I hope whatever solution they come up with that they make it possible to both charge your phone and listen to music at the same time. If they don't come up with a solution for that then they're reducing the functionality of the phone which will be quite annoying.
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iPhone 7 May Ship With Lightning-Connected EarPods, New Wireless Earphones Also Under Development
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When there's something better to replace it. Which there isn't yet. Or when the world has moved away from common use of that jack. Which hasn't even started yet.
Same.
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I'm tired of Apple getting rid of the things I know and love. First it was then command line interface. Then floppy drives. Then DVD drives. Now 3.5mm connectors. I'm going to protest and start listening to music on cassettes (TDK and Maxell, baby!), 8-tracks, and reel-to-reel only. Using 1/4-inch headphone jacks!!!
And movies on a betamax lol
My first thought was 'this would render the selfie-stick market dead overnight for new iPhones"
But seriously, this really isn't good. I love my iPhone and I couldn't think of anything they could do to make me not get the iPhone 7 except this.
I have a cheapish pair of in-ear £30 earphones that I keep scrunched up in my pocket ready for when I need to listen to music on the go. You just can't do that with bluetooth headphones - the same applies for the millions of people who still use Apples terrible white bundled earphones.
All this for the sake of thinness?
Would love to say I'd switch to Android because of this, but lets be honest, thats not going to happen, may just end up getting the new 4inch iPhone they release.
But seriously, this really isn't good. I love my iPhone and I couldn't think of anything they could do to make me not get the iPhone 7 except this.
I have a cheapish pair of in-ear £30 earphones that I keep scrunched up in my pocket ready for when I need to listen to music on the go. You just can't do that with bluetooth headphones - the same applies for the millions of people who still use Apples terrible white bundled earphones.
All this for the sake of thinness?
Would love to say I'd switch to Android because of this, but lets be honest, thats not going to happen, may just end up getting the new 4inch iPhone they release.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Yes, we people are stupid. Only Apple knows best.
That "converter" has to be in 2 places in this vision. You still need that "converter" inside the phone because the phone still has to convert digital to analog for the internal speaker to work.
You also need an amplifier in 2 places for the same reason.
But that's (redundancy) is "the future."
It is pretty amazing how little "people" understand basic audio technology.
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There will still be a cords. Bluetooth does not deliver quality audio as good as corded options. One part of the rationalization spin is the rumor that Apple is also going to roll out higher fidelity audio files in iTunes. Bluetooth can't play current fidelity iTunes music as good as corded connections.
The difference will become a different jack at the end of those cords or an adapter at the end of those cords. The Future. I love it!
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Oh the irony in your statement that you were obviously too oblivious to take notice. Unless pun was intended...
What other products could you possibly need...?So... are they going to add a Lighting port to the Mac line? Do they expect people to invest in Lightning headphones that they can't even use with their other products?
There couldn't have been a greater time to make a universal switch to USB-C
/s
All joking aside, many folks here keep saying that cheap headphones with the 1/8" (what I refer to the 3.5mm as) are ubiquitous, so why would Apple do such a thing?? I don't know, maybe so your listening experience can be that much better on an Apple device. And if you're using a non-Apple device, you can still use those cheap, ubiquitous headphones everyone keeps talking about.
If you have a favorite pair of headphones (Like, say my Sony MDR-7506) you can use an adapter if you absolutely HAVE to plug them into your iPhone 7. But do you really NEED a pair of Master-Quality headphones for all the compressed, digital audio stored on your phone? You're not mastering vinyl here...
(Note-I'm not necessarily saying the MDR-7506 is a Master-Quality headphone)
The biggest inconvenience is the requirement for a second battery. It usually makes headphones bulkier, you need them charge regularly, it's yet another device that can die on your in the middle of something. Yes, that sounds like a real inconvenience. The cable on the other hand seriously has never been inconvenient to me. It was never difficult for me to figure out where to put it or whatever. In fact, the cables were often part of the functionality to me — I often got the phone out of my pocket by pulling on the cable, or disconnected the headphones to automatically stop playback. Or using the remote on the cable to control volume.
Looks like my post maybe wasn't clear enough. I'm in total agreement with you. I was responding to a post complaining that 3.5 was analog and implying that somehow lightning headphones would be better because they're "digital".
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
This has to be a rhetorical question... it just has to be.
Yes, and Apple is likely going to replace those white bundled earbuds with a set of lightning. So nothing changes. If you have to be prepared to use them on any 3.5mm device, then you carry an inexpensive adapter that's no more than a 2" extension on the end of your cable, which you only remove when you use an Apple device, and keep in that same pocket where your earphones were scrunched up so you don't lose it.
And what makes you think the new 4" iPhone will have a 3.5mm jack?
Unless they remove the speaker from the next iPhone, the phone will still have a DAC. But as you said, the DAC in the iPhone provides superlative audio...and since speakers are analog devices, you will need to keep that superlative DAC in the next iPhone. So it is never going to be 100% digital. Do you even think before you post?
Wow...your post is so full of misinformation. What you think <> reality.
I personally have spent thousands total on many headphones over the years. Most wired, some wireless. All the wireless models have been thrown away, because in the long run the wired versions often work so much better and last so much longer. And, yes, the better the headphone the better the music and sound no matter what source you get it from.
Haha, I see what you did there ... How's this:
Way too big. Where do I put that in my pocket? If I bend it around behind the phone, will that put stress on the plug and port?
As long as they include a free adapter, I will be OK with it during the mean time, until I find a pair of BT Headphones I truly like.
Apple's not completely stupid. iPhone is their cash cow. If they had data that suggested most people are not using the headphones that come with the phone but ones that they purchased separately (and they're wired) they're not going to get rid of the headphone jack or if they do there's going to he an adapter in the box. My guess is Apple has pretty reliable data that most people are using the headphones that come in the box or are using wireless. And the people that are freaking out about this are the small percent that don't use the headphones that come in the box. And I'm saying this as someone who doesn't use Apple's headphones so I would be impacted.
So how does that happen if everybody says what you just said. How will the world move away from common use of that jack if nobody ever gets rid of it? It's got to start somewhere.
Sorry I don't think $29 for a pair of headphones is obscene.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Carrying a separate adapter is sooooo much better an option than just sticking with the "as is."
Of course, Apple could go ahead and make the switch to bundling in Lightning earbuds without jettisoning the 3.5mm jack. That would cover all bases:
- Apple could embrace "the future"
- All the people who are already trying to spin this Lightning connection option as superior could take advantage of it (of course, they can already do that too but it doesn't seem to be taking much hold).
- All us dummies that can't just go with what is rumored could compare the Lightning audio playback vs. the 3.5mm audio playback and hear the superiority for ourselves.
- All the people that want their current (perfectly fine) headphones to work without having to carry adapters could keep using the 3.5mm jack
- All the people arguing that this is really about wireless (Bluetooth) could keep using wireless (Bluetooth). And if it is about wireless, Apple could ship wireless earbuds and let us hear that audio superiority vs. a corded option.
If the new phone design is similar to the iPhone 6, my current iPhone 6 is well enough to last through until the next redesign.
Plus USC-C is far more robust than the rather flimsy lightning connector. The exposed contacts on the lightning connector are a minus as well.
I'm going to assume the new 4inch phone won't have this as its very un-apple like to introduce a new idea with a non-flagship phone.
I just don't like the idea of having to carry an adapter around with me, and add an extra layer of inconvenience for (in my opinion) not much gain.