R.I.P. iPhone

[masterbaron]

The problem with this whole discussion is the implicit assumption that the only thing you plug headphones into is a phone. Personally, I have a bunch of audio gear that I use with headphones, none of which is going to be moving to any new connection any time soon. Furthermore, there's a vast difference between performance headphones that you use in your home and portable headphones that you take with you everywhere. It makes sense to me to make headphones for mobile devices that have the best interconnect possible, and the 3.5mm jack is not that interface.

I can't tell you how many times my cables have been caught on handlebars, mirrors, brake handles, baby carriages, pocketbooks you name it. Even when I thread the cable through my shirt for cycling there have been occasional entanglements. But here's the thing ... I ain't hardly dealing with the airpods running out of juice before the phone when I'm on a 6-hour journey... and charging another device is beginning to overwhelm my patience.

Maybe in 3 years the tech will match my needs.

 

[Tsepz]

Hmm... So there was a time when we didn't have audio jacks in phones, I remember my Old Nokias and Sony Ericssons didn't have 3.5mm jacks, now Apple have taken the iPhone back to those times, with all kinds of adapters being required e.g. if you want to plug the phone to PC but also want to listen to music.

 

[CTHarrryH]

As of couple have stated the issue isn't that if you only use an iPhone (or other proper software level Apple products ) but I use my headphones with tv's on equipment at gym, on a PC at work, watching movies on planes etc. So the only thing I will use new will be on iPhone. Apple is right that it is probably time but there is a reason things last for a 100 years - they are great, simple cheap solutions to a problem. I'm sure most of have a whole bunch of 3.5" headphones - for a long while we will need those and Apple's fancy solution.

 

[deeddawg]

Where does it say that removing the headphone jack is progress?

Strictly speaking, they removed the 1/8" barrel connector that's been used for headphones and other analog audio output and incorporated the wired headphone functionality into the lightning port. So there's still a "headphone jack" it just happens to also be the lighting connector.

They also provide an inexpensive lighting to 1/8" barrel connector adaptor for anyone wishing to keep using legacy audio devices.

Only downside here is inability to listen wired and charge at the same time, which presumably may be fixed in a future model with wireless charging.

Your electricity "analogy" is specious since there is not a superior solution at this time. A better analogy might be the use of domesticated animals such as horses for transportation, or the use of sliderules for numeric computation, or perhaps even the use of modulated sounds over analog telephone lines for data communication.

Anyway, the market will tell the real story. iPhone sales will either flop or they won't. Let's stop back here in a year and see what happened. My estimate is that iphone7 will sell reasonably well and we'll see a fairly wide adoption of the lighting headphones among various manufacturers, either via a different SKU or via adapters.

 

[mtcowdog]

Apple and iPhone will be fine. I have many complaints about their latest iPhone 7 and related releases (AW2 looks good, just to put that on the record). I always do. Some Apple products win, some are meh, and some lose. In my experience predicting actual large scale impacts over every release is very difficult. So I'll stick with the Apple is OK, even if I am pissed at them right now for 18-22 reasons. The variance reflects a few areas that I am still working through. Haha. I'll get over it, although I'm just one consumer.

 

[deeddawg]

if you want to plug the phone to PC but also want to listen to music.

Why are you using the phone for music in this instance rather than the PC?

 

[Tsepz]

Why are you using the phone for music in this instance rather than the PC?

I don't load my music or any other personal things on my work laptop, I charge my phone on it.

 

[dogslobber]

Do you still use a Floppy Drive or CD Drive @dogslobber ? If so, I am sorry for your lack of change.

I don't believe the iPhone ever had floppy or CD drives.

 

[boltjames]

Your electricity "analogy" is specious since there is not a superior solution at this time.

Ah, my friend, but that's where you're exactly right and wrong at the same time.

There is no superior solution for headphone listening right now than the 3.5mm jack. How do I know this?

1. Other solutions have been around forever, none have rendered the connector obsolete.
2. Bluetooth headphones represent less than 15% of the headphone market despite 10 years of trying.
3. Bluetooth is hissy, drops out, requires too much battery, and lacks high fidelity.
4. Consumers have voted, they want their good ol' 3.5mm headphone jacks.

Had Apple announced a brand new WIRELESS PROTOCOL that was vastly superior to Bluetooth or BLE which gave us stirring fidelity, never-drop connectivity, no hiss, and weeks of battery life, THAT would have been the killer feature that the iPhone 7 lacks. I'd be the first to kick the headphone jack to the curb, I'd buy a bunch of these new headphones, I'd be thrilled at Apple's amazing innovation.

But Apple didn't do that. They announced that "Wireless is the future!" and then gave us a free pair of wired headphones and a dongle.

BJ

 

[brianric]

Do you still use a Floppy Drive or CD Drive @dogslobber ? If so, I am sorry for your lack of change.

I'm a volunteer photographer for a few charities, mainly the American Cancer Society, and as much as I'd like to drop the dvd when sending pictures from an event I can't, too much resistance in using a download service like wetranfer. Since I'm picking up the tab, mailing out a couple of usb sticks is out of the question., so yes, I happen to use dvds.

 

[Southern Dad]

I mean the obvious answer is to use Lightning headphones but then you run into the problem of not being able to have your phone charging on long calls. This IS a problem that Apple is going to have to address at some point. Perhaps via wireless recharging or a daisy-chainable power connector?

Keep in mind the battery lasts longer. Are you running out of charge each day now?

 

[caligurl]

You missed the point. I can't run the phone plugged in unless using wireless headphones. If I do that the headphones may not last the distance, but I can't switch to wired headphones because the port is being used for power.
Maybe I could unplug the phone, switch to wired headphones while the wireless ones recharge, and hope that the wireless headphones finish recharging before the phone runs down. Or, y'know, use a different phone.

or you could make sure the phone was 100% charged before you start your conference call.

I know I know... you're going to come back with a reason why this won't work either....

My other suggest... just don't buy the 7/7+ if you aren't going to happy with how you'll have to use it.

of course you could always spend an extra 50 bucks on the overpriced apple charger or that other dongle thing that splits the lightning port into 2 that was just announced today....

 

[M. Gustave]

Bluetooth is bad on battery, hissy, distorted, has frequent dropouts, and is a 10 year old standard that predates the iPhone.

The most common version 4.0 was announced June 2010. Version 5.0 was just announced June 2016. So, not a '10 year old standard'. It's a dynamic, evolving technology.


As for your claims of 'bad on battery, hissy, distorted, has frequent dropouts', that was often the case with version 1.0. It's simply not true on version 4.0.

 

[Surf Monkey]

One thing I hate more than just about anything else: when my phones get ripped out of my ears by the wires snagging something. I'll grab the AirPods just to not have that experience anymore.

As to the jack, screw it. Apple is right. It's a bottleneck. There are better ways to move digital music around. There's absolutely no reason why the iPhone needs to do the digital audio conversion before sending it to headphones. The DAC can be in the phones, closer to the speaker. Just one example of why the jack and the wires are holding things back.

Besides, it isn't like this hasn't happened before with the very headphone jack itself. Back in the 50s and 60s everything had the massive 6.3mm connection and in many cases it was MONO. The 3.5mm version was a big change that everyone moaned about because they needed an adapter to use their legacy gear. Higher end headphones still come with the 6.3mm connector and an adapter for use with the "new" mini-jack.

In short: perspective. Wires are going away. Or maybe Apple should be taken to task for not including RCA jacks too?

 

[JesterJJZ]

1/4" and 1/8" jacks aren't going anywhere anytime soon. Virtually all pro audio components still feature a 1/4" headphone jack.

 

[boltjames]

The most common version 4.0 was announced June 2010. Version 5.0 was just announced June 2016. So, not a '10 year old standard'. It's a dynamic, evolving technology.

As for your claims of 'bad on battery, hissy, distorted, has frequent dropouts', that was often the case with version 1.0. It's simply not true on version 4.0.

Please, like I don't always get the newest iPhone on the first day of release, like I don't download the latest iOS update on the first hour of release, like I don't own two Bose Soundlink speakers, like I don't have 3 BMW's with Bluetooth connectivity and several Bluetooth headphones all running 4.0

Bluetooth is a good "casual" audio connection. The price you pay for wireless convenience is a compromise in dynamic range, hiss, distortion, and drop-outs akin to a skipping vinyl record. And if that's not bad enough, it's a battery-hog. Look at the EarPod's. 5 hours of battery life? If you take a train to work each day and have a stroll in the street you'll be putting those little buds away and charging up that little case all the time. It's madness.

Point is, Apple didn't innovate anything here. They claim they are courageous in their belief in wireless and then they force users into a Bluetooth protocol that's been available and rejected for a decade. Then they tell us we made them do it for the sake of 'features' and then they tell us that an artificial home button and toilet protection is our reward.

There's no win in any of that.

BJ

 

[Cigsm]

Uh and just how is Apple looking to make money off of you by getting. Rid of the jack?

Apple doesn't want to be 'brave' and change the industry. They want to lock you in more and more to their eco system of hardware and software to keep the money rolling in. They already locked you out from your phone pretty well - no direct file transfers, no swapping out the battery, no adding more storage, no standard charging connectors that work with...you know...everything else.
You cant even skin their iOS UI without jailbreaking FFS. What's next... Sorry, no more SMS...iMessage only? MP3 support - sorry? Non-Apple-email - not any more?

Now they're even locking you out from charging and using wired headphones at the same time. How can I stay on a conference call several hours long with this set up? Oh wait, I can't.
Wireless "AirPods"? Only if you want to look like a seagull **** in your ears, before losing an "AirPod" in 2 minutes.

Meanwhile Apple's professional and desktop line of products continues to sit in the doldrums, while other manufacturers innovate and produce some interesting new hardware - not all of it is good, but at least there is some evolution.

 

[boltjames]

Uh and just how is Apple looking to make money off of you by getting. Rid of the jack?

Apple owns Beats and Beats will be one of the only makers of premium headphones that will support the Lightning protocol because the MFi license is $4 per unit which is prohibitive and gives Apple a major pricing advantage.

Apple released their EarPods which are ridiculously overpriced and a huge margin maker.

Apple is now able to seal the iPhone from water intrusion which will dramatically cut back on the amount of customer returns, customer complaints, and un-reclaimable components, all of which is a huge financial win to their supply chain.

Same as above for the mechanical Home button, the second-most problematic operational concern and reason for high returns, customer service expenditures, bench repair staff, and component loss.

That's how Apple is looking to make money off of you by getting rid of the jack.

BJ

 

[TheBacklash]

I wasn't happy with the 3.5mm jack being gone either.

Then I actually thought about it, 99% of the time I use Bluetooth anymore because there's no wires to get caught on everything.
Pretty sure I will not be buying the airpods, and will only be using the included EarPods and dongle as backups.

Listening to music/audiobooks on my iPhone is a convenience, I don't need it to be the best sound i've ever heard. As long as my headset will last the 6-8 hours i'm going to use it... i'm fine.

3.5mm jack, not able to be waterproofed.
lightning jack, creates an ip67 iPhone.

Not that i will be personally testing it's ability to withstand water...

 

[boltjames]

I wasn't happy with the 3.5mm jack being gone either.

Then I actually thought about it, 99% of the time I use Bluetooth anymore because there's no wires to get caught on everything.
Pretty sure I will not be buying the airpods, and will only be using the included EarPods and dongle as backups.

Listening to music/audiobooks on my iPhone is a convenience, I don't need it to be the best sound i've ever heard. As long as my headset will last the 6-8 hours i'm going to use it... i'm fine.

3.5mm jack, not able to be waterproofed.
lightning jack, creates an ip67 iPhone.

Not that i will be personally testing it's ability to withstand water...

It boils down to which is more inconvenient:

Tangled wires or another device to keep charged and worry about.

I'll take the tangled wires, thanks. It's hard enough to keep my iPhone, iPad, and MacBook juiced 5x a week not to mention my wife and 4 kids and their iPhone's, iPad's, and MacBook's. Just what I need, 6 sets of Bluetooth headphones.

You know that image of the old switchboard that Phil Schiller put up mocking the spaghetti wires that Apple wants to eliminate? That's what our kitchen counters will look like charging up all these ridiculous wireless headphones. So you get the tangled wires any way you look at it.

BJ

 

[TheBacklash]

Maybe you are too far entrenched in your anger to realize I already charge my headset, NOTHING HAS CHANGED for me....

Phone goes on the charger at night on my headboard right beside my Watch. Headset gets plugged in next to my mac when I get home and take it of.

Argue all you want, i realized i went wireless years ago and only use the jack for backup as it is. In all honesty.. Apple kind of caught up to me.

 

[Sikh]

I'm a volunteer photographer for a few charities, mainly the American Cancer Society, and as much as I'd like to drop the dvd when sending pictures from an event I can't, too much resistance in using a download service like wetranfer. Since I'm picking up the tab, mailing out a couple of usb sticks is out of the question., so yes, I happen to use dvds.

Mailing out a couple of usb sticks is out of the question, are you serious? You can get 2gb sticks for pennies pretty much. Hell, you can get a 10 pack of 4gb flash drives from amazon for $26. https://www.amazon.com/Swivel-Flash...-1&refinements=p_n_size_browse-bin:1259713011. You might pay a few dollars more for name brand, but I would take usb drives over CDs and the hassle

 

[agaskew]

Mailing out a couple of usb sticks is out of the question, are you serious? You can get 2gb sticks for pennies pretty much. Hell, you can get a 10 pack of 4gb flash drives from amazon for $26. https://www.amazon.com/Swivel-Flash-Drive-Memory-Colors/dp/B00V5B2N3U/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1473405992&sr=1-1&refinements=p_n_size_browse-bin:1259713011. You might pay a few dollars more for name brand, but I would take usb drives over CDs and the hassle

Except you have no idea if the recipients can even use USB sticks. Plus, USB sticks are still not as cheap as DVDs.

 

[Sikh]

Except you have no idea if the recipients can even use USB sticks. Plus, USB sticks are still not as cheap as DVDs.

USB's have existed since Windows XP machines existed, so thats like 2002? Also, a stack of DVDs isnt that cheap. The time it takes to burn them, the hassle, the weight, the quality and the reliability all factor into "price". I would rather copy pictures onto 10 flash drives than 10 dvds. Hands down my time and money would be well spent on USBs and DVDs. This is coming from someone who manages 500T's of storage at work and we take thousands of photos everyday in raw and at 200fps AND we store almost 99 million files, 50% being images. I understand how much time it takes to copy pictures and DVD / optical medium is not the best choice anymore

 

[M. Gustave]

...like I don't own two Bose Soundlink speakers, like I don't have 3 BMW's with Bluetooth connectivity and several Bluetooth headphones all running 4.0...

...and then they force users into a Bluetooth protocol that's been available and rejected for a decade...

LOL, who forced you to buy six or more Bluetooth devices? Sounds like you didn't 'reject' it at all.

And Bluetooth's ubiquity proves that your dramatic exaggerations of its failures is either completely untrue, or way outside the norm. Many of us here are using this "rejected protocol" every day, so your attempt at sewing doubt is falling on experienced ears that know better.

Oh, and how exactly is Apple forcing you to use Bluetooth? By including lightning headphones and an adapter for 3.5mm headphones? Yet another non sequitur from you.