And when I want to use all the wired headphones I've already invested in, the Lightning to 3.5mm jack from Apple will only cost me $49.99!
Nope. I doubt it'll cost more than $20 from Apple, and a LOT less from other manufacturers. What's your basis for that claim?
The second speaker rumor would be nice if it came in stereo.
I will gladly give up the headphone jack for stereo speakers.
This gives Apple room to add a stereo speaker
The good news here (assuming it actually happens) is that Apple will include a second speaker on the bottom. I'd prefer dual firing front facing speakers but this is better than what the iPhone currently offers.
A second speaker in an iPhone is the LAST thing they will do. They are eliminating the 3.5mm jack to make room for other features, larger battery, etc. The quality of a speaker the size required in an iPhone is so low, not to mention the spatial separation being so close, as to make the inclusion of a second speaker pointless.
If they really do drop the standard headset jack, I might already have my last iPhone. Sad because I've been using them since the second generation.
Apple is not dropping the jack arbitrarily. They need the extra space taken up by a single function redundant connector to add new features. I'll wager that if Apple really drops the 3.5mm jack, that the other manufacturers are in exactly the same boat (running out of room in their phones to add new features without removing anything), and they will drop the headphone jack within a year of Apple doing it. They only reason they haven't yet is because they don't have the balls that Apple does, or the customer loyalty. So if Apple does it, you're going to have a hard time finding any phone with a standard headset jack.
I'm not inclined to believe just yet that they'll really get rid of the jack entirely. Besides using it for headphones, a lot of self-employed people / small businesses are using the Square reader via their headphone jack. Make that disappear and suddenly a lot of the user base basically gets pushed out =/
Not the main market for the iPhone. The current 3.5mm credit card readers will likely work using a Lightning adapter too. Moreover, the credit card reader companies, or the customers banks might actually give them an adapter specific to the port for free to prevent them jumping to a competitor if they buy a new one. And as has been pointed out elsewhere, if someone hasn't upgraded to a contactless, or chip equipped reader, then they can just buy one with the correct connector. This is likely a non-problem.
This is where switching to USB-C would be nice - it would allow for a much wider range of accessories and also open the door for cheaper accessories that don't have to license the lightning port.
Regarding Lightning-based headphones, I do agree that Apple needs to streamline tech across all platforms simultaneously. And if they are going to go the proprietary route, bring that to the Mac, too. Imagine if they simply used a Lightning connector on the new MacBook instead of USB Type-C? Or if Type-C is so great, why not drop Lightning entirely and just use C across all products? It's this patchwork connector tech that creates the mess and consumer confusion.
Going USB-C this fall would start the push for a universal headphone jack that could replace 3.5mm.
Staying with Lightning only delays that.
USB-C is a larger connector INTERNALLY than the Lightning port. So that doesn't save them as much room, which is clearly why they are getting rid of the 3.5mm connector in the first place. Moreover, using USB-C could create a lot of confusion. Apple doesn't allow a lot of desktop peripherals to work with iOS now via the Camera connection kit. If there's a universal port on an iPhone, you're going to have the average consumer plugging desktop peripherals into the iPhone and complaining when they don't work, or worse, if they cause damage. And, Apple's iOS USB-C peripherals won't work on PCs, which might possibly damage them as well. It could be disastrous, but confusing at best.
No matter how well BT headphones are made, they will never be as good as a wired connection. Bluetooth simply doesn't have enough bandwidth to handle audio without some level of compression.
NEVER is a long time. Ethernet is a far superior connection to WiFi, yet which one is most widespread? And it's not like Wifi is without it's problems. Which a customer use all depends on the situation and need. Likewise for wireless headphones. And who says the future of wireless lossless audio is BT? The average consumer is experiencing compression from start to finish in the typical audio path. If they are happy with Bluetooth compression what's the problem. There will be other solutions for people who demand better. But the idea wireless will NEVER, ever be as good as a wired connection is kind of short sighted.
Which one of these phones doesn't have a 3.5mm port? I don't think it's what is holding Apple back from a smaller/better ratio iPhone.
How many of those phones have 100% of the identical features to the iPhone 6S?
