Samsung Mocks Apple's Decision to Remove the Headphone Jack in iPhone 7

[Burger Thing]

Some of us are electronic or electrical engineers (I am with two degrees) and reading what is basically NONSENSE from people that have no clue about the things they use is just getting old. But then one only has to look at the current ongoing election to see that ignorance rules everything in the USA.

The world is definitely heading not into the right direction and I start to worry that the relatively long period of peace and stability (at least in the western countries) is coming to an end. The current generation is getting "comfortably numb" as they never really had to worry about much and the Internet, while offering great possibilities of finding knowledge, is also at the same time a pitfall.

A lot of nonsense and false information is not only spreaded unchecked without any control, it is also used by some parties as an influential tool: political parties like in your example, since hardly anyone is using their brain anymore.

We are proud of what we have achieved in our culture and legislation: the freedom of speech. But not only politicians, of course, but even on a bigger scale countries like Russia make use of exactly that.

One has to go the comments section of some online news portals in for example Germany and read through the stuff which is posted, whenever there is a critical news article about Putin - especially in the wake of the war in Ukraine or when Malaysian Airlines 17 was shot down. Their 'online soldiers' (Trolls of St. Petersburg) were extremely active and posted in (sometimes too) perfect German pro-russian propaganda, trying to give the impression that basically the majority of Germans are in fact Anti-American and the events in Ukraine are just the result of the an aggressive NATO and poor old Russian had to defend themselves. Just one example.

Of course the Internet are used by big companies as a means to influence the public, too. A few years ago there was an example where Samsung was caught somehow to post stuff in forums against competitor (I believe that was in Taiwan, if my memory serves me correctly).

Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if something similar is happening here in these kind of threads, too, this time initiated in Cupertino. At least it would explain why there are participants who seem to be online 24-7 and post more content than Tolstoy's War and Peace, posting rubbish and technical nonsense in an attempt to justify the removal of the 3.5 mm jack.

I want to believe that a normal person with an at least average level of intelligence and a certain technical knowledge can't be that daft seeing lots of 'benefits' in Apple's move. So if that is not propaganda by Apple, then god help our generation.

To be honest, though, I haven't seen many beneficial moves (apart from shareholders and puppy snappers) of Apple lately anyway, so it fits the pattern (soldered and glued together overpriced computers with rubbish graphic cards, software like Aperture dying, etc).

Combine all this with the constant presence of Internet. The Smartphones made it worse. Like I said above: the Internet offers great possibilities. But unfortunately in the area of Smartphones influential Brainwash, Nonsense or simply rubbish is also only a convenient screen touch away.

I find it already downright scary to watch the mob at rush-hour heading towards the subways in the city I live. 90 % of them are walking glued to their screen.

 

[JayIsAwesome]

"They see me Trollin, they hatin" - Samsung

 

[Mac 128]

Right... Go away.

I hesitate to post this, after your ordeal, but the timing of this article was a little too perfect. And I must admit it conspcerns me just a little bit ...

Is 5G technology dangerous? Early data shows a slight increase of tumors in male rats exposed to cellphone radiation - Los Angeles Times
https://apple.news/AQrBG-bQyQS2dX2CIgCnd6A

 

[jblagden]

Aren't they removing it for space and you get better audio quality with the lightning connection?

I know it's not a popular move, but those are the reasons right?

Lightning doesn't actually provide better audio quality. With Lightning, you're just using the DAC in the headphones instead of the DAC in the phone. This just makes it so you have to spend more to get a good pair of headphones. That's the problem with all digital audio connections, i.e. USB and S/PDIF - you're just moving the audio processing to another DAC. The iPhone has great audio - it just needs better amplification. Apple just needs to put a better amplifier into the iPhone. Lighting and Bluetooth will not provide better audio. The problem here is that all audio equipment is essentially analog, even if it has a digital connection - if it has a digital connection, it has its own DAC, which is probably going to be worse than the one in your iPhone.

 

[jblagden]

I wouldn't mind trading the headphone jack for a 256 GB micro SD card slot and an iOS version of Finder.

Looks like I won't be the only one switching to an Ubuntu phone after Apple drops the headphone jack.

 

[jblagden]

I would give you every last dollar in my bank account if you could consistently tell the difference between audio coming through a headphone jack and audio coming through the lightning connector.

The fact of you even saying it's better audio quality and actually being able to notice the difference is laughable.

Furthermore, most people can't even decipher 128kbps vs 320kbps. Give it a shot: http://mp3ornot.com

Also, with a digital audio connection, the headphones are doing the audio processing instead of the phone. The only way you'll get digital headphones that sound good is if you're willing to spend $150-$200 on them, and even then, they won't sound as good as pair equipped with 3.5 in the same price range.

 

[Mac 128]

Lightning doesn't actually provide better audio quality. With Lightning, you're just using the DAC in the headphones instead of the DAC in the phone. This just makes it so you have to spend more to get a good pair of headphones. That's the problem with all digital audio connections, i.e. USB and S/PDIF - you're just moving the audio processing to another DAC. The iPhone has great audio - it just needs better amplification. Apple just needs to put a better amplifier into the iPhone. Lighting and Bluetooth will not provide better audio. The problem here is that all audio equipment is essentially analog, even if it has a digital connection - if it has a digital connection, it has its own DAC, which is probably going to be worse than the one in your iPhone.

They can't put a better amp in the phone. It's limited by power constraints, and it's compromised function of having to supply both line level outputs and headphone outputs, getting neither quite right.

And if a manufacturer puts worse DACs in their products than Apple uses, and it makes a difference to the customer, then no one will buy it and that manufacturer will go out of business.

Also, with a digital audio connection, the headphones are doing the audio processing instead of the phone. The only way you'll get digital headphones that sound good is if you're willing to spend $150-$200 on them, and even then, they won't sound as good as pair equipped with 3.5 in the same price range.

What is your basis for this claim? You realize Apple pays about $18 for all of their I/O chipsets on the iPhone, of which the headphone components are only a part. Add to that most good analogue headphones already cost in the $150-200 range without being digital. And of course wired digital headphones will sound as good if not better than cheaper wired counterparts.

I mean seriously, if you're going to say stuff like this, at least try to explain why.

 

[jblagden]

They can't put a better amp in the phone. It's limited by power constraints, and it's compromised function of having to supply both line level outputs and headphone outputs, getting neither quite right.

And if a manufacturer puts worse DACs in their products than Apple uses, and it makes a difference to the customer, then no one will buy it and that manufacturer will go out of business.



What is your basis for this claim? You realize Apple pays about $18 for all of their I/O chipsets on the iPhone, of which the headphone components are only a part. Add to that most good analogue headphones already cost in the $150-200 range without being digital. And of course wired digital headphones will sound as good if not better than cheaper wired counterparts.

I mean seriously, if you're going to say stuff like this, at least try to explain why.

That’s what they want you to think. You really don’t have to spend that much to get good analog headphones. These are a great example: https://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-H...=1471789670&sr=8-1&keywords=sennheiser+HD+428

As regards power, check out the Hi-Fi section on the specification page for the Meizu Pro 5: http://www.meizu.com/en/products/pro5/spec.html

By the way, that phone isn’t just an Android phone - there’s an option for Ubuntu: http://www.ubuntu.com/phone/devices

 

[Abazigal]

It didn't bother Apple when they dumped the 30 pin for the Lighting connection.
A lot of gear, not just cables, became obsolete almost over night.
Normalizing on a single standard would reduce waste and be more beneficial in the long run.
Short term pain for long term gain.

Until of course, the time comes to move on from USB-C to the next standard. We went from VGA to DVI to HDMI and now this. What then happens if and when someone introduces a new display port later down the road?

Or were you expecting it to last forever?

 

[Burger Thing]

Lightning doesn't actually provide better audio quality. With Lightning, you're just using the DAC in the headphones instead of the DAC in the phone. This just makes it so you have to spend more to get a good pair of headphones. That's the problem with all digital audio connections, i.e. USB and S/PDIF - you're just moving the audio processing to another DAC. The iPhone has great audio - it just needs better amplification. Apple just needs to put a better amplifier into the iPhone. Lighting and Bluetooth will not provide better audio. The problem here is that all audio equipment is essentially analog, even if it has a digital connection - if it has a digital connection, it has its own DAC, which is probably going to be worse than the one in your iPhone.

Yes, the Audio capabilities of the iPhone are good. As for the amplification: I would argue that people who care for sound quality and want to use one set of headphone across all devices, they would have bought a set with a a low impedance rating which most of the major player in the market offer. That certainly was one the main aspects when I chose my headsets. So the amplifier inside the iPhone should be fine.

Of course if you want to go beyond that there is always the possibility of connecting an external DAC and amp. Which of course defeats a bit the idea of having a small portable audio solution. And it seems like that the market is indeed very small for that and most customers would have rather opted for an headphone optimised for mobile devices.

Removing the audio jack will practically add nothing to sound quality but just be a major pain in the rear convenience wise - and the customers will now pay for 2 DACs and Amplifiers. One set inside the phone and the other set in the headset or dongle.

 

[Mac 128]

Until of course, the time comes to move on from USB-C to the next standard. We went from VGA to DVI to HDMI and now this. What then happens if and when someone introduces a new display port later down the road?

Or were you expecting it to last forever?

I have to admit I'm looking forward to the demise of the HDMI cable, since USB-C should easily be able to replace it in the move toward a universal standard. It will of course take years before all the TV sets using HDMI are replaced with USB-C sets. But there will be plenty of HDMI to USB-C adapter cables to use with new USB-C equipped devices in the meantime. I wonder if the USB-C port on the TV is capable of being updated to replace the HDMI cable?

 

[jblagden]

Samsung makes some incredible hardware! If only it ran a non-Google operating system. I really don't want to share all my information with a marketing company. Samsung should partner with Ubuntu with their new Ubuntu phone platform to get some weight behind it.

Yeah! Especially since it looks like all of the Ubuntu phones are sold out: http://www.ubuntu.com/phone/devices

Ubuntu Touch offers a lot of neat stuff, including Terminal, which is very useful in IT. Also, it uses USB, which is particularly useful because it allows you to plug in USB keyboards, mice, hard drives, and USB-Ethernet adapters. You might be able to use Ethernet with iOS, but you’d also need a USB to Lighting adapter. The Ubuntu phones I’ve seen use USB-C, for which there are a number of adapters, including ones from Apple.

Eventually, LibreOffice will be available, which will be a great leap forward in functionality. iWork is really nice, but most of the world uses Microsoft Office, so we need to be able to use Microsoft Office files natively instead of having to go through a conversion like Office=>iWork->Office, due to the time and effort involved as well as potential formatting issues.

The only problems I can see with switching from iOS to Ubuntu Touch are 1) iMessage, 2) Safari/iCloud bookmarks, and 3) DRM-protected iTunes videos.

Yes, the Audio capabilities of the iPhone are good. As for the amplification: I would argue that people who care for sound quality and want to use one set of headphone across all devices, they would have bought a set with a a low impedance rating which most of the major player in the market offer. That certainly was one the main aspects when I chose my headsets. So the amplifier inside the iPhone should be fine.

Of course if you want to go beyond that there is always the possibility of connecting an external DAC and amp. Which of course defeats a bit the idea of having a small portable audio solution. And it seems like that the market is indeed very small for that and most customers would have rather opted for an headphone optimised for mobile devices.

Removing the audio jack will practically add nothing to sound quality but just be a major pain in the rear convenience wise - and the customers will now pay for 2 DACs and Amplifiers. One set inside the phone and the other set in the headset or dongle.

Exactly!

By the way, I use the SoundBlaster E1, which is a really small amplifier. It’s roughly the same size as two AA batteries. It’s great for improving the iPhone’s audio by adding amplification and it’s also great as a powered audio splitter to prevent volume and quality loss.

 

[Dmunjal]

Until of course, the time comes to move on from USB-C to the next standard. We went from VGA to DVI to HDMI and now this. What then happens if and when someone introduces a new display port later down the road?

Or were you expecting it to last forever?

The thing I like about USB-c is that it can work across all devices including laptops, tablets, and phones. Lightning can't do that. And I doubt we'll see the NG Lightning to show up on MacBooks.

 

[koruki]

$10 says Samsung will remove it too.

 

[Ploki]

$10 says Samsung will remove it too.

lol