that it had no headphone jack?

This is going to be such a mess. So glad I just picked up a 6s to tide me over for a few years while they sort all this out.

Somebody wake me when Apple provides a solution that is universal, lossless, and interference- and battery-free. You know, like the 3.5mm jack.
Click to expand...

That's the nature of transitional technologies. If you're not willing to live on the bloody edge of technology, then sticking with what you have for a while makes the most sense.

Personally, I'll take wireless any day from a mobile device. I love just having one cable to plug into my car to charge the phone, and one cable to charge it at home and at work. I love not having to juggle wires at the gym, or in an airplane when another passenger needs to go to the restroom. Nothing gets snagged on anything anymore, and I have hours more battery life than I could ever use on my headphones. And of course the beauty of wireless headphones, is that they have a 3.5mm jack which I can plug into anything if the battery should run out, after giving me fair warning. I'm looking forward to upgrading my cable to a Lightning to 3.5mm adapter so I can just plug it into a Lightning port when they enable it, perhaps even charging it at the same time (though that might be pushing it). Of course even better will be when I upgrade to a pair of BT 5 headphones with noise cancellation, and a detachable digital cable.
 
mdelvecchio said:
all right people, time to prove you aren't Apple haters -- gotta rage out on Intel now, too, right?!
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do you complain about all the rest of consumer goods that go into landfill? DVD players, vcrs, tvs, etc etc
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As soon as intel removes the 3.5mm plug from it's smartphone, people will be up in arms.


Oh wait.....


Why people are rushing to embrace the future of forced DRM, is beyond me.
 
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