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iPhone 6 - Magnetic Headphone Jack

K

Kurso

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 10, 2013
304
3
The biggest challenge phone developers have is how to cram everything into a tiny form factor and providing the correct balance of 'stuff' vs. battery. Apple takes this to the extreme with relatively small form factors. When you look inside of a phone one component stands out in terms of the space it consumes vs. the relative value it provides: The 3.5mm minijack.

It is obviously important to connect headsets to the iPhone. In fact I prefer connecting a wired headset, even for hands free calling, over a Bluetooth unit. But if we could use the space the jack consumes inside for other things (a slightly larger battery maybe) I'm all for it.

So my question is, would you like to see a MagSafe style connector for the headphones, assuming it would lead to more space internally for other features or larger battery? Compatibility would be the biggest issue, and an adapter (like Replug has today) would be required.
 
12vElectronics said:
No. Headphone jack has too many uses for me to lose it for like 5 minutes more of battery life.
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What do you do with it besides headphones? Obviously there are devices like Square but a new Square reader or adapter would solve this.
 
Interesting idea, but as you said compatibility will never allow this to happen. Everyone's headphones would no longer work, and require special adapters or proprietary hardware, both of which wouldn't go over well with customers. The benefits of the extra free space inside the phone would be minimal compared to the negatives. And if a larger iPhone does come out in the future, then you're even less likely to see this happen, as there will be more room inside a larger phone.

Kurso said:
What do you do with it besides headphones? Obviously there are devices like Square but a new Square reader or adapter would solve this.
Click to expand...

Headphones are a pretty big thing to brush off. My iPhone acts as my iPod, so headphone jacks are an absolutely essential need for me.
 
Good idea, I do believe like the others it's not going to catch on (pun intended). I guess instead of mag safe they could reinvent a smaller connection. And just supply an adapter. But the chances are slim.

These ideas are what Apple are about though. Ingenuity and out of the box thinking. < < that's a compliment btw :)

Anthony
 
Kurso said:
What do you do with it besides headphones? Obviously there are devices like Square but a new Square reader or adapter would solve this.
Click to expand...

Do you know how many people use that to connect their phone to their car stereo to listen to music!

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sportsfrk214 said:
Headphones are a pretty big thing to brush off. My iPhone acts as my iPod, so headphone jacks are an absolutely essential need for me.
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This.
 
sportsfrk214 said:
Interesting idea, but as you said compatibility will never allow this to happen. Everyone's headphones would no longer work, and require special adapters or proprietary hardware, both of which wouldn't go over well with customers. The benefits of the extra free space inside the phone would be minimal compared to the negatives. And if a larger iPhone does come out in the future, then you're even less likely to see this happen, as there will be more room inside a larger phone.



Headphones are a pretty big thing to brush off. My iPhone acts as my iPod, so headphone jacks are an absolutely essential need for me.
Click to expand...

No, an adapter would provide compatibility. Look at the Replug.

http://www.replug.com/home.php

You will still be able to plug in your existing cables or anything that uses a 3.5mm minijack. You just wont have to take up the space inside the phone for the plug to insert into.
 
Kurso said:
No, an adapter would provide compatibility. Look at the Replug.

http://www.replug.com/home.php

You will still be able to plug in your existing cables or anything that uses a 3.5mm minijack. You just wont have to take up the space inside the phone for the plug to insert into.
Click to expand...

So basically I need to buy a third party accessory in order to replicate a function the current device currently has, and for what? To fit a slightly larger battery with a barely noticeable increase in battery life? Sorry that's not enough of a benefit for me to justify the negatives. I like the idea of magnet connections, but I'm not sure it would be practical in this case.
 
I'd like to see an all in one jack personally. Whether magnetic or not I don't much care. I see what you mean though that it's usually the ports that constrain the device. That will change soon enough I imagine.

My next headphones will be bluetooth regardless. I hope that bluetooth becomes a major trend in the future.
 
I wouldn't mind a magnetic headphone jack at all, BUT will all the vendors follow it? that's a big IF, and I don't want a stooped adapter.
 
sportsfrk214 said:
So basically I need to buy a third party accessory in order to replicate a function the current device currently has, and for what? To fit a slightly larger battery with a barely noticeable increase in battery life? Sorry that's not enough of a benefit for me to justify the negatives. I like the idea of magnet connections, but I'm not sure it would be practical in this case.
Click to expand...

Yep. Just like you do with MagSafe and MagSafe2. Or 30-Pin to Lightning. Adapters are a pretty common thing.

And the battery volume increase, given the volume of the headphone jack could probably come close to 4%. Not bad considering that battery capacity over the last three phones (iPhone4, 4s and 5) was under 1.5%

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Mrbobb said:
I wouldn't mind a magnetic headphone jack at all, BUT will all the vendors follow it? that's a big IF, and I don't want a stooped adapter.
Click to expand...

That is the great thing about Apple. They are one of the few companies that could lead to industry change.
 
Kurso said:
Yep. Just like you do with MagSafe and MagSafe2. Or 30-Pin to Lightning. Adapters are a pretty common thing.

And the battery volume increase, given the volume of the headphone jack could probably come close to 4%. Not bad considering that battery capacity over the last three phones (iPhone4, 4s and 5) was under 1.5%
Click to expand...


I suppose I just feel that in this case you'd be creating a need for an adapter that wasn't really there before, for no real good reason. There are other components located above the battery in addition to just the headphone jack space. Either they'd need to create a really odd shaped battery to take advantage of that extra space, or completely reorganize a lot of other components. It just doesn't seem worth it.

Look at the inside of the iPhone 5 below. Notice where the headphone jack input is, above the battery. It really doesn't take up all that much space, and there are so many other parts located above the battery aside from that. Don't really see how you could free up enough space in there from simply removal of the headphone jack that would equate to a 4% increase in battery size.

iphone_5_vs_4s_internal_001.png
 
Not sure about anyone else but a magnetic connection would likely disconnect too easily for me. I often pull on my headphones to get my phone out my pocket and I can't count the number of times my headphones have prevented by phone falling to the floor.

I would much rather have a standard connector that works than a stupid magnetic thing that will mean I have to fork out for an adaptor that is going to disconnect all the time.
 
sportsfrk214 said:
I suppose I just feel that in this case you'd be creating a need for an adapter that wasn't really there before, for no real good reason. There are other components located above the battery in addition to just the headphone jack space. Either they'd need to create a really odd shaped battery to take advantage of that extra space, or completely reorganize a lot of other components. It just doesn't seem worth it.

Look at the inside of the iPhone 5 below. Notice where the headphone jack input is, above the battery. It really doesn't take up all that much space, and there are so many other parts located above the battery aside from that. Don't really see how you could free up enough space in there from simply removal of the headphone jack that would equate to a 4% increase in battery size.

Image
Click to expand...

I've pulled both apart.

While it doesn't look like much it really is. In fact if you take your picture, just measure the size of the barrel connector, in pixels, relative to the size of the battery of the iPhone 5. You should get about 3%. What you can't see in your picture is the circuity around the connector, which can be moved now as well.

4% increase should be easy.

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Brenz said:
Not sure about anyone else but a magnetic connection would likely disconnect too easily for me. I often pull on my headphones to get my phone out my pocket and I can't count the number of times my headphones have prevented by phone falling to the floor.

I would much rather have a standard connector that works than a stupid magnetic thing that will mean I have to fork out for an adaptor that is going to disconnect all the time.
Click to expand...

I have had my headset save me a number of times as well. I don't know what the resistance of the 3.5mm jack is and I have no way to measure it.

But try this: Try to pull out a MagSafe connector. Try to pull it straight out, not at an angle (no cheating). It is much easier to pull the 3.5mm plug out than the MagSafe.
 
Terrible idea in my opinion :rolleyes:

Until headphones are universally revamped there's no point in messing up everyone's accessories for a marginal battery life increase.
 
Magnetic headphone Jack doesn't really sound like an Apple thing. I'd expect some sort of improvement in wireless audio or some fancy Bluetooth headphones before a magnetic jack.
 
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