Lightning Headphones: Are They Better or Just an Inconvenience?

[Armandodj]

Apple keep it the way it is, Bluetooth and regular headphone jack. Keep it simple no big deal, I don't need more cables more adapters. I don't understand why people want drastic chances right away and later on complaint about it. This lightning cable it's sucking my battery, why Apple it's making me buy more adapters. Look what happen to the Mac Book Air, if ain't broke, don't fixed it.

 

[igorsky]

Maybe some will, but they will almost certainly not migrate to a proprietary connector that doesn't work with anything else.

Ah yes because so many people are ditching their iPhones for all the benefits of USB.

 

[ApfelKuchen]

Our iPhones today include a 3.5mm headphone jack with a built-in digital to analog converter, or DAC, for playing music, which is then amplified through a built-in amp. Size and cost constraints associated with the 3.5mm headphone jack limit the quality of the DAC and amp, but in Lightning-connected headphones, the DAC and the amp are built into the headphones themselves instead of the iPhone, allowing manufacturers to control sound quality.

The DAC and amp are built into the jack assembly? Really? I've been trying to find confirmation of this elsewhere, but so far, no luck. Is the ADC for the headset mic also located there?

Sure, it's conceivable, but I know from teardowns that there are several Cirrus Logic audio chips on the main logic board - at least one is a Cirrus Logic codec - those typically contain ADCs for the various mics, and DACs and power amps for the headphones and various speakers. Why, if one or more of these fully-integrated audio processors is on the MLB, would they outboard part of that capability to the headphone jack?

 

[2010mini]

Please explain how you plan to plug in Lightning headphones & a charger at the same time and you'll have your answer.

Funny when I use a headphone I am usually mobile so charging at the same time is a moot point.

 

[igorsky]

Maybe some will, but they will almost certainly not migrate to a proprietary connector that doesn't work with anything else.

"Nobody is ever going to want a phone without a physical keyboard...every smartphone comes with one."

- Blackberry

 

[cmichaelb]

There was a time when Sony was perceived by the market as leader in innovation and accessibilty. Then in their self sufficiency restricted their gadgetry compatability to nonuniversal inhouse accessories (Sony Memory Stick, Sony Betamax, etc). They called it innovation, and in fact they were superior to their conterparts, but the trade off was incredible inaccessibility. Unless Apple is sure to win the market with this new format, its better not to create massive inconveniences. Continue this pattern, Apple will loose credibility as Sony did. Sony might seem like a joke today, but every house hold used to own several Sonys just 20 years ago.

Sony still makes awesome earbuds in the $30-50 range. They kick the hell out of Apple Earpods.

 

[ericwn]

Don't know how many "music players" you personally use, but I'm almost certain that your average person uses one...their phone. I mean just look around you and use anecdotal evidence...when was the last you saw someone outside of a music studio with headphones that weren't attached to a phone? Your personal use case notwithstanding, removing the 3.5mm jack won't effect the extreme majority of people. They will use the (alleged) Lightning headphones with their primary music player...their iPhones.

Worst case scenario, you can keep and use your legacy Earpods for all of your other music players.

So the average person doesn't have other audio devices and the occasional wish to listen to headphones? What about tablets, computers, game consoles and folks who buy one pair of quality phones to share with their partner. All these scenarios would be broken by an island solution that only Apple supports. This will work OK for some fanboys, for sure, but it will put ordinary people in situations where they feel the Apple solution is way more complicated because it cannot work anywhere else.

End of the day, for good sound quality one would also then have to buy either an adapter for existing headphones or a third party device because whatever will be in the box included will only meet very basic audiophile needs.

We see the folks arguing against Bluetooth when it comes to the iPad keyboard (too laggy, battery consumption, pairing is difficult...) and for Bluetooth when it comes to audio.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Thanks for the video, it really clarifies a lot of the issues with removing the 3.5mm jack. Before I saw this, I was of the opinion that it was foolish to remove it. But when you focus on the DAC, it's a little bit more obvious why Apple would like to externalize that component. If they focus on the improved audio quality aspect of removing the 3.5 mm jack, I think they will get a lot more people behind that decision.

Slippery, slippery, slippery slope. Riddle me this: what else currently INSIDE an iDevice could be better if it too was evicted to outside accessory devices?

Answer: pretty much EVERYTHING.

Once we allow marketing spin to rationalize ejecting utility but leaving the price the same, we practically beg for that again and again. Why leave the iDevice battery in there when longer-life batteries can easily be hooked up OUTSIDE the device? Why leave the camera in there when far better cameras can be hooked up OUTSIDE the device. And on and on. Eventually, we are paying about $1000 for an empty box or maybe just a single Lightning 4 connector to which you assemble your whole iPhone with accessories (sold separately of course) so that it can do all the things the iPhone 6 "used to do" right out of the box and without adapters.

While it is certainly true that a better quality DAC can yield better-sounding audio, the alternative option would be to build a better quality DAC INSIDE the next iPhone. It has to have a DAC anyway so that it can work as a phone. Our ears can't hear digital audio whether it's music or someone's voice in a call. Since it MUST have a DAC inside anyway and if audio quality is actually an issue to address, address it where it will improve the quality of both music and phone calls.

 

[cmichaelb]

Funny that anyone would care about the quality of headphones listening to ****** quality mp3 or mp4 compressed and stripped source files to begin with... The other side of that is bluetooth makes your ****** source files sound even ********. What a dilema!

What about those of us who have all our music in lossless format?

 

[igorsky]

So the average person doesn't have other audio devices and the occasional wish to listen to headphones? What about tablets, computers, game consoles and folks who buy one pair of quality phones to share with their partner. All these scenarios would be broken by an island solution that only Apple supports. This will work OK for some fanboys, for sure, but it will put ordinary people in situations where they feel the Apple solution is way more complicated because it cannot work anywhere else.

So Apple's island solution will prevent you from buying a pair of cheap headphones to use with all of your other devices? Seems like you're making mountains out of molehills.

 

[Cwolk]

They can't use the Lightning port forever; it's already falling behind new standards of wireless/magnetic charging (yes, I know those are very different from each other). If they remove the headphone jack then they will have to stick with the Lightning port for at least 3-5 more years. They can't make everyone buy lightning headphones then switch ports.

 

[Larry-Bloom]

I don't understand what's wrong with the wireless/Bluetooth headphone option? There are great ones to use starting at $20 on Amazon and up depending on your purchase preference. No reason to stay wired any more practically and even those wireless headphones come with a wiring option.

Quality (sound quality is not as good with the connector) and battery life.... it's another thing you will have to charge I have a couple of pairs for and from time to time they run out of charge during use...

that being said I think a great product will be bluetooth headphone with an optional lighting connector... when you run out of batter on the wireless option you should be able to plug in them and listen and they could be charging...

 

[BeefCake 15]

Quality (sound quality is not as good with the connector) and battery life.... it's another thing you will have to charge I have a couple of pairs for and from time to time they run out of charge during use...

that being said I think a great product will be bluetooth headphone with an optional lighting connector... when you run out of batter on the wireless option you should be able to plug in them and listen and they could be charging...

Fair and reasonable, I would opt for USB-C for wide acceptance in the long run over Lightning for iDevices only..

 

[Larry-Bloom]

I'd rather not have to deal with dongles or adapters to use my headphones on other devices, or to listen and charge at the same time. I'd rather go wireless at this point, but that won't happen for a while.

I'm still hoping Apple will go all USB-C, but we all know that probably won't happen since Apple loves doing their own thing.

the lighting is more versital

Nope. Ethernet is currently 10gbps or even 100gbps full duplex in higher end installations.

5GHZ (AC) wifi can reach speeds above 1gbps; however there are a large number of caveats involved:
1) It is only half-duplex, unlike ethernet which is full-duplex. (Ethernet can send 1gbps and receive 1gbps simultaneously, wifi can only send or receive)
2) It requires a massive amount of bandwidth - which does not exist on the 2.4GHz spectrum. It can only be done on the 5GHz spectrum. This also means that extremely few networks can actually exist within the same area.
3) It requires the use of 256QAM modulation - which has extremely short range. (Less than a foot)
4) Requires massive amounts of space for the number of antennas needed.
5) Requires massive amounts of power the antennas needed.
6) Requires massive amounts of power for the 256QAM modulation to work.
7) The cited number assumes a collision free network. This does not represent wi-fi at all.

By contrast; 1gbps ethernet is nearly a guaranteed 1gbps transmission - since it is virtually collision free (dedicated send and transmit lanes) and interference free. Additionally, the number of networks that can exist in an area is effectively infinite.

isn't (most) Ethernet is switch, while WIF is not...
[doublepost=1462821826][/doublepost]

https://squareup.com/emv

They've already got an answer. Bluetooth Low-Energy, and supports NFC cards on top of all that.

yes, but this device only works for square, no third pary apps.

 

[ericwn]

So Apple's island solution will prevent you from buying a pair of cheap headphones to use with all of your other devices? Seems like you're making mountains out of molehills.

"So Apple's incompatibility will stop you from buying other stuff for your non-Apple devices?"

You know the answer. Use common sense.

 

[BSben]

Apple keep it the way it is, Bluetooth and regular headphone jack. Keep it simple no big deal, I don't need more cables more adapters. I don't understand why people want drastic chances right away and later on complaint about it. This lightning cable it's sucking my battery, why Apple it's making me buy more adapters. Look what happen to the Mac Book Air, if ain't broke, don't fixed it.

Steam trains weren't broken, but we have electric ones now. Horses are still around and we use cars instead.
Changes have to start somewhere, no point living in the past.

 

[mtbgtr]

Yeah, no, you're totally wrong. All caps for this: ANALOG WIRED HEADPHONES ON A MOBILE PHONE ARE THE WORST.

I cannot begin to understand this status quo sentiment. I want wireless headphones that are amazing and as long as the 3.5 mm jack exists we will never get it.

Your phone already has BLUETOOTH AND A 3.5 mm JACK AND A LIGNTNING PORT. Just another solution looking for a problem

 

[Larry-Bloom]

When Bluetooth sounds as good as corded, get back to us.

I've tried all the top end Bluetooth headphones, everyone sounds better with the cable plugged in.

I'll jump when Bluetooth is ready.

I don't think it will be ready... there is a limited on the data transfer speeds of Bluetooth which is why corded always sounds better..

 

[bluespark]

While it is true that sound quality can be improved by using a larger/better DAC than what can be achieved in the iPhone itself, that's not an argument for replacing the headphone jack. Rather, this benefit would be realized simply by allowing headphones to work via the Lightning port. In other words, this rah-rah article attempts to conflate the new feature (digital audio over Lightening), which is great, with the elimination of an old feature (an analog headphone jack) relied on by many. The improvement doesn't require the sacrifice.

 

[agsystems]

A very legitimate point and really the only valid issue I see going forward, though only if you are spending a decent amount on headphones. If your just using what Apple is giving you with the phone then I dont see a reason to complain. Also, I would be really surprised if going forward we dont start seeing adapters that would solve this issue. If it becomes such a large issue that people would want to use their lightning enabled headphones in a 3.5 jack, then someone, if not a lot of someone's will be pumping out lightning to 3.5 adapters

We all know Apple will be happy to sell you adapters - the question is it worth it for a thinner phone - I doubt if you are an audiophile you will be satisfied with whatever stock headphones Apple provides.

 

[Glideslope]

I'm hoping that if Apple ditch the headphone port, the headphones in the box will be wireless. Then they'll work with other devices.

Will never happen.

 

[falainber]

Thanks for the video, it really clarifies a lot of the issues with removing the 3.5mm jack. Before I saw this, I was of the opinion that it was foolish to remove it. But when you focus on the DAC, it's a little bit more obvious why Apple would like to externalize that component. If they focus on the improved audio quality aspect of removing the 3.5 mm jack, I think they will get a lot more people behind that decision.

As for compatibility, they can always include an adapter that contains a small DAC, allowing for the use of any pair of headphones.

As for charging, I'm sure you're going to start seeing headphones with batteries built-in that can act as an external power supply for the iPhone.

Removing 3.5mm jack has nothing to do with improving sound quality:
1. One can use external DAC with current phones (hence guaranteed zero improvement)
2. iPhone will still need internal DAC (to work as a phone)
3. It is almost certain that the majority of the headphones with DACs (in the sub $300 category) will have cheaper DACs than the one in the iPhone.

 

[FatherJack1980]

1) If Apple does this, Apple will immediately add Lightning ports to all Macs.

2) There will be a passthrough port on the headphone cable at a minimum to allow charging and listening at the same time. No ugly mess.

Does anybody take the time to think these things through before they start spouting off? Seriously, Apple hasn't thought of any of this before potentially making this decision? Ridiculous.

I sure as heck hope so, because ........

 

[Tech198]

We all know Apple will be happy to sell you adapters - the question is it worth it for a thinner phone - I doubt if you are an audiophile you will be satisfied with whatever stock headphones Apple provides.

People will always buy adapter if a product is good...

Just look at the MacBook 12-inch. for an example

 

[Glideslope]

Steam trains weren't broken, but we have electric ones now. Horses are still around and we use cars instead.
Changes have to start somewhere, no point living in the past.

LOL, however, we don't pull cars with horses now do we?