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Supply Chain Rumors Reaffirm iPhone 7 Will Not Have Headphone Jack

zhenya said:
If Apple ditches the 3.5mm jack, they will include wired lightning earbuds in the box, not bluetooth. I do not particularly see bluetooth use accelerating for headphones. It seems to me from my travels that it has remained relatively static. Most people still use wired headphones. If anything, I've seen a decrease in wireless headphones since bluetooth has become so ubiquitous in the car.
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You don't have to take my word for it. Here are the top selling headphones currently on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Electronics-Audio-Headphones/zgbs/electronics/172541

7 of the top 20 are currently bluetooth. Yes, that still means the majority being sold are not... but that puts us at just the same point where many other technologies Apple has dropped were: many people were switching but most were still using the old technology.

Oh - you mentioned a while back that even bluetooth headphones still have "wires". That is just now starting to NOT be true (and yet another reason why Bluetooth earbuds are going to explode in popularity in the very near future). Check out any of these:

https://www.getkanoa.com
http://www.engadget.com/2016/01/04/altec-lansing-true-wireless-headphones/
http://ownphones.com
https://www.truebuds.io

(and more)

Yes, they are pretty expensive (and some are ugly/clunky) but these are just the beginning. More and more will pour into the market over the next few years.

Many of these also eliminate some of the other concerns with Bluetooth. For instance, many come with a charging case that can charge the earbuds wirelessly just by placing them in the case when you're not using them.

There is a lot of innovation happening in Bluetooth headphones/earbuds right now... and I fully expect to see apple nix the 3.5mm port in favor of it very soon.
 
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I recently got some bluetooth headphones. Love them so much compared to using 3.5mm.

There is no way in a thousand years I would buy a lightning-port set of headphones, however. That is just retarded, nothing else uses it, you wouldn't even be able to use it on a MBA or MBPro. Lame.

From now I am sticking to wireless headphones anyway, so if they get rid of the headphone jack, no big deal to me. I am thinking about getting some studio quality headphones that are neither wireless nor 3.5mm, so no big deal there either.

I feel bad for people still using wired headphones (as there really are some advantages to them), but I am personally ready to ditch the port completely.
 
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Jsameds said:
Lighting does power and audio, as demonstrated by the docks.

21250378160_e9d3166c86_o.jpg
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OK, I'll clarify:
Loosing the 3.5mm jack will prevent listening with earbuds (even lighting buds) and charging at the same time WITHOUT SOME CLUNKY BIG_A$$ EXTERNAL DOCK MONSTER :).
I use a lightweight external battery recharger when hiking or traveling light.
If I really need to travel ultra light, I use my 4s, running iOS 8.4 :).
But perfect timing - My plan is to skip the 7.
 
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developer13245 said:
OK, I'll clarify:
Loosing the 3.5mm jack will prevent listening with earbuds (even lighting buds) and charging at the same time WITHOUT SOME CLUNKY BIG_A$$ EXTERNAL DOCK MONSTER :).
I use a lightweight external battery recharger when hiking or traveling light.
If I really need to travel ultra light, I use my 4s, running iOS 8.4 :).
But perfect timing - My plan is to skip the 7.
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There will be a tiny "dongle" that allows you to hook up your legacy headphones and charge at the same time. Just go back and look at any of "Mac 128" s posts that show how this can be done. Like this one:

Mac 128 said:
Interesting, what kind of adapter comes with the Mac mini?

But I don't agree it will be included. It does not serve Apple's interest in doing this, per my comments above @ #757
[doublepost=1452041803][/doublepost]

Must I put this on every page?

Problem solved:

lightning_r.jpg

142c5b5e80f1dadc7c46fa251def8b76.jpg

ebdee9ccbb3fd4e064517cd5527c5e9b.jpg

dnyv3xrqtlat1ssnr1f9.jpg
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Serban said:
at gym believe me wireless are a lot better..wired at gym ???wtf
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sorry, but I prefer wired tbh just due to quality of sound, but I can see the appeal, and I use mine sometimes, but quality is subpar and battery charging etc. I have yet had any issues with the cable tangling tbh and my gym machines have tv cable as well so I can just use the same earphones for two things. I hope you are using / talking about earphones and not headphones.
 
This news makes me even happier that the 4-inch iPhone 6 variant will likely be released around April. That way, I can skip the iPhone 7 if it doesn't come in a 4-inch version and doesn't include a 3.5 mm headphone jack.
 
Robstevo said:
Next up....the revolutionary iphone 8 with no speakers or headphone jack lol why do we need inbuilt speakers when we can Bluetooth to wireless speakers?
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Omg, I'm SO over people making this about bt!!!
Obviously, WAY more people will continue to use wired speakers.
Now, they will just have to:
a) use the pair that Apple will include that will plug in to the lightning port
b) buy a new pair that uses the new lightning port interface
c) use ANY PAIR IN THE ENTIRE WORLD, using the included adapter
See???? Options!!!!!! (other than bt)
 
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Not a big deal for me. I use AirPlay at home, Bluetooth in the car, office, and when listening casually, and I already use the Lightning port with a Dragofly DAC for concentrated listening when I can't use AirPlay. If they add some sort of wireless charging that would be even better since I can't charge while my Dragonfly is plugged in. I also believe they will have an adapter for backward capability.

The one issue with the current Lightning connector is that unpowered DACs typically cause the iPhone to send a message that the DAC requires too much power to run. I found a way around that issue, but it would be nice if Apple fixed that problem ( it was actually added after an iOS update..before that DACs ran fine without work-arounds).
 
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Robstevo said:
Removing the headphone jack for waterproofing is not needed, I wish people would stop saying this. Sony have already proved this not to be the case.
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Yep, Sony and many others. Even a rather inexpensive Moto G is waterproof and has a 3.5mm jack, so waterproofing the 3.5mm isn't exactly rocket science or prohibitively expensive.
[doublepost=1452064509][/doublepost]
friedmud said:
Not necessary, but it certainly can't hurt. Even the Sony has a lot of "port covers" that have to be in place for it to be "waterproof". A fully sealed phone (much like the Apple Watch) will be easier to defend against water.
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There are waterproof phones that don't require port covers.
 
I've been using the lighting for almost a year now and for HQ audio at 192k it's amazing. Haven't heard anything like it. For normal consumers, I could see it being annoying but not if Apple intros HiRes audio in their streaming services somehow. This will open up HiRes to the average consumer, a move I am happy about and also allow for smaller form factors in the phones.
 
cable said:
I've been using the lighting for almost a year now and for HQ audio at 192k it's amazing. Haven't heard anything like it. For normal consumers, I could see it being annoying but not if Apple intros HiRes audio in their streaming services somehow. This will open up HiRes to the average consumer, a move I am happy about and also allow for smaller form factors in the phones.
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I really doubt that's going to be a selling point for the average consumer. Especially when it means switching from a standard to a proprietary connector.
 
xkmxkmxlmx said:
If they ship it with an adapter, I have no problem with this.
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Let's be serious, mate. :D
We all know apple will not ship this with an adapter. The adapter will be sold separately at just $99.
And it's not an adapter per se because the lighting connector is digital. To connect your current headphones you'll need a convertor (DAC) and a headphone amp (these things are already included in the iphone now).

If they want to make the phone even thiner they should use a smaller headphone jack like old nokia phones. Adapters are easily available for like $1
 
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cable said:
I've been using the lighting for almost a year now and for HQ audio at 192k it's amazing. Haven't heard anything like it. For normal consumers, I could see it being annoying but not if Apple intros HiRes audio in their streaming services somehow. This will open up HiRes to the average consumer, a move I am happy about and also allow for smaller form factors in the phones.
Click to expand...

There is nothing in this change that will 'open up' high res to the average consumer as it's not offering anything that can't be done with an internal DAC and headphone jack.
 
yep-sure said:
I wish people would stop using the term "legacy" when describing the wired headphones/speakers.

It's current industry standard, not legacy. Even if Apple do drop the port in favour of BlueTooth, wired speakers/headphones will still be industry standard.
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Yep. Not personally using something does not make it legacy. Apple did that years ago with optical drives when it is still currently used tech. Just because they want everyone to use iTunes does not make it legacy.

*And I have not even used a disc in over two years*
 
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i think i will upgrade to the 6c / 6s and stick with it until the legs fall off... it's too big a part of my use, my old car, several pairs of decent dj / production cans, lots of ios audio software and modular integration with my studio etc.

when they no longer sell one with a 3.5mm jack, i'll probably just get the most basic iphone and concede to having an ipod touch, if by some miracle they still exist and still have a 3.5mm.

the 3gs adaptor was a nightmare for me and i can't see how this would be any different. if anything, slightly worse because charging and listening wouldn't be possible, such as in the car, and no doubt the dac adaptor will be larger, yet the default dac would probably be worse quality than the internal one to save space...

besides all this, the wastefulness at pushing people to 'upgrade' to bluetooth and ditch their many pairs of OG buds is also distasteful to me.
 
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Burger Thing said:
I do hope you understand that in order for you to hear Audio files, the signal needs to be converted from a Digital into a Analog one. So, ' with the last analog thing gone' it means that you just do the conversion from digital to analog outside the phone - probably a dongle, powered by your all digital iPhone.

Oh, should have said 'almost all digital'. Because inside your phone you still have a converter from Digital to Analog to power your internal speaker.

Previously one of the strong selling points for the iPhone was the reasonably well built in DAC, ensuring a good sound quality.

Ok, then. For good sound quality I won't need an iPhone anymore if the external DAC takes over the part.

But why do I worry?! Phil will come on stage during the iPhone presentation and create a massive smoke screen with a new Audio HD Format Bla Bla Brainwash and everyone is happy. At least the average soccer mom, soldered RAM iMac customer.
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Perfectly said.
 
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