FWIW, I have a nice set of wireless-capable headphones that I use with a cable for music.
I wanted the wireless for internet calls on the computer. It is garbage, like the other 2 I had before.
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Removal of iPhone 7 Headphone Jack Was Essential for Water Resistance, New Camera System
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I wanted the wireless for internet calls on the computer. It is garbage, like the other 2 I had before.
For home audio, absolutely. For mobile audio? Sure, if i want to carry a dedicated second device (well third actually, already have two phones). But it's a fair point - if Apple cared about audio quality, iTunes would allow > 256kbps automatic sampling. But based on the "bands" they book, I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
Well, they can pound sand. I'm selling my 6+ and going to the SE. I absolutely want the industry-standard headphone jack. I don't care if it were 5,000 years old. Stupid.
If you think for a second I'd be jealous of a Ph.D you must also think I'd be jealous that you loaned your nephew $800 when he spends $2k on lightning cables...and spend your time trolling Apple related forums. Super jealous!
In my opinion, this change is neither good nor bad. It's just neutral. Normally, a neutral change to the hardware wouldn't be a big deal. Apple could've switched wireless chip manufacturers for some minor reason. Who cares? Or they could've moved the camera from one corner of the top of the phone to the other corner. Meh. The discussion about the latter wouldn't have warranted more than one or two pages of discussion on here.
In this case, though, the neutral change (get rid of the audio jack, give people Lightning-to-3.5mm adapters) affects something many, many people use daily (namely: dirt-simple connection to existing headphones and other listening devices, which doesn't interfere w/ charging the phone). And these people get practically nothing in return.
If this had been a massively positive change, fewer people would be bitching about it. Free magical wireless earbuds w/ 12 hr battery life, which are wirelessly charged by the phone whenever the phone itself is charged? HELL YEAH. Alternately: if the reason for the removal of the 3.5 mm jack was to allow for some amazing new feature in the phone that the jack absolutely would not have allowed (none of the things the jack was supposedly getting in the way of were amazing, even taken cumulatively), people might've overlooked it.
Instead, the change is neutral. It's boring. There's no sexy component to it. It's not future shock--people aren't irritated because there's something new and interesting and disruptive happening, and they're scared of change. There is no damn change. It's nothing. And that's the problem, and Apple isn't sure how to spin it.
In this case, though, the neutral change (get rid of the audio jack, give people Lightning-to-3.5mm adapters) affects something many, many people use daily (namely: dirt-simple connection to existing headphones and other listening devices, which doesn't interfere w/ charging the phone). And these people get practically nothing in return.
If this had been a massively positive change, fewer people would be bitching about it. Free magical wireless earbuds w/ 12 hr battery life, which are wirelessly charged by the phone whenever the phone itself is charged? HELL YEAH. Alternately: if the reason for the removal of the 3.5 mm jack was to allow for some amazing new feature in the phone that the jack absolutely would not have allowed (none of the things the jack was supposedly getting in the way of were amazing, even taken cumulatively), people might've overlooked it.
Instead, the change is neutral. It's boring. There's no sexy component to it. It's not future shock--people aren't irritated because there's something new and interesting and disruptive happening, and they're scared of change. There is no damn change. It's nothing. And that's the problem, and Apple isn't sure how to spin it.
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Just FYI...the number of google hits doesn't correlate to the number of phones exploding, it's just about the number of times it is referenced, as in articles or citations quoting other articles and citations.
Nice try, though.
I nominate this post for the most well thought out reasoned argument of the year!
It reminds me of that point in the movie My Cousin Vinny when Joe Pesci wakes up in the court room after nodding off and not hearing a single word said and replies "Everything that guy just said is bull#$@%." I'm sure it took almost as much effort.
Got the SE myself yesterday from
Best Buy for an upgrade and walked out not paying a dime
. Really glad back to this classic design and reliable tech.
Apple removed the headphone jack in the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus, a controversial decision that's upset some iPhone fans. On stage at today's media event, Apple executives explained that it had been done to save space and to usher in improvements in wireless headphone technology, but in an interview with BuzzFeed, Apple's Greg Joswiak, Dan Riccio, and Phil Schiller explained in much greater detail why the decision was made to move away from the 3.5mm headphone jack.
The idea for the removal of the headphone jack was raised during the development of the iPhone 7. In a nutshell, the "driver ledge" for the display and backlight, traditionally placed near the camera, was interfering with the new camera systems in the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus, leading Apple to explore other placement options. It was moved near the audio jack, but it also caused interference with various components, including the audio jack itself, so Apple engineers toyed with the elimination of the jack altogether.
When the headphone jack was removed, Apple realized it was easier to install the new Taptic Engine for the pressure-sensitive Home button, implement a bigger battery, and reach an IP7 water resistance rating, so the elimination of the headphone jack became essential for all of the other features in the iPhone 7.
Apple executives also believe the headphone jack is outdated technology that needed to go to make room for new advancements. According to Dan Riccio, it was holding Apple back "from a number of things" the company wanted to add to the iPhone, taking up space that could be used for camera improvements, battery, and processors.According to Apple's Phil Schiller, there's no ulterior motive behind the move away from the 3.5mm headphone jack. "We are removing the audio jack because we have developed a better way to deliver audio. It has nothing to do with content management or DRM -- that's pure, paranoid conspiracy theory," he said.
To ease the transition away from the 3.5mm headphone jack, Apple is including a 3.5mm to Lightning adapter with every iPhone 7 and it is also offering EarPods with a Lightning connector. Apple's new AirPods, which are fully wireless and are priced at $159, will also make it easier for customers to adapt to a device without a jack.
On the subject of Apple's new AirPods, Apple's Schiller says the earbuds, which are "as advanced a project as Apple Pencil," have been in development since the Apple Watch was conceived. "We knew we needed a great wireless solution for audio," he said. "What if you could design what the future of headphones should look like?' That's we asked the team to do."
The full explanation for the removal of the headphone jack, which is well worth reading, is available over at BuzzFeed.
Article Link: Removal of iPhone 7 Headphone Jack Was Essential for Water Resistance, New Camera System
Oh yeah, now that is a huge issue. Well, it would be for me as I do that all the time at night.
I guess if I was an audiophile with expensive cans I'd freak out but I use the earpods and some $20 bluetooth earbuds. I could see snatching up those AirPods but I'm sure by the time they come out I'll already be comfy with the lightning ones.
I welcome the future of wireless as well. I think the frustrating thing is that there's nothing preventing the technology from continuing to advance forward with the 3.5 jack intact for the time being. Apple still could have released their AirPods with the 7, nudging more people in that direction, and everyone would've been much happier.
The whole, "we're being courageous & see a wireless future" pitch doesn't fly, either, considering these new models still can't wirelessly charge. And I agree with others who say removing this port is different than the phasing out of formats like cassette, floppy, vhs, etc. because there is nothing superior that the wired lightning alternative offers.. Bluetooth still has issues.. and now a number of users are going to be inconvenienced for a number of reasons and possibly choose not to upgrade.
I'm one of them, and I love the Apple products I own.
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I noticed the specs state that's it's Bluetooth 4.2 When BlutTooth 5 becomes the standard soon, we'll have to wait for the next phone to get all the benefits. Darn! Bluetooth 5 will be a game changer.
I also noticed that the iPhone 7 dropped the hardware for "iBeacon microlocation"
I also noticed that the iPhone 7 dropped the hardware for "iBeacon microlocation"
I won't. Already settled on buying a Nexus 6p with a headphone. So long Apple!
well to be blunt then the new solution is inferior to what the 6s and prior generations with lightning offer... that's to bad.
I hear you, that's why I said off the bat some will disagree with Apple's decision.
The reason I don't see it as a big deal is, I was part of team "where's the blu-ray" + "optical drive forever" crowd.
I used to say "how can it be pro, with no optical drive" when I think of it now, it's laughable.
I don't think bluetooth is perfect but I do believe it is 'good enough' for the average consumer at this point, particularly as cars (I think) in the past 2/3 years have often included bluetooth connectivity which reduces the need for a AUX cable to connect.
Also BOSE have recently released a wireless set of cans with over 20 hours battery life, so we know there is good development going on there.
I see Apple's decision to drop jack fueling solid progession in a shorter space of time than if left, in my mind I see wireless headsets getting 'SSD/display' style development rate, which improved greatly when Apple adopted it.
I also have a gripe with Apple's quest for thin but mines due to batteries being sacrificed it.
I don't care that they removed the headphone jack, I care that the replacement wired connector is proprietary.
If the iPhone had a USB-C or Thunderbolt connector instead of Lightning, I'd be all for it.
There are still good reasons to have wired headphones (or wireless with the ability to tether):
- Doesn't require any power
- No wireless signals (duh); I know some parents who insist their kids with wireless headsets listen tethered when not outdoors.
... but I'm never going to buy a pair of Lightning headphones, on principle. They won't work with my Mac, they won't work with my Gen 3 iPad, my Playstation, or any future non-Apple device I buy. I would happily buy a pair of USB-C plugs, though.
If the iPhone had a USB-C or Thunderbolt connector instead of Lightning, I'd be all for it.
There are still good reasons to have wired headphones (or wireless with the ability to tether):
- Doesn't require any power
- No wireless signals (duh); I know some parents who insist their kids with wireless headsets listen tethered when not outdoors.
... but I'm never going to buy a pair of Lightning headphones, on principle. They won't work with my Mac, they won't work with my Gen 3 iPad, my Playstation, or any future non-Apple device I buy. I would happily buy a pair of USB-C plugs, though.
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Apple is ensuring that every single iPhone 7 owner will be able to connect existing audio devices while including a set of lightning earbuds anyways. Inconvenient, but not the end of the world.
If you're so concerned that "Samsung could do it" when it comes to waterproofing their phones and keeping the audio jack, why not just go buy a Samsung phone? If you care enough to read an article about Apple's decision making process and can't understand why they wanted more internal space without making the device thicker all while removing a point of entry for dust and water, you obviously don't understand Apple. And there's nothing wrong with that... but I really don't understand the anger around here. We've known about this change for months, and it's such an Apple-like thing to do. I mean, I'm really going to miss being able to charge my phone and use headphones at the same time. To me, the rest of the phone will be well worth the compromise. To you it might not... so don't buy it. No need to get worked up over it.
If you're so concerned that "Samsung could do it" when it comes to waterproofing their phones and keeping the audio jack, why not just go buy a Samsung phone? If you care enough to read an article about Apple's decision making process and can't understand why they wanted more internal space without making the device thicker all while removing a point of entry for dust and water, you obviously don't understand Apple. And there's nothing wrong with that... but I really don't understand the anger around here. We've known about this change for months, and it's such an Apple-like thing to do. I mean, I'm really going to miss being able to charge my phone and use headphones at the same time. To me, the rest of the phone will be well worth the compromise. To you it might not... so don't buy it. No need to get worked up over it.
This is a legitimate gripe. It's time for Lightning to go and bring in USB-C - that's the courage I want to see.
The Galaxy S7 didn't survive over 30 minutes without severe damage - and that damage was that it had no audio.