Lightning-to-Headphone Adapters Appear Ahead of iPhone 7 Launch

[Keerock]

Hey all, I know a lot of you are bagging on the included earbuds. Should they be ditched?

I'd make the point that the lower down the economic tree you climb, the more you see those headphones in use. In a lot of areas where the phone is the ONLY computer people own, the use of those crap headphones rises dramatically.

So maybe in the States they are hardly necessary, and like you, I toss them in a drawer. But consider the global release... it must come with. Otherwise, they lose a competitive advantage. It's a $1.25 well spent for most nations.
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Why do people get upset? Two reasons... either they've spent a lot on the existing platform, or they are bothered by a drop in quality. That's about it. Let's cover your highlights:

Floppy drive removal: People were upset because they had no heir-apparent to write media. Sure, CD-R was around the corner, but for years, people had to lug around a floppy drive. This hurt laptop users until they were able to get larger hard drives. Some legitimate whinging, but also it was painful for many.

The loss of a DVD drive was not nearly what you're making it out to be.

The loss of MagSafe is a big deal... you have a decade of users who were taught they could be careless at that point. Plop on the couch, and don't worry about pulling crap out. It's really a great feature - so great even Microsoft flatly ripped it off with their Surface Book. Choosing to forego that option in lieu of thinness is another annoyance in the War On Thickness™.

There was never a clickwheel on the iPhone because they provided a superior technology. Obviously.

On the other end of the spectrum, removing a 3.5mm plug means that most will lose quality (unless you have A2DP, see the other thread... most BT out today still use the 4.0 protocol which is crap, but A2DP is fine with quality - and 99.9% of people have never heard of it). It also means that to continue using their standard equipment, they'll need a non-standard converter for their phone. That non-standard equipment will be an additional power draw, prevent from simultaneous charging, and add a wire chain. It also will likely not be able to transmit the buttons on headphones we're used to, with the three-button setup currently available. Add to that where if you do use BT headphones, you have to charge them as well.

Are these problems that can be overcome technically? Sure they are! If you made a tiny sleeve that fit my 3.5mm, and it did A2DP and had a solid battery life, then yes, that'd be great. So why don't we have that now? Because it is still a $50-$100 item, and at that, they are still kinda chunky and add white noise more than you'd find acceptable.

Compare that dodgy product with a 3.5mm plug that for decades has been a $0 upgrade, and you see the friction.

I'm not suggesting the 3.5 has to stay forever, but you have a few years yet where A2DP needs to propagate, and people have to get past the idea that Bluetooth audio is horrible quality. You can do that by having Apple sell that little connector in a more refined way for at least one cycle. Instead, they're going the route of getting OEMs to make proprietary connections.

Because THAT ends well for everyone...

All of your very precise explanations are appreciated, understood and frankly well written.

The click wheel for iPhone was a reference to the mockups that graced the internet forums before anyone knew that Apple had purchased FingerWorks...

https://www.macrumors.com/2006/09/13/apples-phone-revealed/

Here is the simple point my post was trying to make; at some point in the future, we will be happy that Apple moved us away from older technologies. I know there are exceptions but I would say it's safe to say this is true.

Thank you for making my point even clearer. Most of us moved on from the removal of "key" technologies and the earth still spins.
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I agree, but I think the timing of the headphone jack removal may be inconvenient given the rumors that the iPhone 7 will look almost identical to the 6/6s. A lot of people will question upgrading to a iPhone that not only looks very similar to their two-year-old iPhone 6, but now requires an awkward looking dongle to maintain compatibility with their expensive headphones. Eventually, everything will be fine, but it might have been an easier sell for Apple to hold off removing it until they have a sexy new design to go with the change.

I hear you. What if Apple ends up putting all the required conversion tech IN the iPhone and the adapter is a low profile, tightly integrated snap-on. This can be achieved if the 3.5 mm jack is mounted at a 90 degree angle (Keerock US Patent Pending).

 

[jdiamond]

Cars/Studios/professional IEMs/other existing tech (headphones, earbuds) that are much higher quality than any mainstream wireless product (Beats and Bose wireless over the ear are a joke in the professional music business)

In other words we have invested in quality products and we want to continue to use them.

Oh... but Apple has never been about people who love music... oh wait...

 

[d00d]

Sorry but you assume too much in your post, as I said I am looking forward having better sound

Except that 3.5 mm jack isn't the limiting factor in most (if not all) consumer headphones, especially not Apple's earbuds.

 

[kyykesko]

Omg they leaked a picture of the new iPhone 8 with the attached high quality lightning to 3,5mm adapter! It's going to be awesome!

Seriously, those dongles show what we'd end up with if we give in to this BS. Apple seems to be aiming to make iPhone the biggest phone on the market. To be able to do anything you'll need a few dongles to increase the overall size back to the good old Mobira days.

 

[Mac 128]

Omg they leaked a picture of the new iPhone 8 with the attached high quality lightning to 3,5mm adapter! It's going to be awesome!

Seriously, those dongles show what we'd end up with if we give in to this BS. Apple seems to be aiming to make iPhone the biggest phone on the market. To be able to do anything you'll need a few dongles to increase the overall size back to the good old Mobira days.

Hyperbole much?

Those dongles show nothing of the sort. They show a misguided effort by a cheap, unlicensed Chinese manufacturing company to second guess a rumor to capitalize on a need which likely won't even significantly exist. They show you get what you pay for.

This post is all so much FUD, and not at all based in reality of what's possible or what most reasonable people will likely pursue to the extent they even want a 3.5mm adapter. In fact I can't even believe I'm responding to such troll bait.

 

[Storming]

If Apple does eliminate the 3.5 Jack, this will be a day one purchase for me. I am not losing my Hundreds of dollars invested in my wired headphones. That's not to say I won't purchase the iPhone 7 either. I still love Apple.

 

[sulpfiction]

No. It's different. 30-pin is Apple proprietary standard. No one else other than Apple and those accessories use it.
3.5 mm headphone jack is being used virtually everywhere. The "uproar" would be more significant.

Uproar why though? So what...We have to change the way we listen to our headphones. Technology advances. The 3.5mm jack is really dated, bulky, old technology. It's time to move on. Within a year everyone will look back and wonder how we ever dealt with wired headphones.

 

[Shirasaki]

Uproar why though? So what...We have to change the way we listen to our headphones. Technology advances. The 3.5mm jack is really dated, bulky, old technology. It's time to move on. Within a year everyone will look back and wonder how we ever dealt with wired headphones.

Wire is still a good choice for high quality audio even though 3.5mm headphone jack is gone. Wire can transmit signal without worrying much about being disrupted, and stability is still superior.
"Within a year" is still too soon, even though world is changing faster than what we could ever imagine.

 

[Mac 128]

Uproar why though? So what...We have to change the way we listen to our headphones. Technology advances. The 3.5mm jack is really dated, bulky, old technology. It's time to move on. Within a year everyone will look back and wonder how we ever dealt with wired headphones.

More than that, Macnn did a survey that pretty much dispelled the idea that the majority of iPhone customers even care about the headphone jack.

http://www.macnn.com/articles/16/01....ask.apple.shoppers.what.they.thought.131986/

An "uproar" needs a substantial number of people to matter, much less to be "more significant". And, for the first year anyway, the uproar will be limited to only those people who have upgraded to the latest iPhone. Since early adopters tend to embrace technology changes, they're likely to be the least bothered by the removal of the headphone jack. In a years time, the "uproar" will be a whimper if much at all.

 

[tucsonics]

While interest in the possible new features of the iPhone 7 remains as high as ever, perhaps the most controversial potential change to Apple's upcoming device is the removal of one long-standing feature - the headphone jack.

Rumors suggest that Apple will drop the 3.5mm audio jack to make its next-gen iPhone even thinner, and rely on an upgraded Lightning port, currently used only for charging, to transmit sound to wired headphones. Elsewhere, at least one competing smartphone maker has already announced its intention to drop the headphone jack.

MacRumors recently ran a Twitter poll that showed 59% of 7,542 respondents preferred the 3.5mm headphone jack over an all-in-one Lightning connector.

In anticipation of the divisive potential switch, Macotakara notes that Chinese accessory maker Tama Electric is now advertising three Lightning-to-headphone jack adapters, two of which also include a micro-USB port for charging while using headphones.

The Tama accessories have no price listing and don't seem to be ready for shipping yet, and are unlikely to be sold as certified Made for iPhone accessories anytime soon, but could offer a sign of things to come. While Lightning headphones are already available on the consumer market, Lightning-to-3.5mm headphone adapters are unlikely to be pitched as iPhone accessories until closer to the iPhone 7 launch in September.

Other rumors suggest Apple will release Lightning-equipped EarPods to support the new audio output on future iOS devices, and push Bluetooth as an alternative way to connect headphones to the device.

It's not all bad news for headphone jack fans though, as the latest claimed leak of an iPhone 7 spare part making its way through the supply chain appears to show a Lightning cable assembly with a headphone jack included.

Along with the above-mentioned rumored features, Apple's iPhone 7 and 7 Plus will also include an upgraded A-series processor and it could include features like an improved camera. Other rumors specific to the iPhone 7 Plus have suggested it could include a 256GB storage option, a 3,100 mAh battery, and 3GB RAM.

(via AppleInsider.)

Article Link: Lightning-to-Headphone Adapters Appear Ahead of iPhone 7 Launch

[doublepost=1466757375][/doublepost]3.5mm phone jacks are notoriously fragile, and with repeated insertions will become defective. The lightning connector with a dongle isn't a great solution, but if your 3.5mm jack wore out, you will be in for a very expensive repair.

 

[617aircav]

Is Tim Cook intentionally trying to kill ?

 

[617aircav]

Who uses cords to listen to music, this is 2016. And wireless headphones are better then ever. I'm assuming they will announce no plug and people
Will gasp and then they will say included in the phone box is wireless ear buds and everyone will cheer. Apple is not stupid

Apple will never include a good pair of headphones. Never.