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The low-cost iPad and the iPod Touch might also be the last devices with the lightening port. Who knows?
 
I understand how losing the headphone jack can upset some people. This has been a hot topic since the iPhone 7 in 2016.

But if people are happy with 36" of wires hanging from their ears... they can handle the extra 3" from a dongle at the end too.

And before you say "what if I forget my dongle?"

Well... keep the dongle in the same place you keep your headphones. You won't forget your headphones, will you?

All that said... it's silly that larger devices like iPads don't have a headphone jack. But what are ya gonna do. We're in Year 5 of "no headphone jack gate" and frankly I'm getting sick of hearing about it...

:p
What I’m wondering is when are people going to let it go?
 
Overall the lack of a headphone jack is a major annoyance made worse by USB C.

A heavy reliance on AirPods means they’re often not charged when you need them. Try doing a day of back to back virtual meetings and you’ll know what I mean.

If you want to use a set of high end studio headphones you need a USB C dongle to plug them in.

If you use an iRig for virtual amps you need a USB C dongle to plug it in.

If you need to avoid Bluetooth lag when screen capturing, you need a USB C dongle to plug it in.

Half the reason MacBook Pros haven’t been that Pro the last couple of years is looking like an amateur when you turn up to present and the USB HDMI dongle you have doesn’t work with the projector or TV you need to plug into.

No wonder Surface Pro’s and Thinkpads sell so well to business. They just work, HDMI and headphone ports built right in.
 
I was ticked-off about removing the headphone jack initially, but AirPods and AirPods Pro have made been game changers for me. I can’t go back, and don’t miss that port.
 
The headphone jack is about to make a come back! The new iPod Touch is coming with a built in DAC. Then the iPhones will follow suit.
 
They harp on about being eco friendly but AirPods are disposable I mean I bet they don’t last anywhere over 2 year befor the battery degrades

A wired pair of headphones last years, sound better and don’t cost a fortune!

and have wireless headphones been truly proved safe or is it the asbestos of this generation?

All this is about is greed because headphones with wires last to long instead of the battery degrading new type. it’s not about music quality because wireless to me sound terrible!
 
I think the iPod touch will (likely) get one more refresh with a A12 Bionic chip, then it will be discontinued/ on the chopping block.
 
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I think the iPod touch will get one more refresh with a A12 Bionic chip, then it will be discontinued.

So what's the plan here?

People are sick of dealing with dongles... so they're gonna carry a completely separate electronic device just for music, video, and Zoom calls?

:)
 
Wouldn’t you be using your work supplied headset when on a work call though? We are talking about your personal equipment here not work stuff.

Is there really any difference anymore, since the pandemic means working from home for many of us?

But anyway, yes, work supplies us with company iPhones and iPads. We have a stipend to purchase whatever headphones we like. Hence my very real world work solution involves these devices.

I am also a bit confused by your though process. Do people not use Apple devices for work? Do you think the engineers that design these Apple products or Tim Cook are secretly not using Apple products in the office?


Even on a personal front though, I can't complete a long movie or family call on wireless headphones. Not to mention bluetooth only supports compressed audio signals.

So far I have resorted to wired headphones and dongles....but then you can't charge while using a headset on a call. All and all I just feel like the loss of the headphone jack means nothing but extra complications to deal with.

Hence I was just curious if others have found a good solution or how they cope.
 
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The headphone jack is about to make a come back! The new iPod Touch is coming with a built in DAC. Then the iPhones will follow suit.

I'm assuming you are joking. But if not, these brand new iPhones and this new Mini have an Apple-crafted, presumably excellent quality DAC inside. Unfortunately, now the only way to listen to the sound it makes ready for our ears are the speakers built into these devices.

Plug in a dongle and you are listening to sound from the DAC built within the dongle. Listen via bluetooth and you are listening to sound from the DAC built into the ears end of that stream. Redundant? Yes.

I would bet the vast majority of DACs in either of those options are not as good as the one already inside every mobile device Apple delivers. I'll miss having the option to directly tap into it in my new 6.

Perhaps the bright Apple minds that reconsidered a USB-C-only future on Macs might re-think this decision in the next round or two... especially with perhaps some added desire to deliver Apple high-res lossless music to ears without the irony of compressing it for bluetooth limitations.
 
I’ve long felt that iPhones and iPads should have two USB-C ports, one top centre and one bottom centre. Both would allow for charging, headphones or other accessories.
 
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I understand how losing the headphone jack can upset some people. This has been a hot topic since the iPhone 7 in 2016.

But if people are happy with 36" of wires hanging from their ears... they can handle the extra 3" from a dongle at the end too.

And before you say "what if I forget my dongle?"

Well... keep the dongle in the same place you keep your headphones. You won't forget your headphones, will you?

All that said... it's silly that larger devices like iPads don't have a headphone jack. But what are ya gonna do. We're in Year 5 of "no headphone jack gate" and frankly I'm getting sick of hearing about it...

:p
The fact that people are still pissed about it indicates it's a port that some people still use.

I've largely moved on to bluetooth myself, but I'm not arrogant enough to presume others don't have different needs than I do.
 
What I’m wondering is when are people going to let it go?

Why do you care?

If you don't use the headphone jack, then having a headphone jack on the iPad doesn't impact you in anyway. If you do use the headphone jack, that not having a headphone jack does impact you.

Since you are someone who doesn't like wired headphones (which is totally fine), why do you care if other people want to use a headphone jack?

(And if you say it is because you really care about that $3 price savings that Apple could theoretically give you with the removal of the headphone jack on an iPad, I am going to say BS)
 
I use headphone jacks for work aswell as for private entertainment. It's an unnecessary stupidity to get rid of it when there is no apparent need to. I am stuck in a dilemma where the "new design iPads" have no jack but lef-right stereo speakers, but the basic iPad has the jack but the mono sound. Why cant I have both Apple?
hmmmm, how to solve this? headphones with USB-C connectors? Brilliant. You know you can get them as a totally new pair or the converters are really cheap (although there apparently is some basic spec checking involved to make sure they are compatible with your Samsung or iPhone or whatever device you are using). Even Samsung is ditching the old technology. I even saw some cool plugins you can get, so, not really an issue. I prefer wireless anyway, no cords
 
You can also make do using bluetooth to wireless DAC/headphone amps to regular sized headphones or against wireless speakers setups. You just need to determine what you want to utilize.
 
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