iPhone 7 May Ship With Lightning-Connected EarPods, New Wireless Earphones Also Under Development

[Rogifan]

As far as battery life with these wireless headphones....I remember when 9to5Mac reported the Watch was getting 2.5 hours battery life and the tech world lost its collective mind. That turned out to be completely bogus, at least with the product that actually shipped. There are a lot of things Mark Gurman gets right but he's not always 100%.

 

[Poisednoise]

I think you should go and read some reviews on the battery life of Sony handsets as they are better then the iPhone by miles literally.

Saying something is better "by miles" is a figurative expression. It can't be better by miles literally, when the unit of measure surely would be one of time, not distance...

 

[Frosties]

i have not read one review or listened to a pair of bluetooth headphones that have not had better audio wired than wireless. Bluetooth is compressed audio. Nice and wireless audio but not better than with a wire. For example beoplay h8 sound better wired. If you then select Noice cancelling also you have added white noice and duller sound. But when you need noice cancelling then that gives you at that instant and location better quality of sound to your ears. So why not have both, eh?

Regarding 24bit sound, it's mostly bunk as the production is of higher value than having it delivered in 16bit or 24bit to me.

 

[Jsameds]

i have not read one review or listened to a pair of bluetooth headphones that have not had better audio wired than wireless. Bluetooth is compressed audio. Nice and wireless audio but not better than with a wire. For example beoplay h8 sound better wired. If you then select Noice cancelling also you have added white noice and duller sound. But when you need noice cancelling then that gives you at that instant and location better quality of sound to your ears. So why not have both, eh?

Regarding 24bit sound, it's mostly bunk as the production is of higher value than having it delivered in 16bit or 24bit to me.

So is 99.99% of audio listened to on iPhones.

 

[ValO]

Seriously if I could have a newer iPhone designed just like the 4/4S I would be really happy.

It can have a bigger screen but i haven't liked an iPhone design since then.

That is subjective and personal.

I quite liked the updates on the design of the 5(s) and 6(s), don' t like the plus models though.
Hope they use a smaller footprint and less bezel on the 7+.

But there is a group of apple users that just can' t handle changes on design, and wan' t to go back to the good old days.
I agree with that, but not on design. Their design department is still performing very good.
It is the software and services department and the " good old days" of releasing finished products that i worry about. Their level of perfection before releasing a product has deteriorated since apple maps( watch os, ipad pro, apple maps, etc). I feel like a beta user sometimes.

 

[pika2000]

I think if the replacement of the older tech is a standard, then it's not a big deal. Eg. floppy drive vs USB. USB is a universally accepted standard. Sure, Apple ditched the floppy drive on iMacs (they made it external), expecting people to utilize USB ports, then again PCs also have USB ports.
The lightning connector, however, is Apple's own. And anybody making a headphone with lightning has to license it from Apple. And considering it will be pretty much only on Apple iDevice products, I think I can understand why people feel upset.

As for waterproofing, Sony shows that their engineering team has no problem making a thin waterproof phone with a plain 3.5mm audio jack and microUSB, and no flaps either. If this is the excuse from Apple, then I expect the waterproofing of iPhone 7 to exceed Sony's Xperia Z phones.

I have decided to be on the S cycle from now (starting with 6S). Anytime there's a new design, there seem to be a risk of issues (structural integrity, QC, antenna issues, etc). I mean Ive has made great designs, but he's not perfect.

The only thing that would make me want to upgrade right away from my 6S to 7 is if Apple made the iPhone upgrade program available in my country.

 

[Jsameds]

I think if the replacement of the older tech is a standard, then it's not a big deal. Eg. floppy drive vs USB. USB is a universally accepted standard. Sure, Apple ditched the floppy drive on iMacs (they made it external), expecting people to utilize USB ports, then again PCs also have USB ports.
The lightning connector, however, is Apple's own. And anybody making a headphone with lightning has to license it from Apple. And considering it will be pretty much only on Apple iDevice products, I think I can understand why people feel upset.

As for waterproofing, Sony shows that their engineering team has no problem making a thin waterproof phone with a plain 3.5mm audio jack and microUSB, and no flaps either. If this is the excuse from Apple, then I expect the waterproofing of iPhone 7 to exceed Sony's Xperia Z phones.

I have decided to be on the S cycle from now (starting with 6S). Anytime there's a new design, there seem to be a risk of issues (structural integrity, QC, antenna issues, etc). I mean Ive has made great designs, but he's not perfect.

The only thing that would make me want to upgrade right away from my 6S to 7 is if Apple made the iPhone upgrade program available in my country.

USB wasn't as standard as you might think when Apple ditched the SCSI and parallel for it.

There was just no USB stuff around.

There was a huge rush to support it and produce USB peripherals after Apple got behind it.

 

[OllyW]

USB wasn't as standard as you might think when Apple ditched the SCSI and parallel for it.

There was just no USB stuff around.

There was a huge rush to support it and produce USB peripherals after Apple got behind it.

I think they mean it was an open standard and not a proprietary connecter like the Lightning port. USB started to appear in PCs not long after Apple released the iMac, I don't think we'll ever be seeing Lightning in Android and Windows phones.

 

[Clarky!]

Those Dash buds would be awesome if they weren't $299.

Apple ones would be way more expensive

 

[Jsameds]

I think they mean it was an open standard and not a proprietary connecter like the Lightning port. USB started to appear in PCs not long after Apple released the iMac, I don't think we'll ever be seeing Lightning in Android and Windows phones.

If you want an open standard then use Bluetooth.

People ignore the fact that BT is actually an option here and always seem to dwell on "Lightning is propriatory" rather than assessing all the available options.
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Apple ones would be way more expensive

Apple stuff isn't way more expensive than premium, on average it's about the same price as the other premium options if you actually look.

 

[Poisednoise]

USB wasn't as standard as you might think when Apple ditched the SCSI and parallel for it.

There was just no USB stuff around.

There was a huge rush to support it and produce USB peripherals after Apple got behind it.

True, although the difference was that USB was at least a universal standard, albeit one that was only at the beginning of its journey to public acceptance. It had a lot of other advantages also in terms of size and expandability (to think you used to only be able to have one peripheral on a parallel port... And as for SCSI and the nightmare of chaining them in the right order, and terminating it properly... Augh!). By contrast, lightning is not universal, and while it is clearly superior to the 3.5mm jack in many respects, I do feel the fact it's proprietary is not to be ignored. As you say, there was a rush to support USB, because companies could see that in 2-3 years time this was likely to be what most computers would have, and so if you produced a printer with a USB socket on (initially, in addition to the parallel port) you were more likely to be chosen by the forward-thinking consumer. Ok, so Philips produce a set of headphones with a lightning connector, but I don't envisage Shure/Sennheiser/AKG etc rushing to meet this market any time soon. It's just not a comparable scenario.

 

[OllyW]

If you want an open standard then use Bluetooth.

People ignore the fact that BT is actually an option here and always seem to dwell on "Lightning is propriatory" rather than assessing all the available options.

And other people ignore the fact that some people will want to buy or already have a good set of headphones and will want to use them with all of their existing devices, some of which might not have Bluetooth.

 

[Jsameds]

True, although the difference was that USB was at least a universal standard, albeit one that was only at the beginning of its journey to public acceptance. It had a lot of other advantages also in terms of size and expandability (to think you used to only be able to have one peripheral on a parallel port... And as for SCSI and the nightmare of chaining them in the right order, and terminating it properly... Augh!). By contrast, lightning is not universal, and while it is clearly superior to the 3.5mm jack in many respects, I do feel the fact it's proprietary is not to be ignored. As you say, there was a rush to support USB, because companies could see that in 2-3 years time this was likely to be what most computers would have, and so if you produced a printer with a USB socket on (initially, in addition to the parallel port) you were more likely to be chosen by the forward-thinking consumer. Ok, so Philips produce a set of headphones with a lightning connector, but I don't envisage Shure/Sennheiser/AKG etc rushing to meet this market any time soon. It's just not a comparable scenario.

As above, if you feel cornered by "propriatory" then you can always go Bluetooth.

The way I see it there were five options (at a push) of getting audio out of an iPhone:

Handset Speaker
Main speaker
Bluetooth - Open standard
Headphone jack - Open standard
Lightning - Propriatory

And soon there will be four, but you still have an open standard available.

 

[Poisednoise]

As above, if you feel cornered by "propriatory" then you can always go Bluetooth.

The way I see it there were five options (at a push) of getting audio out of an iPhone:

Handset Speaker
Main speaker
Bluetooth - Open standard
Headphone jack - Open standard
Lightning - Propriatory

And soon there will be four, but you still have an open standard available.

...which isn't compatible with any of my current Shure/AKG headsets, and is also lossy. The only real options currently for proper sound are the headphone jack, or one you've not mentioned: AirPlay.

 

[Jsameds]

Any other people ignore the fact that some people will want to buy or already have a good set of headphones and will want to use them with all of their existing devices, some of which might not have Bluetooth.

There will be an adapter for the interim period.

Then in a few years when you buy your next set of headphones that you wish to use with your iPhone you will have a choice. BT, lightning or headphone jack and adapter.

Let's not forget Apple will likely bundle lightning headphones with every iPhone as well.
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...which isn't compatible with any of my current Shure/AKG headsets, and is also lossy. The only real options currently for proper sound are the headphone jack, or one you've not mentioned: AirPlay.

Good call.

I'd like to see Apple take BT up to AirPlay standards.

I have a feeling they will unveil a new compression standard that gives you uncompressed audio at MP3/AAC bitrates, that you can stream over Bluetooth.

 

[rtrutter]

Well, this is the final straw with Apple. I will not buy another iPhone from Apple if they do this. The current headphone technology is not good enough for Apple. It has been a standard for years. Why the change??? It is not for a thinner iPhone... It is thin enough. And quite frankly, Apple's own earbuds are not the greatest. Now, they are going to use something from Beats which is equally poor in quality but expensive as other Apple products. I am sick and tired of Apple always gouging it's customers with "New and improved" technology. It is not necessary. They make enough money with charging it's customers a premium for this iPhone. People wake up.

 

[OllyW]

There will be an adapter for the interim period.

Then in a few years when you buy your next set of headphones that you wish to use with your iPhone you will have a choice. BT, lightning or headphone jack and adapter.

Let's not forget Apple will likely bundle lightning headphones with every iPhone as well.

I'm still struggling to see a positive out of all this.

 

[Jsameds]

I'm still struggling to see a positive out of all this.

Smaller devices. Fewer wires. Higher quality audio all round. Better controls. Better noise cancellation tech. Pushing an entire industry forward.

 

[APlotdevice]

If you want an open standard then use Bluetooth.

People ignore the fact that BT is actually an option here and always seem to dwell on "Lightning is propriatory" rather than assessing all the available options.
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Not everyone wants yet another device they're going to have to charge all the time.

 

[Jsameds]

Not everyone wants yet another device they're going to have to charge all the time.

Then get wired headphones.

Jeez do I have to hold everyone's hand through a technological transition or something?

 

[APlotdevice]

Then get wired headphones.

Jeez do I have to hold everyone's hand through a technological transition or something?

In what universe is "transitioning" from a universal standard to a proprietary one a good thing?

 

[Jsameds]

In what universe is "transitioning" from a universal standard to a proprietary one a good thing?

No - that is not what is happening. I've seen this too many times already.

We are transitioning from TWO universal standards and one propriatory to ONE universal standard and one propriatory.

What's the advantage of propriatory? You are an Apple user, you should know that by now.

 

[oldmacs]

Smaller devices. Fewer wires. Higher quality audio all round. Better controls. Better noise cancellation tech. Pushing an entire industry forward.

You can already go buy Bluetooth Headphones if you want. A lot of people are very content with how thin/small iPhones currently are, especially if going thinner means loss of convenience and extra costs. Better Audio quality can also already be had suposisdly by getting lightning headphones. Pretty pointless though given the lack of high quality music sources from Apple, Better controls? Noise cancelation tech will develop fine without Apple removing the 3.5mm port.

Besides the lack of wires (which is offset anyway by the more wires needed to charge the bluetooth headphones/charge the device when the additional power drain of bluetooth takes the battery down quicker. Oh and the connectivity issues of bluetooth, and the bother of turning bluetooth on and off etc.

Or if we go with lightning enabled headphones, you've got a proprietary connector... which is a great idea (/s) when you have something like headphones that you move between devices frequently. Then comes the inconvenience and complete environmental wastage of adaptors.

People were not forced off ethernet onto Wifi through removal of ethernet, they were pushed over by the fact that it was good enough to pay more for. If Bluetooth headphones etc were that good, they would be in majority use without Apple having to remove the 3.5mm port.

 

[OllyW]

Smaller devices. Fewer wires.

Ok, but wired headphones are not a big problem for a lot of people.

...Higher quality audio all round. Better controls. Better noise cancellation tech. Pushing an entire industry forward.

That is all possible without the removal of the 3.5mm jack and you can't push the entire industry forward if the Lightning connector is not available to the entire industry.

 

[Jsameds]

Ok, but wired headphones are not a big problem for a lot of people.


That is all possible without the removal of the 3.5mm jack and you can't push the entire industry forward if the Lightning connector is not available to the entire industry.

It is possible, yes, but speed is key in the tech world.

We'd still be using the headphone jack in 2030 if someone didn't have the balls to kick it now.