Supply Chain Rumors Reaffirm iPhone 7 Will Not Have Headphone Jack

[rockosmodurnlif]

The only reason I would miss the headphone jack is that I like & prefer my headphones & I don't want to get new ones. i don't much care for earpods either.

If iPhone had USB-C then I would consider it. But I don't want lightning specific headphones/adapters.

I agree with this sentiment.

 

[prowlmedia]

Some of the comments in this thread are making me sick. Look, far from me to tell you to how to use this forum. But the idea of having to carry an adapter to use my existing headphones is genuinely distressing me.

Right now my Mac and my iPhone, two devices I play audio from all the time, have the same headphone port. That makes it easily to plug and unplug from one to the other. But in future it seems I won't be able to do that without removing the adapter. And such a small thing like that will inevitably get lost when you plug and unplug it several times a day.

I suppose if I didn't need the Lightning port for anything else (wireless charging perhaps?) then the adapter could live permanently docked in the iPhone. But that's going to leave it with an unsightly hump, which is bound to break off in my pocket and leave a piece of itself inside the phone. No, no, no, no.

I like my headphones. I won't buy wireless because the last thing I need is yet another battery-powered device with a daily charging cycle. No.

And I can't follow the tech news for the next 8 months to find out whether this awful thing will transpire or not because it would be bad for my mental health. That's why I'm leaving MacRumors. I don't know when I'll be back, hopefully never. This will be my last post. Please don't write replies to tell me why my opinion is so very wrong, because I won't read them.

Wow. Do you want to put your toys back in your pram there buddy. Entitled much. That was basically a Verruca Salt Stampsy Feet rant. Whaaaaaa.

It's a phone.

 

[rockosmodurnlif]

Remember when everyone complained about the Lightning Connector? Now everyone loves it.

I'm sure no one will miss the 3.5mm headphone jack in 2-3 years.

Complained because it meant spending money on buying all new charging accessories.

 

[AirdanMR]

Optical discs were heavy and took up space, they were also slow to read/write, and had limited capacity. Seriously 640mb on a CD that took ten minutes to burn that data?

There are more reasons for moving to lightning/BT than simply weight and space. How about water proofing as a simple example?

Personally I use my Mac connected to a B&W Zeppelin for audio playback, I don't see my phone as an audiophile device, any more than I see it as a professional DSLR or video camera.

iPhone is the first step, iPods and Macs will come later.

There is a thing in design. If you have to sacryfice function in order to get a better shape, you are doing it wrong. And Apple lately is taking very poor design decisions.

Removing the 3,5 jack is not going to give you less weight or significant more space... also as robstevo said there are other phones with waterproof that have the jack conector... so there is not real point of doing this, well there is one:

People fool themselves with "is the future", but it's not. They only do that so you have to buy jack to lightning adapter if you want to use your music headphones - speakers. Also you could buy their exclusive headphones with lightning conector, but they will only work on Apple devices unless you buy them another adapter lightning to jack. And they will probably have low quality so you have to replace them every year or so.

That's how Apple works and that's how they get the 1st of the top $ enterprises of the world.

 

[addicted44]

Apple will do what Apple wants to do and it will be the best selling iPhone of all time. Say what you will about the executive team, stupid they are not.

Agreed.

But they will probably lose someone like me as a customer. Someone who switched to the mac in college over a decade ago because it was a well designed UNIX in a well designed piece of hardware, that worked really well with other devices (one of my killer mac features was how easily my ibook would connect to my TV automatically, and adjust the resolution, while my PC toting friends would have to hit a button to tell their PCs they wanted the display on an external device, and then manually configure resolution and location till the screen fit).

Apple's incessant efforts to lock me into their ecosystem (I wouldn't mind far less if this was USB-C or if Apple opened lightning) is driving me away, and I bet there are several others in my demographic which are also slowly losing what brought them to Apple in the first place. While I am sure we form an extremely small demographic of Apple customers, I know at least I (and I'm sure people similar to me) have a multiplier effect, in which my entire household of 4, and my friend's household of 4 all switched to all macs, and subsequently all iPhones, primarily because of me being a walking advertisement for the mac.

And my interest in the mac was generated by a friend who played the same role for a bunch of other people. If Apple didn't interest him 10 years ago, they would at least have had 9 less customers (in reality a lot more), who have bought at least 30 iPhones, and 20 macs over the past decade.

I think it cannot help Apple to lose the influential customer base which brought Apple to this point in the first place.

 

[Keirasplace]

I know I'm late to the party here, but I wanted to voice my displeasure at this move. I think it bites and all apple is doing is removing this component to make the phone even thinner.

I'm not going to say I won't buy the next iPhone because I'm basically locked into the ecosystem but I can say that I'm not happy about it.

How do you know they'd be removing it to make it thinner, maybe they just want to remove a huge ass port with lots of attached electronics, the only analog part that remains.

If they're long term goal is putting just about everything in a SIP like the Apple Watch; getting rid of it in 2016, or in 2018, seems logical.

If they distribute a plug and a small dongle, will it be the end of the world?

Within 2 years, third party makers will have flooded the market with inexpensive dongles, BT headsets or headphones with integrated DACs.

There is nothing magical about the 3.5mm port; maybe it's time has come.

 

[Jsameds]

Removing the 3,5 jack is not going to give you less weight or significant more space...

Every square millimetre counts in such a small device. Remove the jack, remove the sim, shrink the circuitry, thin the display and all of a sudden you have a device that's 20% smaller.

 

[nelmat]

Did you not just suggested to use the Lightning Port with the built in DAC to provide converted audio signals?



I am sorry again, but that wouldn't be a digital connection. Just a different form factor than before

I'm providing alternative suggestions. It seems people are incapable of thinking in a positive or creative way and are just focussing on the negative. Use an internal DAC, use one in the headphones, use BT, makes no difference to me personally. But I can see advantages and potential, and dropping an antique analogue connector makes perfect sense imo.

 

[PghMike4]

I just flew across the ocean, keeping my iPhone charged while watching movies, and of course using my headphone jack. The simultaneous charging and movie playing was necessary since watching movies really drains the battery.

If Apple does something like this, everyone will have to replace their headphones, which can be nearly as expensive as the phone itself (mine cost perhaps 1/3 the cost of the phone).

Apple's own headphones are crap, and bluetooth headphones in general require their own charging, and are thus a pain to manage.

So, this sounds like an extremely bad idea. Certainly, it'll keep me away from the iPhone 7.

 

[OllyW]

...the only analog part that remains.

I'm sure the internal speakers and microphones will remain.

 

[PghMike4]

Every square millimetre counts in such a small device. Remove the jack, remove the sim, shrink the circuitry, thin the display and all of a sudden you have a device that's 20% smaller.

The phone is already plenty small. I'd rather they use the extra space to hold more battery.

 

[Ries]

Why use wired at all. Latest Bluetooth is perfectly fine for the Compressed streaming / music on phones anyway. Anyone that thinks other wise is wrong.

Why would i want to wear big in-ear headphones when I can use my current lightweight Apple earpods? I have bluetooth headphones, only use them in the car. The are big and ugly because they need to contain a charging connector and battery.

 

[Keirasplace]

iPhone is the first step, iPods and Macs will come later.

There is a thing in design. If you have to sacryfice function in order to get a better shape, you are doing it wrong. And Apple lately is taking very poor design decisions.

Removing the 3,5 jack is not going to give you less weight or significant more space... also as robstevo said there are other phones with waterproof that have the jack conector... so there is not real point of doing this, well there is one:

People fool themselves with "is the future", but it's not. They only do that so you have to buy jack to lightning adapter if you want to use your music headphones - speakers. Also you could buy their exclusive headphones with lightning conector, but they will only work on Apple devices unless you buy them another adapter lightning to jack. And they will probably have low quality so you have to replace them every year or so.

That's how Apple works and that's how they get the 1st of the top $ enterprises of the world.

You're own assumption of why they'd do it is yours; we don't know why.
There are possible other reasons, getting the DAC stage outside the phone (which many PCs also now do), less ports to seal for water; inability to integrate the DAC part into a System on package, etc.

 

[jdiamond]

If anyone wants a 3.5mm jack, I am sure Apple will be happy to sell us an adapter (an iJack) for $49.99.

I think all this talk about adapters is missing the potentially worse issue: not being able to charge while listening to music. My most common use case is listening to music in the car, and I have to charge my phone at the same time. Sure, maybe I'll eventually have a car with CarPlay that will seamlessly integrate my iPhone with blue tooth, but I don't have that yet.

In fact, now that I stop to think about it, my music listening use cases from my iPhone all revolve around times when it's charging.

 

[MarkusL]

Technology moves on how? That implies improvement. I honestly don't get what's better about this. The answer always seems to be, devices can get even thinner. That's nice and all, but I don't know that that's the most important thing if it's starting to come at the expense of functionality and convenience.

In Cupertino technology moves in circles, at 5400 rpm.

But all jokes aside, it's just a rumor. When the iPhone 7 comes out with the 3.5mm jack intact everyone will be happy. The people who love this rumored bold move by Apple are not suddenly going to criticize Apple just because the jack is still there.

 

[Rogifan]

iPhone is the first step, iPods and Macs will come later.

There is a thing in design. If you have to sacryfice function in order to get a better shape, you are doing it wrong. And Apple lately is taking very poor design decisions.

Removing the 3,5 jack is not going to give you less weight or significant more space... also as robstevo said there are other phones with waterproof that have the jack conector... so there is not real point of doing this, well there is one:

People fool themselves with "is the future", but it's not. They only do that so you have to buy jack to lightning adapter if you want to use your music headphones - speakers. Also you could buy their exclusive headphones with lightning conector, but they will only work on Apple devices unless you buy them another adapter lightning to jack. And they will probably have low quality so you have to replace them every year or so.

That's how Apple works and that's how they get the 1st of the top $ enterprises of the world.

Except this is a pretty risky move. I don't think it can be compared to Ethernet or optical drive. And a lot more people use the headphone jack than used 30-pin docks. The only way this is a money maker for Apple is if they choose not to include an adapter in the box but I think that would piss off a lot of people and negatively impact iPhone sales so it could be a money loser in the end. If Apple is going to do this it's something they've been thinking about for a long time, not just one of the bean counters waking up one day wondering how how Apple can increase accessories $$.

I know I'm late to the party here, but I wanted to voice my displeasure at this move. I think it bites and all apple is doing is removing this component to make the phone even thinner.

I'm not going to say I won't buy the next iPhone because I'm basically locked into the ecosystem but I can say that I'm not happy about it.

Where does it say Apple is doing this to make the phone thinner? iPod touch is already thinner than iPhone but has the headphone jack.

 

[jdiamond]

You're own assumption of why they'd do it is yours; we don't know why.
There are possible other reasons, getting the DAC stage outside the phone (which many PCs also now do), less ports to seal for water; inability to integrate the DAC part into a System on package, etc.

No, I'd agree with the OP. Apple had no trouble supporting a head phone jack in the past. And they've prided themselves on not introducing advanced technology before they could do it without compromises. I think that, like the new Macbook, someone at Apple just envisioned a use case where you don't need to charge a device while using it, so why have extra parts?

Here's one positive counter example - SJ tried for years to get rid of the home button on the iPhone, but thankfully, someone in Apple decided people really need that button.

 

[AirdanMR]

Every square millimetre counts in such a small device. Remove the jack, remove the sim, shrink the circuitry, thin the display and all of a sudden you have a device that's 20% smaller.

Then use USB-C instead which is the real standard and future proof conector. Also is going to be mandatory by law in places like Europe.

 

[Xiroteus]

People also complained when Apple removed the optical disk drive. I sure don't miss mine...

Look to the future people.

Problem with their future us they often forget what people need in the present. Things have changed, even I have not needed a disc in over two years. They often remove things too soon. However the 3.5mm jack is different. It either stays or goes. I figure bluetooth is its middle ground. Like digital vs optical drives.

 

[jdiamond]

Except this is a pretty risky move. I don't think it can be compared to Ethernet or optical drive. And a lot more people use the headphone jack than used 30-pin docks. The only way this is a money maker for Apple is if they choose not to include an adapter in the box but I think that would piss off a lot of people and negatively impact iPhone sales so it could be a money loser in the end. If Apple is going to do this it's something they've been thinking about for a long time, not just one of the bean counters waking up one day wondering how how Apple can increase accessories $$.

Again, the adapter is the minor of two issues. Not being able to charge the phone while listening to music is a HUGE issue. In my case, most of the time I would listen to music from my iPhone is in the car, while I'm charging it for the day. And we all know by now that Apple's not going to extend battery life if it means it could use less battery space instead.

 

[Khedron]

I'm won't be going wireless for headphones yet.

Aside from battery life, easily moving between phone and laptop, and having headphones small enough to fit in a pocket, how do you replace the functionality of the headphone remote which is possibly my most common method of interacting with my phone concerning music/audio?

 

[APlotdevice]

Upside is technology moves on and our devices get smaller, which also has an upshot for both present and future devices that are too small to house a 3.5" jack.

Once the jack is gone people will migrate at a much faster rate to BT headphones, which means more money is spent in the area, which in turn means a faster progression and more widespread support of wireless audio technology.

Basically these sacrifices get us to the future faster, as uncomfortable as it is sometimes you just have to bite the bullet.

Oh such a glorious future, filled yet another device I'm going to have to constantly keep charged.

 

[jdiamond]

Problem with their future us they often forget what people need in the present. Things have changed, even I have not needed a disc in over two years. They often remove things too soon. However the 3.5mm jack is different. It either stays or goes. I figure bluetooth is its middle ground. Like digital vs optical drives.

And bluetooth is a VERY clunky technology, particularly with the one to one exclusive connection problem. It is no fun to wait and try to make bluetooth connections from one device to another.

 

[AirdanMR]

Except this is a pretty risky move. I don't think it can be compared to Ethernet or optical drive. And a lot more people use the headphone jack than used 30-pin docks. The only way this is a money maker for Apple is if they choose not to include an adapter in the box but I think that would piss off a lot of people and negatively impact iPhone sales so it could be a money loser in the end. If Apple is going to do this it's something they've been thinking about for a long time, not just one of the bean counters waking up one day wondering how how Apple can increase accessories $$.

I'm almost sure the iPhone 7 will come with a new version of earpods with lightning conector, but lets wait and see what happend. At the moment I'm not really happy about this.

 

[venomgt95]

I'm not gonna get an iPhone 7, so, i don't care!

(I'm only not getting one because i can't afford one, LOL)