Motorola's New 'Moto Z' and 'Z Force' Smartphones Have No Headphone Jack

[Rigby]

The damage control is in full swing. But will Macrumors also report on every newly announced phone that still does have a headphone jack?

 

[friedkimchi]

Most people I know don't even use the headphone jack. They just want to show off their shiny iPhone and take selfies.

Maybe Apple does know best. . .

I'm still sticking to Android for phones as some phones like the LG V10, Lenovo Vibe X3 offer a great DAC(s) built in. Lightning connectors are only prevalent on Apple devices. (I think?)

USB Type C would have been better.

 

[Wombat-man]

May I kindly ask you to refrain from blasphemy?

May I kindly ask you to refrain from trying to impose your religious viewpoint on other people?
Thanks.

 

[Mike_313]

Upgraded every year sine 3GS. But won't this time, if there's no jack. And so will all of my family. And that's 4 iPhones, iPads and MacbookPros. We'll wait 2 years and see how this works out. Will save me a lot of money. Maybe it's time to switch the platform again. Just like in the 90ies when System 7 stagnated and seemed more and more crappy. So I switched to far more advanced Windows NT. Took nearly 10 years, intel Macs and Steve for me to return.

 

[Abazigal]

i really hate the idea of removing the 3.5 mm jack, BUT in my honest opinion if Apple wants to do this why not change the Lightning port for a USB-C? Apple seems to want to put USB-C on every product they make but they will make a new iphone with Lightning? Apple, if you want to push USB-C, use it on your best selling product.

And then you have people complaining that they have to throw out all their lightning accessories.

Lightning is barely 4 years old, and that Apple is using lightning cables to charge their Apple Pencil, wireless keyboard, trackpad, mouse and TV remote suggests that the lighting connector is here to stay.

 

[Cole Slaw]

Going to make for quite the bulge in the front pant pocket.

 

[Junior117]

No, they're just doing what Apple and others are already planning, they just happened to be first out of the gate (or maybe second if some Chinese company did it already).

Right on the nose: some Chinese company HAS done it.

http://www.theverge.com/2016/4/20/11468966/leeco-china-phone-electric-car-usbc-headphones

 

[sunapple]

Upgraded every year sine 3GS. But won't this time, if there's no jack. And so will all of my family. And that's 4 iPhones, iPads and MacbookPros. We'll wait 2 years and see how this works out. Will save me a lot of money. Maybe it's time to switch the platform again. Just like in the 90ies when System 7 stagnated and seemed more and more crappy. So I switched to far more advanced Windows NT. Took nearly 10 years, intel Macs and Steve for me to return.

You could have waited two years between iPhones and saved money. I mean, if you're really concerned about that like you say. A simple adapter that you can leave on your headphones isn't that big a deal. It will even increase audio quality.

 

[moxin]

Got to say Moto Z Force is a pretty impressive device

 

[lowendlinux]

Well it looks like Lenovo just killed Motorola that phone is hideous. I can't believe they took the nice clean lines that Moto had been perfecting for the last couple years and threw them out the window for this tacky design. This is just sad.

 

[jaytel]

It's not about preference; it's about standardization. Lightning and USB-C and virtually the same size and both reversible. I'm not knowledgable on the technical differences between them (charging/data transfer speeds, etc), but all things being equal I'd much rather my headphones work with other devices besides my iPhone. Androids, Macs, and PCs are all moving to USB-C and I expect many other devices to follow suit. USB-C will probably continue to get improvements just as it has over the years.

Having a proprietary charger is one thing, but a proprietary headphone jack is just a step too far.

I almost sort of agree with you to an extent. However, I don't think USB-C can match the capabilities of Apples equivalent Lightning connector/port. The only reason why other companies are using USB-C in my opinion is because

1: Apple wont let them use the Lightning connector/port

or

2: They don't want to pay the fee that Apples requires, for them to use the Lightning connector/port

If Apple released it as an open standard rather than a proprietary one, I have no doubt that every other company would jump on it, like it was made out of dollar bills
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If they finally move to wireless charging it sounds like a good idea to me and i wont mind it because i dont like that lint catch hole much anyway... But if they dont go to wireless charging so that you can do that and charge simultaniously without an adapter then i think its a stupid idea and i agree with you.

And lightening cables do suck (for pricing and for that garbage material they use) so i agree with others to just move to USB-C, and keep the regular headphone jack (if no wireless). And use the regular standard cable material that holds up WAY longer and doesnt turn into chewing gum like the lightening cable and those lousy things that come with the iphones apple calls earbuds.

What exactly are you doing to your cables and earphones? I have earphones from an iPhone 4, that are still in perfect working order and are not torn or tattered in any way. Likewise, I have had wires (charging wires and other forms of media wires) for many years - some of them even from Apple - that are not torn or tattered.

You just have to take care of your things if you want them to last, or stop complaining when they don't.

 

[OllyW]

However, I don't think USB-C can match the capabilities of Apples equivalent Lightning connector/port.

Why not?

 

[recoil80]

That protruding camera is hideous!
How can the phone stand still on a flat surface?

 

[Woyzeck]

Not to mention that Lightning gives Apple many many advantages that they would lose over direct USB. Lightning isn't only the shape of a connector or just a pipe for data, but is also an entire spec on it's own.
By using Lightning, they are able to remove the iDevice's connection dependencies from internally (the extension and device, HDMI and iPad for example) to the cord itself. This was a monumental achievement by Apple and they were not given enough credit, honestly.

Basically, this means that Apple can produce cables with any sort of arbitrary connection to any other device regardless of the iOS hardware on the other end. This is why it only required a new AV cord to pipe 1080p quality content (and not a new iPad) versus the original AV connector which could only deliver 720 - the actual conversion of AirPlay-packed video to HDMI was done in the cord itself.

They also control a few other things: The doors to the iPhone and iPad accessory market: We've seen lashback of people producing horrid quality connectors and chargers, imagine if there were even less regulation on that market? And Apple also has the ability to build custom protocols into Lightning for their own benefit: Lightning accessories are able to update themselves from the iOS device, meaning software and firmware improvements can be silently pushed down the stack.

The other end of all Lightning cables is always a simple USB plug. So in fact Lightning is limited to what USB can do. It's safe to assume that we won't lose any features by utilizing USB-C instead of Lightning.

 

[jaytel]

Why not?

I don't have any particular industry information, I just think - if USB-C was capable of doing what the Lightning connector can do, Apple wouldn't have expended so many resources to develop the Lightning cable and its connector port in the first place.

 

[S.B.G]

Those phones look nice, but that camera bulge, holy monkey! What were they thinking when they designed that? I can understand a camera bump, but that is huge.
[doublepost=1465554461][/doublepost]

I don't have any particular industry information, I just think - if USB-C was capable of doing what the Lightning connector can do, Apple wouldn't have expended so many resources to develop the Lightning cable and its connector port in the first place.

Apple doesn't always like to go the way the industry goes. They prefer to be the leader in the industry in some respects. They were the first to eliminate the floppy disk drives and CD drives from certain products, long before other major companies did. Apple likes to design their own propriety standards and go with those over other standards.

 

[OllyW]

I don't have any particular industry information, I just think - if USB-C was capable of doing what the Lightning connector can do, Apple wouldn't have expended so many resources to develop the Lightning cable and its connector port in the first place.

So you only think it's better because it's come from Apple?

If anything, USB-C has more potential as an headphone connector because Lightning is based on older USB technology.

The final issue with phones ditching the 3.5mm port -- and this might be the worst -- is that the industry is far from finished with developing its replacement. Intel, for example, is currently working on USB-C audio in a big way. In addition to trying to standardize USB-C digital audio output, it's also working on a system that will allow analog audio to be output through sideband use (SBU) pins. These pins are currently not being used in the USB-C spec but would allow for headphones that use the phone's DAC and amp. That work is not yet finished, and for Apple to benefit from it would involve ditching the Lightning port, which is based on USB 2.0.

https://www.engadget.com/2016/06/09/usb-c-and-lightning-headphones-arent-great-news-for-everyone/

 

[maflynn]

If anything, USB-C has more potential as an headphone connector because Lightning is based on older USB technology.

I think given the commonality of the USB, allows for an expanded selection of products. Apple is going its own way again and that means less selection at a higher price. Yes, the iPhone is a major player in the mobile world, but now headphones makers need to deal with USB and Lightening. We may find some headphones deal with this issue by way of a dongle for Apple.

I think given the size of USB-C, and its universal appeal, Apple should have ditched Lightening and gone to USB-C

 

[S.B.G]

I think given the commonality of the USB, allows for an expanded selection of products. Apple is going its own way again and that means less selection at a higher price. Yes, the iPhone is a major player in the mobile world, but now headphones makers need to deal with USB and Lightening. We may find some headphones deal with this issue by way of a dongle for Apple.

I think given the size of USB-C, and its universal appeal, Apple should have ditched Lightening and gone to USB-C

I agree with you. But since Apple is the leader in this area and they know that, they probably believe they can do what they want and people will buy their stuff anyway - and for the most part they're right. They probably don't care much if the market in general is fractured between specs as long as they keep the fracturing to a minimum in their own products. Plus for them, staying with their own spec, they have total control over it and can make it do what they want it to do I suppose.

 

[Mascots]

The other end of all Lightning cables is always a simple USB plug. So in fact Lightning is limited to what USB can do. It's safe to assume that we won't lose any features by utilizing USB-C instead of Lightning.

This is so wrong it hurts.
You mean like Lightning to HDMI or Lightning to Ethernet (haha, it exists, though not first party, it piggy backs off the Lightning standard for forwarding arbitrary data).
USB-C is also nothing more than a new form for USB 2-3.1, not a functional improvement over those specs (beyond pumping more power if the Power spec is implemented). Lightning is similar to that affect: using USB lanes as a serial bus, but is entirely different with how it handles data transfer conversion and authentication (and more).

 

[1Zach1]

I don't have any particular industry information, I just think - if USB-C was capable of doing what the Lightning connector can do, Apple wouldn't have expended so many resources to develop the Lightning cable and its connector port in the first place.

Wasn't the Lighting connector released a full 2 years before the USB-C standard? Throw in the fact that it's proprietary so Apple makes money off the licensing and I don't think Apple really cared about the capability of the USB-C vs Lightning when they decided to develop and release it.

 

[Dephtones]

I'm ok without a headphone jack. It gets insanely dirty if there's nothing plugging it up. Rather have one port dirty than two.

 

[stevet]

The headphone jack is reliable, provides good quality sound and allows the iPhone to be charged whilst listening to music.

Bluetooth is unreliable. Using the Lightning connector doesn't allow for charging. In addition, lightning cables are proprietary and of poor quality compared to 3.5" cables.

There is no good case to be made for removing the headphone jack, and if Apple do, they will see severe falls in iPhone sales and their share price.

I bet Apple knows how many people use the headphone jack and how often it gets used in their statistical data. And I also bet that they number of people that are using the headphone jack is dwindling in comparison to people using BT headphones.

BT is not unreliable. Apple seeing 'severe falls' is hyperbole. Apple will see sales fall because they have saturated the market and have no where to go, but it won't be because they omitted the headphone jack. On top of it, all other cell phone makers will follow suit and get rid of the headphone jack as we know it. What I hope they do is use USB C instead of lightning but I doubt that will happen.

 

[palmerc]

The headphone jack is reliable, provides good quality sound and allows the iPhone to be charged whilst listening to music.

Bluetooth is unreliable. Using the Lightning connector doesn't allow for charging. In addition, lightning cables are proprietary and of poor quality compared to 3.5" cables.

There is no good case to be made for removing the headphone jack, and if Apple do, they will see severe falls in iPhone sales and their share price.

Analog headphone jacks are anachronistic junk. Nothing about the 3.5mm headphone jack experience is great, sound relies upon the internal DAC which merely good enough, the jack is enormous for the service it provides and the cord is just downright a pain in the butt. At least going digital allows you to get high end DACs built-in to the headphones. Going wireless and not having the inconvenience of making every decision regarding the phones placement/orientation dependent on the analog cord is a very good thing.

Apple has a track record of killing marginal technologies to good effect. To name a few, Flash, spinning disks of all types, cabled input devices, ridiculous connection standards (VGA and Serial) that are still shipped on 'high-end' PCs, all leading to a lot of complaining rapidly followed by superior technology and universal agreement that the future is better off without that standard we previously though indispensable. So I strongly believe that the day Apple kills the 3.5mm jack will be the day good wireless headphones start getting made.

 

[Woyzeck]

This is so wrong it hurts.
You mean like Lightning to HDMI or Lightning to Ethernet (haha, it exists, though not first party, it piggy backs off the Lightning standard for forwarding arbitrary data).
USB-C is also nothing more than a new form for USB 2-3.1, not a functional improvement over those specs (beyond pumping more power if the Power spec is implemented). Lightning is similar to that affect: using USB lanes as a serial bus, but is entirely different with how it handles data transfer conversion and authentication (and more).

Great, but why would anyone want to connect his smartphone to a screen or ethernet port ? I bet 99.999% of all Lightning ports are only connected to a charger or computer using USB on the other side. Ditching compatibility for a very rare edge case is usually called bad design.