iPhone 7 and 7 Plus Again Rumored to Feature Smart Connector, but No Stereo Speakers or Thinner Design

[The Game 161]

As what I have said in my earlier comment, iphone is dead when Steve Jobs died. No more bright expectations for me in iPhone. I will change to Samsung or Sony coz it's more better. Not compared to iPhone, same as always, boring.

yet i bet you will return.

 

[ValO]

I bet that Apple will close the gap in screen tech, bezels, etc in the next 2 years. They already closed soc tech and are in the lead. And Memory controllers are superior.
The so called technical superior android flagships will be finished by then and will only be able to compete in price.
The next big thing will however be foldable displays which will allow a smartphone transforming to a tablet. Samsung will be first and Apple should find a way to not use Samsung oled tech and leapfrog them in development in the next 5 years. They have made a start by acquiring luxvue and screen tech development centers around the world. At this time in screen tech they will be too dependent of Samsung and will never beat them in screen tech. Perhaps they will use true tone and superior calibration, but screens will be the same.

 

[Abazigal]

As what I have said in my earlier comment, iphone is dead when Steve Jobs died. No more bright expectations for me in iPhone. I will change to Samsung or Sony coz it's more better. Not compared to iPhone, same as always, boring.

Be my guest.

As for myself, I will stand by and watch Apple's continued ascent all the way to the top.

 

[kyykesko]

They probably are for a magsafe equivalent for iPhone. Don't forget that apparently the 3.5 audio jack is going away and the lightning port is going to be used instead. This allows for both charging and use of headphones while also opening the field for accessories that use it and an easier/safer charging solution.

That makes even less sense. Make our chargers AND headphones obsolete at the same time by just switching the connectors around? Let's repurpose usb to charge, thunderbolt to be audio input and magsafe for usb connectivity in Macbooks, too! Yay!
[doublepost=1460894841][/doublepost]

I have spent enough on wired headphones, they all break close to the jack sooner rather than later. The Apple earbuds used to last a year for me but with the iPhone 6, the cables started fraying at headphone plug end after less than six months (something about the iPhone 6 size puts more stress on that part when in my pocket). Replacing the Apple earbuds every couple of months is one thing, but the plug of my $200 headphones also broke off while inside the phone, was some tricky business to get it out of the iPhone headphone plug socket.

I've been using Bluetooth earplugs for five months now without any sign of them needing replacement.

Maybe buy quality ones instead of $15 crappy ones. Any half decent bluetooth headphone beats those with hands tied behind their backs. It appears someone also sold you pair of those with a $200 price tag in them. I've got 3 different >$150 headphones and it'd take heavy machinery to destroy the plug in that way. They can take the beating and at the same time sound just amazing. I'm not going to throw them away just because someone decided it's a nice idea to fill the world with different adapters (which WILL break as easily as those chinese knockout headphones).

No adapters for me. No iPhone without 3,5mm jack, either. At least iPhone SE had the headphone jack. If nothing else I'll just try to survive with that.
[doublepost=1460895017][/doublepost]

Longer battery life?

Well, you'll get a lot longer battery life without the 3,5mm jack anyway given that I wouldn't be able to listen to music on my phone all day as I do now. Let's also remove the phone functions and the screen and we'll get a beautiful blank slate with a really long battery life because it can't be used for anything! Happy happy, joy joy!
[doublepost=1460895147][/doublepost]

I am really hoping for stereo speakers to be implemented, similiar to the iPad Pro versions. I use my speaker phone a lot on my phone for calls, music and video's. The enhanced sound would be much appreciated. I am using the iPhone SE currently, and the speaker is sub par at best. I would like to think they would introduce stereo speakers in place of the deleted headphone jack. Time will tell.

iPad speakers are sub par. All of the iPhone speakers are sub par. So are all of the other tablet/phone speakers. They're good enough for occasional speaker phone use, not for anything else. Hell, my Macbook Retina 15" speakers are sub par and imho they are pretty decent for laptop speakers. I still wouldn't use them for a second when I have better options available - and pretty much anything IS a better option.
[doublepost=1460895368][/doublepost]

Maybe. I would like to keep the headphone jack, but I want to see the solution. What if iP7 comes with a small Bluetooth box to which you can attach your headphones?

Another little box to recharge constantly. I've tried a few bluetooth receivers in my time and never liked any of them. If my phone is in my left pocket and the receiver in the right one and I'm wearing thick winter clothes the sound breaks up every now and then. The battery life in all of the small enough ones is not enough for anything, really. In addition to all the other negatives that would never come for free. I also wouldn't really enjoy buying more than one of those - or to plug/unplug it at home, work and car all the time to get the best sound regardless of my location.
[doublepost=1460895996][/doublepost]

So you will accept something less than a flagship phone in the event the Android flagships likely also drop the headphone jack?

You buy an adapter for the car. Might cost as little as $10 from a third party. Or buy a $20 BT adapter. The car is the least problematic place to solve this problem.



"Pretty sure"?

I guarantee Apple is not removing the headphone jack arbitrarily. They are most likely doing it because they are pushing the boundaries of what features they can introduce into the new phones through miniaturization and battery improvements. If Apple is facing this, then you can bet the other flagship handset manufacturers are facing it as well. I would also bet Apple has research to back up user habits informing such a move. The backlash will likely be vocal, but from a minority of customers -- at least the customers who will be buying Apple's flagship phones.

And for those whom it would affect, the reasons you indicate are minor inconveniences ... it would not "render millions of headphones and earbuds useless", as a simple inexpensive inline dongle would accommodate any pre-existing headphone or Aux-jack, or just use the brand new Lightning earbuds Apple will likely include in the box. For the car, that's even easier. I bought a $20 BT adapter for my car a year ago, and it improved my whole experience, since I didn't have to mess around with wires overtime I got into and out of the car with my phone.

But your concern is one of the reasons I'm against adding stereo speakers, because then it means Apple is removing the headphone jack in the absence of any industry need to do so, which will most certainly backfire on them.

So If this happens, then yes, Android will follow shortly thereafter with Apple leading the way as usual. Or, I will be back here telling you were right, just as disappointed in Apple's move as you are now without giving them the benefit of the doubt.

Yes, I would buy something less than a flagship phone to get the features I need. Screw Apple Pay, NFC in general and several other things. I never use them. Hell, I use the phone's camera only when there's nothing better available. I couldn't care less whether it's 8MPix or 12Mpix, the quality simply isn't there for anything more than basic everyday snaps. Give me a phone without all those and with the 3,5mm jack and I'd still buy it.

And no, I won't buy an adapter. There's enough adapter junk in my bags as it is and I've done my best to avoid having to buy those. Either they're never where I need them or the break at the worst time - and they all do cost loads of money, making owning my device a lot more expensive considering they're never upwards compatible with the next crappy thing they come up with. I'm not going for all-USB-C computer until there's enough devices so I can actually go all-USB-C. I'm worried they end up killing all normal USB ports from the next Macbook. I've got 20+ apple dongles from different ages simply because I've had no choice. If there is something I can do to avoid getting a single more I WILL DO IT. I don't need iPhone 7 that bad.

.."brand new Lightning earbuds"... you must be joking? That's the only thing that is only barely better than the speakers those damned soap boxes have. That's as far as those go. The last 3 earbuds are probably still in the phone box, waiting for me to decide to resell one of my phones. Why would anyone use such inferior headphones when you could buy a lot better ones with $20? Ah, in the future the answer is obvious: "because you'd also have to buy a dongle to connect them".

At least my 6S+ and SE have the headphone jack. I've purchased every top model I've been able to so far. Currently it seems it won't be happening with 7+.
[doublepost=1460896184][/doublepost]

But honestly if they're working on a much bigger redesign that isn't ready (OLED screen, no physical home button etc) then it doesn't make much sense to radically redesign the 6S for one year.

I really hope they won't get rid of physical home button. I've hated all the Android ones I've tried with hidden/touch buttons. The home button is one of the best things about iPhone. I can find it without looking at the phone. That's it's purpose.
[doublepost=1460896436][/doublepost]

well that's your choice and your loss.

There were a couple dozen people who also refused to upgrade when Apple replaced the 30 pin with lightning.

Except that there is no comparison. Replacing one proprietary Apple kludge with another proprietary Apple kludge is one thing. Replacing a plug that's industry standard and used by everyone, for everything is a bit different. Offering a crappy adapter that will end up breaking constantly is hardly a solution. You actually dare to keep something connected to the lightning port while on the move, when the phone is in your pocket? Try bending the lightning cable up/down a bit and see how much force it takes to break the connector. Not very much, I can tell you. Good luck buying new adapters weekly.
[doublepost=1460897429][/doublepost]

Oh I know what you meant. But that particular adapter did one thing only, it took the same signal, and allowed headphones with plugs too big for the iPhone hole to be used. And I think Apple charged something like $10+ for theirs. It was a completely pointless thing to do, and although there was seemingly a rational explanation for it (Apple was concerned that larger headphones would put too much strain on the connector), the better solution was to re-engineer it so that any headphones could be used.

This is something completely different. Apple is likely introducing new HQ audio capability along with iTunes support, which is one way to spin it. They're probably going to release an industry defining set of bluetooth headphones and earbuds. They're likely going to give away Lightning earbuds that are higher quality than those most people currently use. Adapters will likely enhance the quality of the audio most current users are getting (another marketing point), and Apple will make them reasonably affordable and elegantly styled to be virtually invisible. Lightning headphones will include things like noise cancellation without bulky batteries, and other digital controls not possible with the analogue jack. In other words, so many more options to using the 3.5mm headphone jack than the original iPhone situation. And Apple will have to spin this. And my guess is they will introduce some new exciting feature that they can use to justify reclaiming the space of the old jack.

So yes, there will be some backlash, but isn't there always? You say "Too many people rely on the 3.5mm jack in their phones", but I'll bet Apple has a pretty good idea just how many people that is, and in particular, how many that are using their flagship phones -- because that's all this change initially affects in the first year. And, it might only affect the base 7 customers, and not the Plus customers, thus driving upgrades (though I bet Apple will eliminate it across the lineup to drive wireless adoption). The SE and iPhone 6 will still have 3.5mm jacks for the low end customers who probably use the headphone jacks the most because they can't afford BlueTooth headphones, much less new high end headphones. But the high end Flagship customers may not be as attached to them.

And the backlash may be short lived as other phone makers start dropping the headphone jack to make room for other features too in order to stay competitive with Apple, at least at the flagship level. So Apple sort of has this covered for the people who absolutely can't afford to make the transition -- and there's yet another explanation for the cheapest iPhone Apple ever offered also being almost as functionally featured as the most expensive phone. And for everyone else, it may not be that big of a deal. Certainly not as big a deal as having to buy an adapter simply because their plug wouldn't fit.

If even half of that were true it might almost be a reason for them to justify the change. However, I'd be very surprised if they included even half of what you described in the base price. They might sell you a dongle for $79 that does some of that. Even then you'd end up with a dongle you either have to charge or one that would be connected to the lightning port, killing your ability to charge the device at the same time and making the whole combination too big to carry in the pocket. My 6S+ is already big enough to stick out of the pocket and I do have to take it out to tie my shoe laces, so dragging the SE around for a few days was pure joy.

I've purchased every top model Apple has put out and would keep doing so - as long as they work with my devices. There's not a single high enough quality lightning equipped headphone on this planet. Nor will there be in quite a long time because none of the high end headphone manufacturers can't be arsed to pay Apple their license fees for a connector that works with a single device type.

The people who buy low-end phones most probably also buy low-end headphones so I'm a bit confused why you think the same people would go for the cheapest in one category and still be ready to pay good money for quality in another? Bluetooth headphones aren't expensive, they're dirt cheap. You get what you pay for, and I've yet to see a bluetooth headphone that'd give sound that's even close to true audio quality. Sure, I used a BT headset at gym for convenience and because it's sweatproof unlike my real headphones. Guess how many seconds I use that same BT headset outside of gym? Yep, I don't.

Using headphones (or worse, Apple's Earpods) with lightning connector as a reason enough to drop the 3,5mm jack - good luck with that. Using dongles, even worse. Buy a cheap headphone amp and hook it up between your phone and headphones and you get to see what a delight that is. I've tried. Want to buy mine?
[doublepost=1460898124][/doublepost]

Out of curiosity...
Since most people that have a nice expensive set of headphones use a SINGLE pair- what is your issue with leaving the adapter on the headphones & forgetting it's there?
Also- you say you're not willing to carry "another" adapter... do you mind listing the myriad adapters that you are apparently currently forced to carry around that have put you in your foul mood??

I've got 3 different expensive sets, two of which I use constantly. One at the office and one at home. The 3rd set in my older one I use sometimes for random stuff. In addition to that I use the 3,5mm jack in my car, at the office when I play music from speakers, when teaching dancing in different locations (all of which offer 3,5mm jack and that's about it). At home I plug in the phone to my stereo system. I used AppleTV for a while but it was just too kludgy. You do the math. I also have 2 bluetooth headphones, one for gym and another for general use but I very seldom use the latter because I don't see a reason to bother when I can get so much better sound with the wired ones.

What comes to adapters/dongles/etc, try this:
- tb-vga adapter
- tb-dvi adapter (I do lots of trainings, I need to be able to hook up to whatever projector they have)
- tb- ethernet (macbook retina)
- usb ethernet (chromebook)
- usb-rs232 dongle
- hdmi to vga for my chromebook
- headphone amp/dac (which I don't drag around anymore because using it was such a pain)
- usb card reader

I've probably forgotten some. That's at least the stuff that comes to my mind I'm currently forced to drag around daily. At least I don't need tb-hdmi adapter anymore because this mbpro15ret has it out of the box. And yes, it also has a SD card slot but that's already taken by JetDrive so I have enough space for my stuff, and too often just SD isn't enough anyway.

I didn't include all the different chargers, battery packs and cables I need in addition to that because those aren't dongles. Still, buying and having to use half a dozen new dongles just to be able to live my life is not something I look forward to.

 

[kyykesko]

You mean the rMB is not good looking? The Mac Pro? Functional is a thing good looking is another

Yes, it looks good and is a perfect example of how to do things wrong. It's small, it's beautiful and it's completely useless. 0h battery life, useless keyboard and no connectivity. Other than that it's ok.

It's kind of like the ASUS Zenbooks. They look like Macbook Air, with better specs but they only have two down sides. They keyboard and touchpad are utter crap. If you don't need to use the computer and just use it to adorn your table it's the perfect laptop.

Oh wait, with rMB the idea was to use a dongle, external keyboard, external mouse, external screen and .. what was the point of that computer after all?
[doublepost=1460899991][/doublepost]

Have you heard of wireless BT headphones? Some people been using them for years. I personally rarely use the wired one, but I do admit though that lot of people still use the wired ones. Wired headphones are going to be obsolete, not a matter of if but a matter of when.

Have you heard of the sound quality of wireless BT headphones? What about the need to charge yet another device every damned night. Ever heard of people who run out of juice on their phones in the middle of the day and realize there's no more music for you until you find a plug and sit your ass down for a hour or two to recharge them. I have, happens to me all the time. That's why I bought the Skiva charger to charge at least half of my devices each night. The BT phones barely survive through a gym visit. I wouldn't rely on them for much more than that. Not to mention the sound quality.

Wired headphones will be a reality to everyone who appreciates any kind of sound quality for several years to come. Of course, if you listen to Justin Bieber and such it's probably best to opt for lower sound quality. The only way to improve that would be to throw the headphones out of the window entirely. Actually, why bother with headphones? We have the nice speakers in the phones. Let's just add another on the other side of the lightning port and we have stereo sound! Omg! Let's add a few more and call it surround sound. After that all you need is a way to wrap the phone around your head and you'll hear Justin's whining from all around you!
[doublepost=1460900718][/doublepost]

Companies made up the difference with people who were getting the bigger plans. People like me made out with the smaller plans. A small part of the plan obviously offset some of their losses. Nothing close to $15. It's in the low single dollar amount. These providers came nowhere close to getting full-retail price for each phone. It's the reason you would two different access fee amounts the past year or so, one for subsidized and one for retail. Because providers were losing money on people like me, they dropped two year contracts.

My total cost for two years = $399 + $60(x24) = $1839.
Total cost today for monthly phone = $60 plan (deducted $5 from 3gig plan) + $35.41 (phone) x 24 = $2409.84

Difference = 570.84.

The choice was easy for consumers. Providers knew that and ended subsidizing.

Nice prices. How about 20e/mo for unlimited LTE data, 1500SMS/mo, unlimited most calls. Not that I ever use even 50 sms per mo. So my total for 2 years = 899e + 24*20e = 1379e (~$1555). But no, you're not subsidizing anything.. it must be Verizon has to charge you three times as much for a plan much worse because they are so much bigger and have many times more customers than we have people in our country. You'd think it'd be the other way around...
[doublepost=1460900973][/doublepost]

Dude. they will be giving free lightning headphones with each iPhone.

Having lightning headphones will open up all kinds of new features. Lighting can offer lossless digital audio and enabling advanced features such as noise cancellation and digital-to-analog conversion without the use of batteries.

Dude, EarPods are for the deaf. As an added bonus you can't use them with any other device other than the iPhone so you're stuck using one set with your phone and another with everything else.

Lightning can enable all kinds of stuff but it's not without the use of batteries. It's using your phone's battery which will drain even faster than it has been so far - and it hasn't been all that slow to begin with.
[doublepost=1460901286][/doublepost]

There will likely be a plethora of quality adapters that won't detract from quality headphones, as well as many solutions for other doomsday-like complaints.

It's not the quality of the adapter, it's that you get to buy and drag around yet one more small dongle which will a) get lost b) break c) end up being in the wrong place when you need it.

 

[manu chao]

Maybe buy quality ones instead of $15 crappy ones. Any half decent bluetooth headphone beats those with hands tied behind their backs. It appears someone also sold you pair of those with a $200 price tag in them. I've got 3 different >$150 headphones and it'd take heavy machinery to destroy the plug in that way.

Do you consider Etymotic headphones to be $15 crappy ones? And thanks for calling me a complete idiot for paying $200 for a pair of headphones that apparently are sold elsewhere for $15. You can guess what I am calling you (hint: it also contains the word 'complete'). Moreover, if you are willing to lend me your iPhone, I'd be happy to demonstrate that I can break off the headphone plug without any heavy machinery.

 

[goobot]

That makes even less sense. Make our chargers AND headphones obsolete at the same time by just switching the connectors around? Let's repurpose usb to charge, thunderbolt to be audio input and magsafe for usb connectivity in Macbooks, too! Yay!

Did you somehow over look the fact that the Lightning port will obviously still charge the device?

 

[BvizioN]

Have you heard of the sound quality of wireless BT headphones? What about the need to charge yet another device every damned night. Ever heard of people who run out of juice on their phones in the middle of the day and realize there's no more music for you until you find a plug and sit your ass down for a hour or two to recharge them. I have, happens to me all the time. That's why I bought the Skiva charger to charge at least half of my devices each night. The BT phones barely survive through a gym visit. I wouldn't rely on them for much more than that. Not to mention the sound quality.

Of course I have, don't be silly. I use one. I am not going to pretend (like many bat ears guys do) that I am "expert" on a sound quality and notice any much difference. To me it sounds good enough for what I use it (workout or when travelling, I don't work on recording studio ) and charging it every couple of days is not a big deal to me, and it takes 5 seconds of my time to do it. I don't live in a Wall-E world where the living beans are super lazy and expect things to be done for them.

 

[navaira]

charging it every couple of days is not a big deal to me, and it takes 5 seconds of my time to do it

Do I understand correctly your BT headphones charge in 5 seconds?!

 

[BvizioN]

Do I understand correctly your BT headphones charge in 5 seconds?!

No, it does not. It takes 5 seconds to plug it in charge before I go to sleep and then as you would probably imagine it charges while I am asleep, during which time I find no need to listen to the music.

 

[kuito]

i know i have said this everytime a rumor about them getting rid of the headphone jack, but I really won't buy the new iphone if it doesn't have one. I don't like the idea of having to buy an adapter and all that non-sense.

iPhone does not need to be thinner.. It needs to have more battery life and more focus on making the software better. I am also hoping for faster charging. Those would be beneficial - not removing the headphone jack that most everyone can use. really hoping they are dead wrong about this part of the rumor

 

[urda]

No headphone jack? Then we are done with iPhones. Several people (none of them technical) have said they will move to Android if apple does this. They spent too much money on good headphones to compromise with Bluetooth headphones.

Don't worry, you won't be missed.