For the very same reasons they went proprietary in so many other cases of their products as well; control.
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iPhone 7 Modded to Include Fully Functional 3.5mm Headphone Jack
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For the very same reasons they went proprietary in so many other cases of their products as well; control.
They don't gain control by removing the headphone jack, though. Bluetooth still exists and it's only a matter of time before knockoff adapters are sold (if not already)
CDs still provide better sound than the MP3s most people listen to.
they do gain a certain level of controls over monetization of music playback capability
With the 3.5mm jack in place, any consumer is free to go purchase any range of wired 3.5mm headphones from thousands of manufacturers. Apple receives no revenues from this stream.
by removing the 3.5mm jack, they introduce potential revenue streams:
1. if any device wants to use the lightning jack for audio, they must pay a MFI licensing fee.
2. Apple has two different lines of wireless devices that sell for premium prices. Beats and Airpods.
3. for users wishing to keep using their existing headsets, theirs potential revenues on replacement dongles.
This is a move by apple to drive these other areas of business and improve revenues outside of the iPhone category.
does removing the headphone jack give them 100% control? No. But it helps push enough people to spend money on things that Apple will directly benefit from additional revenues
people will end up replacing them. it still a potential improved revenue source. Prior to removing the iphone's 3.5mm jack, there was zero potential revenues from dongle sales of lightning to 3.5. Post, there's potential sales.
that's what Apple banks on
The presence of a headphone jack socket doesn't affect people who choose perceived ease of use. However, it does affect people who choose better sound quality.
So you're saying Apple made an unpopular change, one that risks sales of their device, to get revenue from accessories.
yes. accessories, and MFI platform, plus driving sales towards their own line of wireless headsets (via beats or Airpods)
it was a gamble. Apple was betting that overall, iPhone users would accept this change for "reasons", while driving additional revenue streams.
Apple has apparently gambled correctly. users of iPhones who upgraded to the iPhone 7 were willing to buy enough devices that Apple's gamble worked.
if you saw iPhone 7 sales tank after the change, and zero increase to the other revenue streams, it would have been a good indicator that the gamble was a bad one.
But that's what a lot of business is. Gamble that you're going to provide enough value to your clients for them to continue to purchase your goods/services. sometimes you win. sometimes you lose.
Makes no sense to me.. Essentially he just built in the thunderbolt to 3.5mm adapter. Instead, just permanently attach the adapter to the headphones you want to use -- OR, just get the thunderbolt headphones.
Literally, it would give you the exact same functionality, for $10 and 30 seconds, vs hundreds and months.
Literally, it would give you the exact same functionality, for $10 and 30 seconds, vs hundreds and months.
We're talking about him. He did something creative, interesting and newsworthy that demonstrates a fair bit of skill and knowledge. And given the number of views and people talking about it, he's made quite a bit of money with his time.
What did you do with your time the past week that wasn't a pointless waste
If you think he set out on this project to "make sense" you are completely lost as to why he did this.
It saw thousands of views from Reddit yesterday, one of the 10 most visited sites in the world, and made the front page there, racking up more than 669,000 views. Yes, it clearly lacks coverage.
Please re-read the original post and keep an open mind.
Oh, and look over your head as you read, the previous event might repeat itself.
Apple has already slipped to third place as a smartphone vendor since the 7 came out and there is no doubt this change cost them at least some sales.
It is far too early to tell whether their gamble paid off, but they've made the iPhone into a fashion product, losing too much popularity will kill them very fast. Fashion is a cliff, not a slope.
i'm not sure what you mean by "no hope here"
every business decision is a gamble of some extent. Even Apple releasing the iphone in 2007 was a gamble. it could have bombed.
anyone in business makes a gamble everytime they make a business decision. Now, most of that gamble can be mitigated by performing market research and other forms of investigation into the perceived affect it would have
that's the nature of business and the free market. you have to produce something someone wants, and produce it in a way to entice buyers.
there's no guarantees in business. there's absolutely zero guarantee for example that Apple will be around in a year from now. just like there's no guarantee that Apple will have record profits every quarter. They can set goals. but the market itself can react often in quite unpredictable ways.
If this guy can do it, then surely a company with a $200B chest and hundreds/thousands of engineers can design the same? Oh wait, I forget that the CEO is a bean counter, and would like AirPods sales. (Which I can't fathom why - AirPods are great, they can sell on their own. I would have bought it even with the headphone jack)
Approaching 200 posts with this, obviously hit a nerve . I'm still disappointed with the loss of the audio jack. There have been a few times when I've wanted to listen to a podcast with my earpods and charge the phone at the same time. I haven't seen very well designed adapters for this use case, anyone here have?
. I'm still disappointed with the loss of the audio jack. There have been a few times when I've wanted to listen to a podcast with my earpods and charge the phone at the same time. I haven't seen very well designed adapters for this use case, anyone here have?
I have explained, at length, why Apple removed the headphone jack. Money doesn't mean you can change the rules of physics. Either he removed the waterproofing or just messed up his barometer. One of the two.
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Approaching 200 posts with this, obviously hit a nerve
I think the best I saw was one of those Y connectors. Not well designed, but it works.
I understand why he did it, but, the end result just wasn't particularly appealing. There's no real/actual benefit here. Now, if he was able to charge AND use a headphone at the same time, then he's added something. But, there are Y cables available right now that are able to do just that.
I admire his tenacity and his creativity, but, it's just not that amazing.. He's ruined the water proofing and/or the barometer for the ability to not have a dongle attached to his favorite pair of headphones. Or, you know, just use Bluetooth.
