Removal of iPhone 7 Headphone Jack Was Essential for Water Resistance, New Camera System

[2010mini]

So how did Samsung manage to get an even higher water resistance certification and still keep the headphone jack?

Yet they failed consumer reports testing.

Regardless, I don't get the bellyaching over the removal of a headphone jack. Most of you act as if your world will cease because of this.

I drive for a living. And I see more and more people using wireless headphones and earbuds with their mobile phones. Removing the port is not that big of a deal if the general public is already moving in that direction.

 

[M2M]

The AirPods help drive Watch sales too. Now that the Watch doesn't need to be tethered to a phone for exercise, wireless headphones are essential to push it as a fitness watch, and by pushing people towards wireless [lightning is unlikely to become a standard with just Apple supporting it en masse] Apple are simultaneously people towards using the Watch as a standalone fitness piece.

Apples wireless AirPods are a joke as they only last 5 hours. People may commute to work and use them at office and the travel home again.

I personally also have quite some international business travel (11+ hours of flight) where I would have to take additional headphones now.... How cool is that ?? Wireless headphones are acceptable once they last at least double on what the AirPods deliver.

 

[CB1234]

They are the QuietComfort35 (QC 35), I guess. The bluetooth version of the in-ear pendant will follow soon.

Thank you for taking time to reply. I appreciate it.

Look forward to owning them.....

 

[deany]

I stream I heart radio 8 hours a day at my desk. I keep my phone plugged in while doing this. That is one example. I do not like Bluetooth headphones. Also, I don't want to have to carry an adapter with me.

The will be a Y adapter I recon this is begin rushed through as "Urgent" and keep price low by apple.
I don't like blue tooth either esp. the drop out of ear buds.
Are you steaming via 3.5mm to SONOS?

 

[M2M]

But wireless headphones didnt even exist back then = ?!?!?

In general for wireless pairing is a hassle. But also especially charging (you have to take additional chargers with you). Apples AirPods only last 5h. See my other post on why I don't like that.

 

[Supermule]

Im not happy about removing the mini-jack, but I believe we will get used to it in 6-12 months.

I believe in a happy ending

 

[Horizon Man]

That thing takes up a lot of room inside the phone, especially the 6/6s. They probably looked at every square millimeter and decided this is the one thing that could definitely go as it could be duplicated by the Lightning port. I believe most people's biggest beef with it's removal is that it did not result in an additional piece of hardware that was 'groundbreaking' or 'a game changer', which is what everyone is always expecting these days. They simply reclaimed some space from a component that had served it's usefulness and now it was time to move on.

View attachment 648979

I'd agree IF it had outlived it's usefulness, but music has always been one of Apple's cornerstone's and now they are telling their customers who enjoy music that their carefully chosen, high priced headphones are worthless, or are about to become a much bigger hassle to use.

Sure the jack will have to go, but I'd like to think there would have been a more respectful way to transition.

 

[WillG999]

In general for wireless pairing is a hassle. But also especially charging (you have to take additional chargers with you). Apples AirPods only last 5h. See my other post on why I don't like that.

They include a case that charges them for upto 24 hours usage.

My wireless headphones include a cable so that I can plug them in if required. They last for 24 hours on a single charge so I have never used it. They also have the added benefit of noise cancellation - essential for London commuting!

Wireless pairing - I turn on my headphones. Thats it. They remember the connection and connect everytime without fail.

 

[deany]

And those people were wrong because other people loved the first digital cameras, which went on to be an overwhelming success. The technology was great from day one. It improved with time. The idea was brilliant, not stupid.

Same now. SOME people think removing the jack is stupid. Those people are not going to hold back change just because they can't see the value of change. If tech stopped advancing because some people have doubts, we'd still be using slate tablets and chalk.

I know you want to look wise and knowing and powerful, as if your objection to change validates your being. But your objection just makes you look averse to new ideas. There's no merit in that, though I fully respect your right to think as you do.

I pity you and others like you.

If we had started with wireless headphones and then someone introduced a wired set, we'd all see the craziness of having a metre of wire dangling from our ears.

In time, people will look at wired earphones and see them as quaint, flawed, and archaic. That time is now.

For my life-
As long as they make Koss PortPro identical, but wireless, I'll be happy.
In the meantime I'll stick with the adapter when I get my iPhone "10" and until the above hopefully happens.
I can see a huge market NOW for specialised mini bluetooth music receiver very lightweight excellent battery life - to mod a set of your favourite headphones

 

[M2M]

They include a case that charges them for upto 24 hours usage.

My wireless headphones include a cable so that I can plug them in if required. They last for 24 hours on a single charge so I have never used it. They also have the added benefit of noise cancellation - essential for London commuting!

Wireless pairing - I turn on my headphones. Thats it. They remember the connection and connect everytime without fail.

The AirPods last only 5h. The case seemingly includes a battery so you can charge them and extend the use of the AirPods up to 24h. So after 5h you have to charge (15min) then you can listen for 3h then change etc, etc...

IF your headphones last for 24h then this is much better then the AirPods already. Which ones do you use ? I expect them however also to be much bigger then AirPods. While sound (and battery) are of course much better with bigger headphones I prefer smaller ones when traveling (less space).

Give me the size of current AirPods and 15h of battery, then I think I am convinced.

 

[smacrumon]

And those people were wrong because other people loved the first digital cameras, which went on to be an overwhelming success. The technology was great from day one. It improved with time. The idea was brilliant, not stupid.

Same now. SOME people think removing the jack is stupid. Those people are not going to hold back change just because they can't see the value of change. If tech stopped advancing because some people have doubts, we'd still be using slate tablets and chalk.

I know you want to look wise and knowing and powerful, as if your objection to change validates your being. But your objection just makes you look averse to new ideas. There's no merit in that, though I fully respect your right to think as you do.

I pity you and others like you.

If we had started with wireless headphones and then someone introduced a wired set, we'd all see the craziness of having a metre of wire dangling from our ears.

In time, people will look at wired earphones and see them as quaint, flawed, and archaic. That time is now.

First, I'm not "trying to look wise and knowing and powerful", you seem to be projecting those things, not I.

Second, I think you've twisted what I originally said. I have no aversion to the removal of the headphone jack. I'm fairly indifferent to it. Wired, wireless, I don't particularly care. What I was criticising is Apple's reasons given about the headphone jack removal, they made little sense and are contradictions.

It’s old and antiquated -- not a reason.

It takes up too much space -- no it really doesn't. Those antenna bands that run around the unit take up more space. That SIM tray takes up more space.

It’s hard to waterproof things with holes in it -- Yet many devices are water tight with holes in them.

These reasons are all BS. That's the point I was making.

Apple need first focus on removing the disgusting camera protrusion and ugly antenna lines that Apple introduced rather than focusing on removing open technology, no matter how old it is.

 

[FFR]

First, I'm not "trying to look wise and knowing and powerful", you seem to be projecting those things, not I.

Second, I think you've twisted what I originally said. I have no aversion to the removal of the headphone jack. I'm fairly indifferent to it. Wired, wireless, I don't particularly care. What I was criticising is Apple's reasons given about the headphone jack removal, they made little sense and are contradictions.

It’s old and antiquated -- not a reason.

It takes up too much space -- no it really doesn't. Those antenna bands that run around the unit take up more space. That SIM tray takes up more space.

It’s hard to waterproof things with holes in it -- Yet many devices are water tight with holes in them.

These reasons are all BS. That's the point I was making.

Apple need first focus on removing the disgusting camera protrusion and ugly antenna lines that it introduced rather than focusing on removing open technology, no matter how old it is.

Are you getting an iPhone 7?

 

[Gudi]

The smart thing about the AirPods is to put a battery in the case itself. This way the 5 hour limitation is almost lifted. Now make them $100 cheaper.

 

[The Mad Hatter]

iPhones have been using the same trick for years. Just FYI: Google search returns this number of hits for the following two searches:

iPhone exploded - 814,000 results
Samsung Galaxy exploded - 540,000 results

So, don't be too smug about it.

That's called click-bait. Something happens to an Apple product, and it's on every front page. Something happens to Samsung, it's "yeah, what ever".

 

[dv8r]

I really dont understand why everyone is complaining about this. I'd like to write down my thoughts in bullet points, as I've thought of a few.

[SNIP]

I am by no means an apple fan boy, but I am an IT consultant by trade. This is it I'm afraid, this is how quickly the IT industry moves on. But trust me, we're heading in the right direction.

I'm sorry in advance, because Your post isn't as idiotic as some of the other pro-Apple attempts - but I have to say: dumb reasons does not get smarter by getting repeated... So the good news is that You get to blame Schiller for Your weak arguments.

1) "it is old" is a dumb reason to give, 3.5mm jack is universally adopted and solves a problem seamlessly, not because it is old but because it's dead simple and provides the wanted result without hassle. Wheels, buttons and crowns on watches are also old - are we then to get rid of those because "we don't like old things"?

2) Lightning is not "just available" - it comes with a fee and the "standard" is Apple's own - so now we have a struggle between proprietary "standards" (as in USB-C versus Lightning) where we once had a real standard.

3) No surprise here and no shock - I do not agree, I'd rather have headphones that I can use with all my devices so I'm voting with my wallet - no crying.

4) The water resistant thing is just bad reasoning - running out of space I will buy, it's their device, they can do what the hell they want with it.

5) So the whole "move to Lightning" will be followed by a "move away from Lightning" in about a year - sounds really stupid and user hostile.

But yeah - that whole "it's old/it's a dinosaur" seems to be Apple's thing, maybe that's why Scheinberg couldn't get a job in an Apple Store...

 

[smacrumon]

Are you getting an iPhone 7?

Absolutely NOT getting iPhone 7.

I'm waiting for an all new composite ceramic iPhone 8 likely to drop next year, based on ceramic materials used in the new Apple Watch 2. That's when I will upgrade.

How about yourself?

 

[The Mad Hatter]

I wouldn't mind that much if the iPhone had any standard port. The 3.5mm jack was the only standard port that the iPhone had, but now it has none. I'd be up for it if the iPhone had a USB type C connector instead of the lightning port.

... then all the whiners would complain about having to buy all new cabls and accessories (just like they did after the 30-pin dock change).

 

[FFR]

Absolutely NOT getting iPhone 7.

I'm waiting for an all new composite ceramic iPhone 8 likely to drop next year, based on ceramic materials used in the new Apple Watch 2. That's when I will upgrade.

How about yourself?

What phone are you currently using?

I'm picking up two 256gb iPhone 7 plus on launch day

 

[M2M]

... then all the whiners would complain about having to buy all new cabls and accessories (just like they did after the 30-pin dock change).

That's exactly why they should have kept the 3.5mm jack for another 3-4 years and then switch to USB-C once it has widely adopted.

 

[yep-sure]

Guys, I've worked it out!

New MacBooks are delayed because they are removing the keyboard to make them waterproof. I mean lets be honest, the keyboard concept is over 100 years old, no one uses it now that we have Siri on OSX.

Oh wait, OSX and traditional computers are antiquated too, right?

We're all supposed to be walking around with 13" iPad Pro's running phone grade software, with AirPods sticking out of our ears, and a combination of chargers and dongles and adapters to do what used to be simple tasks. All while we're still trying to get files and photos to sync properly over iCloud and restore backups of our music libraries due to an Apple Music wrecking ball blasting through them. But at least we can submerge our phones in water, right?

Apple has strayed so far from making good products that provide an excellent user experience that it's no longer even funny. I really hope they get back on track sooner rather than later, as the alternative's offered by their competition aren't all that appealing either.

Future technology was supposed to be cool and fun dammit.

 

[Azmodan79]

And those people were wrong because other people loved the first digital cameras, which went on to be an overwhelming success. The technology was great from day one. It improved with time. The idea was brilliant, not stupid.

Same now. SOME people think removing the jack is stupid. Those people are not going to hold back change just because they can't see the value of change. If tech stopped advancing because some people have doubts, we'd still be using slate tablets and chalk.

In time, people will look at wired earphones and see them as quaint, flawed, and archaic. That time is now.

At the time (2001/2002) I had one of those early Kodak (!) Digital Cameras, still have the pics I made somewhere.
Absolutely abysmal quality, I think the resolution was around 347x493, No flash, 8 MiB of storage.
Five years later digital was all the rage but it was long time coming....

 

[chaiwat]

Then how does the Samsung maintain the water resistance when it has a headphone jack?

and samsung become unstable at all.

 

[MrMac2015]

And those people were wrong because other people loved the first digital cameras, which went on to be an overwhelming success. The technology was great from day one. It improved with time. The idea was brilliant, not stupid.

Same now. SOME people think removing the jack is stupid. Those people are not going to hold back change just because they can't see the value of change. If tech stopped advancing because some people have doubts, we'd still be using slate tablets and chalk.

I know you want to look wise and knowing and powerful, as if your objection to change validates your being. But your objection just makes you look averse to new ideas. There's no merit in that, though I fully respect your right to think as you do.

I pity you and others like you.

If we had started with wireless headphones and then someone introduced a wired set, we'd all see the craziness of having a metre of wire dangling from our ears.

In time, people will look at wired earphones and see them as quaint, flawed, and archaic. That time is now.

Yeah but what about charging and listening at the same time? They need to solve that problem and then all is okay. Tell me what benefit apple added yesterday?

 

[WillG999]

I'm sorry in advance, because Your post isn't as idiotic as some of the other pro-Apple attempts - but I have to say: dumb reasons does not get smarter by getting repeated... So the good news is that You get to blame Schiller for Your weak arguments.

1) "it is old" is a dumb reason to give, 3.5mm jack is universally adopted and solves a problem seamlessly, not because it is old but because it's dead simple and provides the wanted result without hassle. Wheels, buttons and crowns on watches are also old - are we then to get rid of those because "we don't like old things"?

2) Lightning is not "just available" - it comes with a fee and the "standard" is Apple's own - so now we have a struggle between proprietary "standards" (as in USB-C versus Lightning) where we once had a real standard.

3) No surprise here and no shock - I do not agree, I'd rather have headphones that I can use with all my devices so I'm voting with my wallet - no crying.

4) The water resistant thing is just bad reasoning - running out of space I will buy, it's their device, they can do what the hell they want with it.

5) So the whole "move to Lightning" will be followed by a "move away from Lightning" in about a year - sounds really stupid and user hostile.

But yeah - that whole "it's old/it's a dinosaur" seems to be Apple's thing, maybe that's why Scheinberg couldn't get a job in an Apple Store...

Thanks for calling me dumb, in what I was otherwise hoping would be a more constructive arguement. Seriously, you can stay over there in youre box, whilst the rest of us move on with optimism.

1) It's not a dumb reason to give, if the alternative is better / faster / more convenient / has added features. Yes we will get rid of wheels / buttons and crowns on watches when a new input method is created that is BETTER - this is how the evolution of products works.

2) Yes I did neglect to say that the lightening port costs a fee, but hey no other manufacturer is doing this so Apple is only slightly better than the others at being bad at sharing their standards.

3) You CAN use wireless headphones with all of your devices....? Also - wireless headphones more commonly than not come with a cable as I described in my post.

4) They didnt mention water resistance for the reason for removing the 3.5mm jack unless I missed that. Besides the Samsung devices that do have a 3.5mm plug are "water resistant" but they all let water in, in tests...

5) Stupid to make an arguement based on things that may or may not happen so I cant comment on this.

Scheinberg applied to be a technical support guy, IT people know that even these guys arent really technical people. They are more sales based, which is why he didnt get the job - end of.

 

[Roller]

Yeah but what about charging and listening at the same time? They need to solve that problem and then all is okay. Tell me what benefit apple added yesterday?

That's the only problem I have with this new arrangement, although it won't affect me often, as I only listen to and charge my iPhone during long flights. But I can see where it'll be a much bigger deal to some people, and not everyone will want to buy wireless headphones or ear buds. I wonder if it's possible to design an adapter that lets you plug in a charger cable and headphones simultaneously.

Other than that, I think that the iPhone 7 is a solid upgrade, especially coming from an iPhone 6 Plus. Before pulling the trigger, though, I'd like to hear more about how well the new home button works and try it myself.