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

[TrueBlou]

Apple doesn't care a crap about whether something is open or closed. They care only about the end user experience. They will support a standard when it is in their best interests to do so, and either drop support for it and / or fork the standard when it suits their own objectives.

The removal of the 3.5mm jack was crucial to making the iPhone waterproof (recent water tests have shown the iPhone 7 is easily as waterproof as the S7, if not more, despite its lower certification). Apple wants you to go bluetooth (also another open standard); lightning is simply there as a stopgap measure if you still need a wired connection.


Proprietary technology which brings legitimate benefits to me as the end user. Benefits which very often cannot be had anywhere else outside of the Apple ecosystem, no matter how much I am willing to pay. For example, up till now, nobody has managed to come up with a pair of bluetooth headphones that can easily pair to a device and switch connections. Not sure if Apple will decide to license their W1 chip tech though. I seriously hope they do.


https://developer.apple.com/programs/mfi/

Apple equips third party manufacturers with the authorized hardware components, tools, documentation, and technical support necessary. There might be some measure of profit involved, but all this certainly isn't free. It certainly goes a long way towards ensuring a certain degree of standard in lightning accessories. Just look at the crapshoot that is the USB-C cable.

I can't help but agree, everything Apple is doing is ultimately to benefit Apple customers. Shocker, why exactly shouldn't they be allowed to improve upon their products?

Let's take the W1 as an example as it's relevant to this subject. As it stands Apple have sId they have no intention to supply or license W1 to third parties. That may change, but for now, so what?

Apple has made something to Improve performance and simplicity of operation with Apple manufactured headphones on Apple manufactured devices, using an Apple infrastructure to benefit Apple customers. Yes that is despicable.

It is there in addition to standard universal Bluetooth, not to replace it. So I, as an Apple customer am looking forward to what they do and where they take this new development as it has an impact on me as an Apple customer.

My friends who own Android devices tell me they couldn't give a flying monkeys about it. They seem to think for some odd reason that it has no impact on them whatsoever. That should they want to use any headphones that have a W1 chip in them, they can. I was shocked and stunned, they can still use them? Even though there's an Apple chip in there, what the hell?

We broached the subject of headphones, for example, in our discussion that would not be wireless and instead would only have a physical interface. This, to my surprise was mostly met with a shrug. It seems that there will be alternatives available to the Lightning only headphones and that just as there has been for some time now, some will come equipped with more than one cable type.

Beyond that, when we reached the speculation part of the conversation all but two of us agreed that there would, before long be adapters to get around any and all limitations. We theorised that as the Lightning cable security was bypassed by the Chinese copyists, this would lead to all sorts of unofficial converters/adapters splitters and, well, pretty much anything else.

Of course this is just one group of people. But as a mixed group of Android and iOS users we agreed it's all a big fuss over nothing and ultimately when it dies down it'll end up being for the greater good.


Why am I rambling on telling you this? God only knows, my morphine has kicked in and I felt like typing instead of working

 

[jujufreeze]

Removing the headphone jack was also necessary for worse sound quality, apparently.

Beginning of the Wired review of Apple Airpods:

"DO APPLE’S AIRPODS sound great? Not really. But they’re about way more than playing music."

 

[TrueBlou]

Removing the headphone jack was also necessary for worst sound quality, apparently.

Beginning of the Wired review of Apple Airpods:

"DO APPLE’S AIRPODS sound great? Not really. But they’re about way more than playing music."

Were we expecting any less? The AirPods are a wireless version of Apples existing EarPods and we all know how well regarded they are for their sonic qualities

Give it time, it'll change for the better.

 

[sracer]

Apple equips third party manufacturers with the authorized hardware components, tools, documentation, and technical support necessary. There might be some measure of profit involved, but all this certainly isn't free. It certainly goes a long way towards ensuring a certain degree of standard in lightning accessories. Just look at the crapshoot that is the USB-C cable.

What is Apple's revenue from Lightning licensing fees? What are their net expenses associated with supporting 3rd party manufacturers? It shouldn't surprise anyone to discover that the first number is significantly larger than the second.

You used the word "ecosystem". There are some consumer benefits to it, but there are more benefits to the company controlling the ecosystem. The balance is in continuing to close the ecosystem so that it increases profits without alienating enough customers to negatively impact those profits.

Assuming that water resistance is the actual reason, will Apple offer a version of the iPhone (after the 7/7+) that provides the jack but not water resistant? They have already introduced significant differences between the 7 and 7+ with the camera and RAM.

What technical differences allow the Lightning port to not compromise water resistance but the 3.5mm does?

When Apple removes the headphone jack from their Macbook there will be another excuse for that... and it won't have anything to do with licensing fees.

Look, I'm a fan of Apple's hardware, software, and ecosystem. But I don't need to kid myself about Apple's motives. I can see it for what it is. There is still a significant net benefit to me and THAT is why I stick with them (for now).

 

[jujufreeze]

Were we expecting any less? The AirPods are a wireless version of Apples existing EarPods and we all know how well regarded they are for their sonic qualities

Give it time, it'll change for the better.

These are $159, a far-cry from your typical cheap bundled earpods and it's super disappointing Apple wasn't prepared to offer decent sound quality in their own product to justify the jack's removal.

 

[TrueBlou]

These are $159, a far-cry from your typical cheap bundled earpods and it's super disappointing Apple wasn't prepared to offer decent sound quality in their own product to justify removing the jack.

I'll admit I too am a little disappointed that they aren't going to be any better than their existing wired headphones yet. But that price isn't just for the sound. It's also for all of the tech that goes into making them truly, completely wireless while maintaining an actually decent battery life for their size.
Have you done much research into the other available options in this very specific category? I have, it's something I've wanted to exist for decades. Apples offering doesn't actually fare too badly against the competition.


**Edit
And you know what, for that freedom and technology, there's a better than average chance I'm going to buy a pair. They won't replace my wired cans, or for that matter even my good Bluetooth ones. But I could see them having their place in my collection for use in certain circumstances.
I'll demo them first obviously, if they're completely terrible they'll stay in the shop. But if they manage to be at least "good enough" I'll probably pick up a pair.

 

[lysingur]

These are $159, a far-cry from your typical cheap bundled earpods and it's super disappointing Apple wasn't prepared to offer decent sound quality in their own product to justify the jack's removal.

I highly doubt that you own a pair or have even tried them on, otherwise yoou would know that the sound quality is more than "decent".

I also highly doubt that you've tried other Bluetooth earphones before otherwise you'd know how advanced AirPods is in terms of connection reliability. You seem to forget that AirPods are not just a pair of wireless earphones. There are a lot more technologies that went into making the AirPods than meet the eyes, e.g. W1 chip. It is actually one of the best all-around wireless earphones at this price range.

 

[jujufreeze]

I highly doubt that you own a pair or have even tried them on, otherwise yoou would know that the sound quality is more than "decent".

I also highly doubt that you've tried other Bluetooth earphones before otherwise you'd know how advanced AirPods is in terms of connection reliability. You seem to forget that AirPods are not just a pair of wireless earphones. There are a lot more technologies that went into making the AirPods than meet the eyes, e.g. W1 chip. It is actually one of the best all-around wireless earphones at this price range.

Haven't tried them myself but the Wired review indicates the sound quality isn't great. I have Jaybird X2s which are in a similar price range and am happy with them for exercise and on the go use- they definitely couldn't replace wired headphones for my daily drivers though. I'd be interested to compare Jaybird sound quality with the Airpods, I expect Apple's $160 product to offer significantly better sound quality with good ergonomics to fit a variety of ear sizes than what's on the market to justify the headphone jack's removal.

 

[TrueBlou]

Haven't tried them myself but the Wired review indicates the sound quality isn't great. I have Jaybird X2s which are in a similar price range and am happy with them for exercise and on the go use- they definitely couldn't replace wired headphones for my daily drivers though. I'd be interested to compare Jaybird sound quality with the Airpods, I expect Apple's $160 product to offer significantly better sound quality with good ergonomics to fit a variety of ear sizes than what's on the market to justify the headphone jack's removal.

Perhaps expanding your horizons just a little would allow you a more detailed overview of the product.
A simple Google search for AirPods review will give you many, many opinions of them.

While no one is jumping for joy over the sound quality, many are saying they are more than adequate.

They may be pricey and they're certainly not going to compare to any of my more expensive and probably some of my cheaper cans. But let's stop for a moment and consider their purpose.

They are there to help alleviate some of the concerns with the removal of the analog port. They are specifically designed to be a completely wireless alternative to the existing EarPods and in that respect they meet every aspect of their design goal.

They reproduce a sound that by all accounts is no worse and some have said a little better than the EarPods. They are 100% wireless and despite their diminutive stature manage a more than acceptable 5 hours of battery life. Rather good compared to the competition.

They are not cheap by any standards, but show me the alternative 100% wireless earphones which are cheaper. There's a lot of tech and a lot of money spent on development of these devices. It's only natural that they aren't going to cost 69.99.

When you stop and look at it objectively, they do actually achieve what they set out to do with them. For a 1st gen product they're not all bad and provide a glimpse of how good the future could be.

 

[lysingur]

Haven't tried them myself but the Wired review indicates the sound quality isn't great. I have Jaybird X2s which are in a similar price range and am happy with them for exercise and on the go use- they definitely couldn't replace wired headphones for my daily drivers though. I'd be interested to compare Jaybird sound quality with the Airpods, I expect Apple's $160 product to offer significantly better sound quality than what's on the market to justify the headphone jack's removal.

There's something awry with your logic: What does the sound quality of AirPods have to do with justifying the removal of the headphone jack? Apple never claims that the removal of the headphone jack is for better audio quality, do they? It's also not as if one can't use the 3.5mm plug on the new iPhone 7. iPhone users are not forced to go wireless if they don't want to and there is now the added benefit of having a better implementation of that option.

What would "justify" the removal of the headphone jack is the new Lightning EarPods that come with the iPhone sounding more or less the same as the EarPods with the 3.5mm plug that comes with iPhone 6s. That's how the comparison should work between the two iPhone. You do know that you get a pair of EarPods with the Lightning plug and an adapter with the iPhone 7? You are also not forced to buy a pair of AirPods. At least not for now.

 

[TrueBlou]

There's something awry with your logic: What does the sound quality of AirPods have to do with the justifying the removal of the headphone jack? Apple never claims that the removal of the headphone jack is for better audio quality, do they? It's also not as if one can't use the 3.5mm plug on the new iPhone 7. The users are not forced to go wireless if they don't want to and there is now the added benefit of having a better implementation of that option.

What would "justify" the removal of the headphone jack is the new Lightning EarPods that come with the iPhone sounding more or less the same as the EarPods with the 3.5mm plug that comes with iPhone 6s. That's how the comparison should work between the two iPhone. You do know that you get a pair of EarPods with the Lightning plug and an adapter with the iPhone 7? You are also not forced to buy a pair of AirPods. At least not for now.

Spot on, that is exactly the comparison that should be done for the wired option.

......The tech addict in me though really likes what they've done with the wireless pods. Sound aside, I love the tech. The sound is likely perfectly acceptable, I think people just wanted more for the price, not always taking into account the tech side of it.



***Edit
Oh yeah, not related but I've just remembered something I forgot to include in my previous rant and I just couldn't let it go.

The comment someone made earlier about Apple Sheep being stupid for believing you get stereo sound from a single speaker. You may want to go have a look at some of the teardowns of the devices where they actually discuss the second speaker.

"This new earpiece speaker does double duty—for the first time, it also serves as a loudspeaker, giving the iPhone stereo sound for those times when you need to rock out and you might not have any place to plug in your headphones."

They even have pretty pictures to look at if you click here, pay particular attention to step 22 where they show you the speaker, just in case your reading skills are as bad as your researching.

Thats all, now what else did I forget....

 

[01silver4]

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

this is a good question
[doublepost=1474230377][/doublepost]

These guys are so full of it

Can we all agree the airpods are pretty ugly?

They look like the old school bluetooth headsets that were silly looking.

i totally agree with you, who in the hell came up with the design for the Airpods? i mean really come on these things are ugly and they have the courage to charge $160 for these things i am not so sure about apple anymore i think they are losing the way, i think they are more about money than they are about design and quality. i have been with apple since the iPhone 2g and lately it seems like apple is losing there way to me.
[doublepost=1474230540][/doublepost]

I highly doubt that you own a pair or have even tried them on, otherwise yoou would know that the sound quality is more than "decent".

I also highly doubt that you've tried other Bluetooth earphones before otherwise you'd know how advanced AirPods is in terms of connection reliability. You seem to forget that AirPods are not just a pair of wireless earphones. There are a lot more technologies that went into making the AirPods than meet the eyes, e.g. W1 chip. It is actually one of the best all-around wireless earphones at this price range.

Yes but they are still ugly!!!!!

 

[LegacyH6]

There's something awry with your logic: What does the sound quality of AirPods have to do with justifying the removal of the headphone jack? Apple never claims that the removal of the headphone jack is for better audio quality, do they? It's also not as if one can't use the 3.5mm plug on the new iPhone 7. The users are not forced to go wireless if they don't want to and there is now the added benefit of having a better implementation of that option.

What would "justify" the removal of the headphone jack is the new Lightning EarPods that come with the iPhone sounding more or less the same as the EarPods with the 3.5mm plug that comes with iPhone 6s. That's how the comparison should work between the two iPhone. You do know that you get a pair of EarPods with the Lightning plug and an adapter with the iPhone 7? You are also not forced to buy a pair of AirPods. At least not for now.

you fit the classic definition of an iSheep, there is no point in trying to argue with you as you will defend Apple until you bleed from the ears, no matter how much they are making mugs of people like you.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=isheep

like flogging off 2 shades of black and advertising amazing 'stereo' sound in the iPhone 7.

BTW, I know plenty about tech including that mostly everyone but iSheep classify stereo as having 2 or more distinct speakers.

Apple are just a monstrosity of an organistation whose shareholders are laughing at how they can manipulate the flock of sheep following them.

they still have a long way to go to dominate market saturation, most of the smart people just avoid them.

 

[TrueBlou]

you fit the classic definition of an iSheep, there is no point in trying to argue with you as you will defend Apple until you bleed from the ears, no matter how much they are making mugs of people like you.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=isheep

like flogging off 2 shades of black and advertising amazing 'stereo' sound in the iPhone 7.

BTW, I know plenty about tech including that mostly everyone but iSheep classify stereo as having 2 or more distinct speakers.

Apple are just a monstrosity of an organistation whose shareholders are laughing at how they can manipulate the flock of sheep following them.

they still have a long way to go to dominate market saturation, most of the smart people just avoid them.

First of all there are two separate and distinct speakers in the iPhone 7, do your bloody research before you spout your nonsense.

But what's becoming far more apparent and much more interesting than anything Apple is doing, or any products they are releasing, is you.

It's certainly curious as to why such a venomous little Android aficionado would feel the need to become a member of an Apple centric forum, just after Apple has announced their new product line up. Yes, I checked, because I suspected you to be one of those types and oh, I was right.
You then proceed to make every post you make a part of your own pathetic little vendetta against anything Apple related. Well colour me shocked.

It would seem that you have a rather bad case of insecurity. At the very least there's something rattling around in your head that could do with a spot of tightening up because there's not only little to no logic in what you are doing. Your "facts" are at best spotty and at most ludicrous and without any actual basis in reality. Do you feel somehow threatened by Apple, you shouldn't there's a large enough market for both systems to co-exist. Is it a case of the green eyed monster because you can't afford Apple products? It's certainly interesting.

Don't get me wrong, you may be a thoroughly nice chap in person for all I know, anything is possible. But if you're going to partake in the sort of mindless bashing that you have been you should at the very least do a couple of things right.

First of all, using terms like iSheep as a form of attack makes you sound like an 11 year old crybaby. Secondly, do your research first before you let your fingers loose on your keyboard, it's difficult to take someone seriously when they don't even get the basics right. Once you've levelled those out, put on your big boy pants and construct a fair and reasonable argument that people can take seriously. We all like a debate from time to time, but it does need to be an actual adult conversation, not a schoolyard name calling session.

It's perfectly clear from when you joined and from your, I use the term loosely, discussions thus far as to why your here. It's sort of sad, I should feel sorry for you that you feel the need to do what you are doing. But in the grand scheme of things, I don't really. If I were a moderator I'd delete your account for being a waste of server space. But fortunately for you, I'm not. Thankfully however there is an ignore button, so I won't have to put up with your whinging in response to this.

Oh and just before you start labelling me as one of your precious iSheep, I'll do it myself. I do indeed have three iPhones, a couple of iPads, an Apple computer, an Apple Watch, an Apple TV and quite a few other Apple products. Shame on me for being so foolish as to purchase quality products I like. Oh wait, we'd better get the description completely accurate. I've also got two Android phones, a Windows Tablet, a ChromeCast, a Roku, a Fire Tv, Kobo H20 and so on. Guess that must make me an AppleMicrosoftAlphabetAmazonRokuKoboSamsungLGHTC sheep as well, it's so difficult to keep up with these handy descriptive slang terms.




Yes I am in a bad mood, how'd you ever guess

 

[LegacyH6]

chillax ffs.

what side of the bed did you get out from....

I take what i said about the speaker back, i was not aware it was located at the top.

But my stance on the iPhone 7 hardly changes. for one the wireless ear buds are ridiculous and the device as a whole is underwhelming, to say the least.

no fast charging, no wireless charging and less than inspiring displays on the iphone 7 and iphone 7 plus is how i would summarise them.

Its not like Apple dont know this stuff exists.

 

[TrueBlou]

chillax ffs.

what side of the bed did you get out from....

I take what i said about the speaker back, i was not aware it was located at the top.

But my stance on the iPhone 7 hardly changes. for one the wireless ear buds are ridiculous and the device as a whole is underwhelming, to say the least.

no fast charging, no wireless charging and less than inspiring displays on the iphone 7 and iphone 7 plus is how i would summarise them.

Its not like Apple dont know this stuff exists.

Sorry, sometimes the pain makes me ridiculously grumpy

But I also stand by what I said, it's all about the facts and I guess whether your more interested in numbers that mean little, or real meaningful results.

I'm not one to bother about 4K displays on a tiny little screen it's overkill and fools marketing at its very best. Hey let us give you this screen where, honest you'll really notice the difference it's not a placebo at all. All we ask in return is a big slice of your performance and battery power, is that ok? Just imagine how much more powerful Samsung phones would be if they used a sensible resolution for the size of the screen.

I've no objections to OLED, as a technology I love it, I just wish all phone manufacturers would stop the stupid pointless numbers game and focus their energies where it really matters.
But for sheer quality of image, well I'll let the experts say it better than I can.

"The iPhone 7 excels due to its record absolute color accuracy, which is visually indistinguishable from perfect," - Displaymate.

I'll give you the AirPods, they've definitely got room for improvement, but they are an optional purchase.

Fast charging, well as has been explained many times, iPhones already do that bit. They just slow down at the end to maximise battery lifespan. None of that nasty exploding business.

Wireless charging I don't get the point of really. Actually, I'll rephrase that, true wireless charging will be an incredible invention. That nonsense where you have to lie it on a mat to charge, that I can gladly live without. You can't even use the damn phone while it charges, well, not unless you lift it and the charging mat up to your ear. So no thank you sir, I'll stick with a versatile wee cable. (For the record, two of my previous phones had "wireless" charging, I hated it and used a cable 99% of the time.)

So again it all boils down to that usefulness of implementation thing again. Specifications for specifications sake are there to lure in the, well we all know how that sentence ends

 

[LegacyH6]

Sorry, sometimes the pain makes me ridiculously grumpy

But I also stand by what I said, it's all about the facts and I guess whether your more interested in numbers that mean little, or real meaningful results.

I'm not one to bother about 4K displays on a tiny little screen it's overkill and fools marketing at its very best. Hey let us give you this screen where, honest you'll really notice the difference it's not a placebo at all. All we ask in return is a big slice of your performance and battery power, is that ok? Just imagine how much more powerful Samsung phones would be if they used a sensible resolution for the size of the screen.

I've no objections to OLED, as a technology I love it, I just wish all phone manufacturers would stop the stupid pointless numbers game and focus their energies where it really matters.
But for sheer quality of image, well I'll let the experts say it better than I can.

"The iPhone 7 excels due to its record absolute color accuracy, which is visually indistinguishable from perfect," - Displaymate.

I'll give you the AirPods, they've definitely got room for improvement, but they are an optional purchase.

Fast charging, well as has been explained many times, iPhones already do that bit. They just slow down at the end to maximise battery lifespan. None of that nasty exploding business.

Wireless charging I don't get the point of really. Actually, I'll rephrase that, true wireless charging will be an incredible invention. That nonsense where you have to lie it on a mat to charge, that I can gladly live without. You can't even use the damn phone while it charges, well, not unless you lift it and the charging mat up to your ear. So no thank you sir, I'll stick with a versatile wee cable. (For the record, two of my previous phones had "wireless" charging, I hated it and used a cable 99% of the time.)

So again it all boils down to that usefulness of implementation thing again. Specifications for specifications sake are there to lure in the, well we all know how that sentence ends

I got a S7 Edge just recently, display is awesome.

Its only a matter of time before Apple get in on the Act.

Samsung screwed up the Note 7 big time so i can see Apple wanting to buy into their AMOLED division, plus Samsung could do with some $$$ to recover the the battery fiasco.

If they fix up the problems with lightning connector they could use Qualcomm for fast charge 3.0 next year also. Dont think existing fast charge protocol supports lightning, hence Apple not having it. Qualcomm make LTE ICs for the iPhone so should be easy enough to use the same vendor.

 

[TrueBlou]

I got a S7 Edge just recently, display is awesome.

Its only a matter of time before Apple get in on the Act.

Samsung screwed up the Note 7 big time so i can see Apple wanting to buy into their AMOLED division, plus Samsung could do with some $$$ to recover the the battery fiasco.

If they fix up the problems with lightning connector they could use Qualcomm for fast charge 3.0 next year also. Dont think existing fast charge protocol supports lightning, hence Apple not having it. Qualcomm make LTE ICs for the iPhone so should be easy enough to use the same vendor.

There's no denying that's a nice screen, I'm just of the ilk who thinks it's a wee tad unnecessary. The entire phone could be improved with a lower resolution screen, same tech, just less of it

I'm not saying it's not nice to look at but I just think 4K and above is better put to use on a significantly larger display. I've tried side-by-sides several times with 4K OLED phone screens and the 1080p iPhone, to me it's not the resolution that's worth the bother, I don't see the significant gain from it and I've got really good eyesight before anyone thinks that's an issue OLED can offer up some benefits to us, I just don't think that has to be one.

I'm probably in a minority but if and when Apple go OLED, I hope they don't go as far as 4K, I just don't see the need. If they do, I hope they account for it in the battery and performance stakes, or that's the bit I'll be complaining about.

 

[Floris]

 

[dilbert99]

You're doing it wrong, you need to use the dongle, oh wait wrong type of dongle in the box, ok you need to buy a new dongle, oh wait they don't make those...

 

[2010mini]

Your point is? There are numerous technologies available that require specific accessories that don't work with other tech. And people have been using them for years without a quarrel.

 

[keano86]

Your point is? There are numerous technologies available that require specific accessories that don't work with other tech. And people have been using them for years without a quarrel.

Strange how the new Mac book removed magsafe, but the 3.5mm jack is still there. Not so obsolete now. But USB 3, now that's obsolete.

 

[Floris]

Strange how the new Mac book removed magsafe, but the 3.5mm jack is still there. Not so obsolete now. But USB 3, now that's obsolete.

Where do you see usb3 ports?

 

[keano86]

Where do you see usb3 ports?

That was my point! USB C has replaced it. Yet more adapters.

 

[dilbert99]

Your point is? There are numerous technologies available that require specific accessories that don't work with other tech. And people have been using them for years without a quarrel.

Apple prides itself on accessibility but cannot use their headphones to access a "STANDARD" port, thus having to carry two pairs of headphones. This is the company Apple has become, which is a massive shame. Its not an Apple I like any more.