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Supply Chain Rumors Reaffirm iPhone 7 Will Not Have Headphone Jack

MH01 said:
cause I have spent a lot of money on headphones . The average user has not .

I don't see the connection between people who live in the audiophile world changing phones phones based on the jack, and Apple making profit. We are a minority. A new connector = profit, from liscence and adapters ...

Apple stopped caring about professionals and niche segments a long time ago, current products are aimed at the masses.

And Bluetooth audio sucks. Bought a B&O H8 hoping I could transition to wireless, big difference wired . So anyone saying wireless
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People who buy a lot of headphones will continue to buy a lot of headphones. They can at least spring for an adapter. Anyway, this is an audiophile-friendly move. They will love the chance to choose their own DACs rather than being stuck with the one that comes with the phone.
 
As someone who is obsessed with music, I would jump so so fast if I had to deal with this right now. This would be a complete and total dealbreaker. I mean I'd probably still use a Mac for Garageband, but that's it. I'd definitely switch to Android/some alternative over this.

Luckily I just bought my 6S, so I don't have to think about this for 3-4 years.
 
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Did everyone here think the headphone jack would be around forever?

It's been 40 years now. Time to move on.
 
peglegjack said:
As someone who is obsessed with music, I would jump so so fast if I had to deal with this right now. This would be a complete and total dealbreaker. I mean I'd probably still use a Mac for Garageband, but that's it. I'd definitely switch to Android/some alternative over this.

Luckily I just bought my 6S, so I don't have to think about this for 3-4 years.
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If you're obsessed with music, this switch (if it happens) was made just for you. It's not a backwards step or one to purposely obsolete your equipment, but rather a change to increase the audio quality for wired headsets.
 
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I'm definitely not down with this. I've got several sets of the same headphones because they're very comfortable and they work with all my devices (iPad Air 2, various games consoles, handheld games, MacBook, PC, etc).

Having to attach adapters or buy new headphones just so they work with the new iPhone would be a real pain and would offer no real benefit to me (I'm sure others would disagree though).

I remember when Nintendo took the headphone port of the GameBoy Advance SP and there were loads of complaints. Not long after, Nintendo released the GameBoy Micro and Nintendo DS, both with headphone ports. I suspect if Apple go through with this we'll see a u-turn come the launch of the 7s...
 
If it helps waterproofing or sound quality, then it's okay.
Have to pick up the adaptor for my IEMs though.
 
inscrewtable said:
Considering that it has not even been confirmed it's worth realising that there only needs to be a 10% shift and the majority will prefer the lightning over the 3.5mm jack.

I remember the kerfuffle when lightning was introduced, yet if you ever use an old 30 pin connector on an iPhone 4s after being used to the lightning connector, the old one almost seems as laughable as the original brick phones.
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Fair enough, but statistics can 'prove' just about anything. You have to look at the underlying contextual data. Do that people that prefer just a lightning port actually *use* headphones? I'm going to hypothesize that they do not. Perhaps a few that would be willing to upgrade to higher-end devices. Those that actually do use headphones would be left without a practical solution.
 
What about all of those credit card readers? They won't even fit properly with a lightning adapter. Look at the Payanywhere Apple Pay, and Chip card reader.
 
i still say there will be an 3.5 to lightening adapter.

Why would Apple just throw away all those cabled only headphones that already exists in favor of lightening only or Bluetooth? I have Beats but wired headphones... i'm not about to buy any adapters just for the sake of this... I just won't get the iPhone 7.
 
Jsameds said:
Did everyone here think the headphone jack would be around forever?

It's been 40 years now. Time to move on.
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Because if can only be used with Apple devices.. It will force users to buy new headphones for a limited market .. Which by the way we can't use them with any stereo system..give us an adapter... which Apple will do.... They have adapters for everything else. They won't leave users in the lurch.


All u gotta do i look at history.....
 
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I like the idea but because now D-A conversion isn't done on the phone. It opens the door to higher fidelity output if you are able to choose your D-A converter (especially if the lightning port outputs the digital signal in its native bit depth and sample rate). However, it is removing a decent D-A converter in the phone and requiring some cost for the user to replace it externally. For most people, that's an inconvenience at best.

Do I dare say that I wish the lightning connector AND headphone jack are removed and replaced with USB-C? And that the one thing I hope with any connector form going forward is that it has not eliminated the possibility of having a fiber channel built into it.
 
Jsameds said:
Did everyone here think the headphone jack would be around forever?

It's been 40 years now. Time to move on.
Click to expand...

You really live in an Apple world then. Since the Lightning connector is non-existent in any non-Apple product, is every headphone / earbud manufacturer supposed to create two products--one for Apple users and one for everyone else? It's fine to change the standard (after 40 years)...but change to one available to every manufacturer/consumer.

Apple better have a darn good adapter to convert. I hate having to convert. To everyone who supports this, you already have a Lightning port for your "audiophile" needs, and we have a standard jack that works with any headphone we want...why remove the latter? Just to be 1mm thinner?
 
Personally I have no issue with this. I'm very content with the battery life of my iPhone 6 Plus. My top request would be for a thinner and lighter device.

People will easily move onto lightning port wired headphones. Bluetooth wireless headphones will only get better moving forward. I use my Bluebuds X's all the time on the go and they are simply awesome.
 
Here's my initial concerns with the thought of losing the headphone jack,
  • I like using my headphones between devices, my Mac, my iPhone, my PC, tablets, both our cars have 3.5mm inputs, etc.. so having headphones require a non-standard connection concerns me.
  • I don't like the idea of using an adaptor to use existing headphones, and I don't want to always depend on bluetooth devices.
  • Concerned that it will artificially raise the cost of headphones, either directly (headphones natively include the new/lightning connector) or Indirectly through needing to purchase an adaptor.
  • Even if the phone comes with an adaptor, it's just one more thing to keep track of, and most likely people will have to buy more adaptors.
  • Any adaptor better not be a terminating device, meaning it better be a pass through so you can still connect a charger, video adaptor, etc.
  • I'm sure it will be answered but I'm concerned that we will see the loss of this feature without at least an equal enhancement to replace it. I'm not much interested in just making the phone thinner, I want tangible usability and convenience benefits that would be as useful as me being able to grab any headphones (or tape adaptor, etc) and listen to music.
  • What does this mean for possibly migrating lightning connector to USB-C connectors?
  • Bluetooth = battery drain on the phone, and another device to pair/unpair and with batteries to (re)charge, and increases the cost of purchase, and cost of ownership.
  • I see several comments comparing this kind of a move with apple ditching the optical drive, and that we need to think of the "future". I don't see this being comparable. migrating the headphone jack in with the existing USB-C connector on the macbook would be a better comparison. At least when we lost optical drives (which I am ok with) I just made disk images of disks I use regularly and put them on portable drives so I can access them as needed. I also still can connect an external burner using one of several ports available when needed. there were battery, maintenance, and weight, and size benefits to ditching the optical drive, with clear and easy work arounds.
Maybe most or all of these concerns will be overcome with a new apple solution but, still these are what are going through my thoughts right now.
 
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I am sure more then 49% of the people would have wanted to keep the superdrive on the mac as well.


MacRumors said:



iPhone-7-Headphone-vs-Lightning-250x264.jpg
Six weeks ago, Japanese website Mac Otakara reported that Apple is planning to remove the 3.5mm headphone jack on the iPhone 7 in favor of an all-in-one Lightning connector for both connectivity and audio output.

Adding fuel to the rumor, Chinese websites Anzhuo.cn [Google Translate] and Wei Feng [Google Translate] cite supply chain news from unnamed sources that reportedly confirm the controversial rumor is true.

Both websites claim the iPhone 7 will not have a headphone jack, and that Apple will release its own wireless Bluetooth headphones, but the unverified reports should be treated with caution until or unless additional sources verify these claims -- nevertheless, they do make for interesting discussion.

Mac Otakara's original report said Apple may release Lightning-equipped EarPods, and the company already offers Powerbeats 2, Solo2 and Studio wireless headphones through its Beats brand. Apple also introduced new MFi Program specifications in June 2014 that allow third-party manufacturers to create Lightning-equipped headphones, including the Philips Fidelio M2L and Fidelio NC1L.

Philips-M2L-iPhone-Trio.jpg

Philips M2L are Apple-approved Lightning-equipped headphones​

The original report, which cited a "reliable source," also claimed the new same-sized Lightning connector will have a DAC, or digital-to-audio converter, for backwards compatibility with wired headphones using standard 3.5mm stereo jacks. A 3.5mm to Lightning adapter would be required.

The rumor has led to speculation that Apple could introduce wireless charging on the iPhone 7, as users would be unable to charge the smartphone and use Lightning-equipped headphones at once. On the contrary, there is always the real possibility this rumor is false and that Apple has no plans to ditch the headphone jack.
​
Should this rumor prove to be true, however, the decision will likely be as controversial as Apple's move to the Lightning connector over its legacy 30-pin dock connector. MacRumors ran a Twitter poll that showed 59% of 7,542 respondents preferred the 3.5mm headphone jack over an all-in-one Lightning connector.

Read more: Apple May Replace 3.5mm Headphone Jack on iPhone 7 With All-in-One Lightning Connector

Article Link: Supply Chain Rumors Reaffirm iPhone 7 Will Not Have Headphone Jack
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The question I have is: does lightning and bluetooth give better sound than 3.5mm since it's digital? If yes, then the 3.5mm should have been gone long ago.

The big thing they need to add is just bigger batteries and wireless charging.
 
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