Upcoming 2018 iPad Pro Could Be 5.9mm Thick With No Headphone Jack

[[AUT] Thomas]

Meh... why so large? If we go edgeless, please keep the screen size the same and shrink the device rather than increasing the screen size -and keeping the same resolution...

Air Canada forbids using Bluetooth headphones at any phase during a flight on their Dash-8 series birds. So much for using my iPad on my flights.

Because if you’d drop them, they’d bounce on the floor due to vibration so you can’t pick them up anymore. (scnr)

New feature...lack of battery. Battery sold separately..

I’d actually appreciate that. Make the device 2,5mm slim (except the top area with cam & logic board) and allow us to dock the battery at the back. #nevergonnahappen

 

[sharpimage]

Not read all these posts. But so far I have not seen one reason why you cannot retain the 3.5mm slot AND use wifi headphones. The most vitriol seem to be aimed at people who suggest the 3.5mm should be retained. What is the problem? If you don't want it, don't use it, but why deny others the port they want. Surely, no-one would not buy the iPAD because it has both, but some sales will be lost if the 3.5 is removed. In a market that is pretty saturated, why alienate potential users when there seems no downside to retaining the 3.5

 

[atlatnesiti]

Not read all these posts. But so far I have not seen one reason why you cannot retain the 3.5mm slot AND use wifi headphones. The most vitriol seem to be aimed at people who suggest the 3.5mm should be retained. What is the problem? If you don't want it, don't use it, but why deny others the port they want. Surely, no-one would not buy the iPAD because it has both, but some sales will be lost if the 3.5 is removed. In a market that is pretty saturated, why alienate potential users when there seems no downside to retaining the 3.5

Yet again, Forget the 3.5 jack on mobile devices - they’re gone for good.
Cut the wires, embrace the future.
It’s sillily/stupid to go about it over and over again.
Reminds me of the conversations about axing floppy disk and CD drives of old...

 

[ValO]

Not read all these posts. But so far I have not seen one reason why you cannot retain the 3.5mm slot AND use wifi headphones. The most vitriol seem to be aimed at people who suggest the 3.5mm should be retained. What is the problem? If you don't want it, don't use it, but why deny others the port they want. Surely, no-one would not buy the iPAD because it has both, but some sales will be lost if the 3.5 is removed. In a market that is pretty saturated, why alienate potential users when there seems no downside to retaining the 3.5

That is purely hypothetical. You don’ t know what would have suffered when they did offer a headphone jack. Better battery? No E2E display/smallest bezels? A thicker iPad? You only have a reference point in last years iPad pro’ s which did offer a headphone jack.
I want my iPad Pro to be as thin as possible, as light as possible, smallest footprint as possible with a minimal of 10.5 screen, good battery life, smallest bezel as possible. And... don’ t want to compromise because of the placement of a headphone jack, because I really don’ t care about the headphone jack.

 

[rmsanger]

I have a desktop, analog, and various mobile audio rigs for my audiophile needs. The iPad losing a jack affects me about a 0 level. I am curious how they maintain proper battery life performance given the A12X rumors along with the thinness.

 

[ValO]

I have a desktop, analog, and various mobile audio rigs for my audiophile needs. The iPad losing a jack affects me about a 0 level. I am curious how they maintain proper battery life performance given the A12X rumors along with the thinness.

For one: by skipping the headphone jack.

 

[atlatnesiti]

I have a desktop, analog, and various mobile audio rigs for my audiophile needs. The iPad losing a jack affects me about a 0 level. I am curious how they maintain proper battery life performance given the A12X rumors along with the thinness.

Same here. Main use of my iPad 12’9 Pro 1st edition is in conjunction with my iMac for music production and mastering. Never Have I used 3.5 audio jack for that purpose.
Only direct lightning audio connection could achieve proper audiophile results

 

[ct2k7]

Yet again, Forget the 3.5 jack on mobile devices - they’re gone for good.
Cut the wires, embrace the future.
It’s sillily/stupid to go about it over and over again.
Reminds me of the conversations about axing floppy disk and CD drives of old...

Why not cut Lightning / USB-C on the device or even this smart connector?
[doublepost=1539521947][/doublepost]

That is purely hypothetical. You don’ t know what would have suffered when they did offer a headphone jack. Better battery? No E2E display/smallest bezels? A thicker iPad? You only have a reference point in last years iPad pro’ s which did offer a headphone jack.
I want my iPad Pro to be as thin as possible, as light as possible, smallest footprint as possible with a minimal of 10.5 screen, good battery life, smallest bezel as possible. And... don’ t want to compromise because of the placement of a headphone jack, because I really don’ t care about the headphone jack.

I care little for the lightning port if they get wireless charging. They should remove it as well. I also think the smart connector uses space which could be better served by battery. Dispose of that as well. Any battery increase in around 0.2mm would likely only yield a 1-2% battery life increase. Much better savings can be had from software and other hardware (SoC) optimisations.

The vitriol from those advocating the removal of the port with no suitable replacement for it is astounding.

 

[chabig]

Please name one audio professional which do not use wired medium for critical audio work.

That seems rather irrelevant because it's a certainty that the new iPads will have wired solutions, even if a 3.5mm port isn't one of them.

 

[Roadstar]

I’m now on my second iPhone without the headphone jack and the issues are still as obvious as they were back then. I do have multiple Bluetooth headphones including the AirPods (or should I say AirPod as they’re increasingly often crapping out by activating only the other bud or the other bud is on 1% battery when I pull it out of the case that should’ve been charging both of the buds for hours), and while in most cases the Bluetooth headphones are fine, they don’t work in all scenarios.

For example my 2010 Ford Focus supports Bluetooth, but only for call audio. Media audio would’ve required the original owner to select a BTO option he/she obviously didn’t and it’s not possible to add it afterwards without getting a 3rd party head unit and re-working all integrations to steering wheel controls and such. And no, I’m not going to prematurely swap to a new car just because Tim, Phil & co decided to get courageous. So now I have the massive Belkin dongle in my car and while it works most of the time (like any dongle, it adds an additional potential point of failure), it’s hanging on top of the master volume and AC controls making them more awkward to use.

I’ve also had my share of moments where we’ve taken turns at playing songs from our collections, only to notice that I don’t have the dongle with me and can’t participate. As an added benefit I’ll get some extra ridicule from people whose phones cost much less but still work in that scenario without lugging any extra gear.

The most funny thing is that I enjoyed the benefits of Bluetooth audio in the scenarios where it works well years before the iPhone 7 was launched, but still some people here seem to take Apple’s heavy-handed AirPods promotion by removing the fallback method as a prerequisite for enjoying Bluetooth audio at all. The 3.5mm jack being there didn’t magically prevent Bluetooth headphones from working, it just provided more versatility in scenarios where Bluetooth doesn’t cut it. And please don’t use the waterproofing argument, the S8+ I have for my second line with IP68 rating and the headphone jack is going to call out that BS.

 

[seclusion]

I do wish wireless could advance to the point of not having a delay or buffer.
Using multiple quality wireless Bluetooth headphones in my recording would be a nice option and save me running over my headphone wire with my rolly chair happens more often then I care to mention and lessen wire clutter. Having multiple devices, clients could use their own.
Besides that, an iPad with or without a jack means jack to me.

 

[fokmik]

I do wish wireless could advance to the point of not having a delay or buffer.
Using multiple quality wireless Bluetooth headphones in my recording would be a nice option and save me running over my headphone wire with my rolly chair happens more often then I care to mention and lessen wire clutter. Having multiple devices, clients could use their own.
Besides that, an iPad with or without a jack means jack to me.

does the devices with W3 chip have delay?

 

[I7guy]

Is there something wrong with keeping the headphone jack, if there is please let me know. Replacing something for no reason does not board well. Music studios don’t replace tried and tested equipment and ports for no reason. Constantly recharging BT devices is not convenient.

Your usage for an iPad differs from others, I have an iPP that replaced my MBP. Does that mean I tell others to buy an iPad instead of a laptop. I understand my usage differs from others. What if Apple discontinued the rMB or MBA tomorrow and says either an iPP or MBP, where does that leave travellers who have become accustomed to the Mac OS environment and have software investments...

Personally I would like to see them make a usb out so I can connect my digital headphones, but keeping the headphone jack would have been great. Maybe a usb-c would really be great so I can buy a dongle to do same.

Except Apple got rid of the headphone on the iphone and now rumors are saying same for the ipad. That is the reality of the situation.

But that doesn't mean, profits first, customers second. Apple is very bold for pushing a specific agenda. And this move is not to push airpods, because there is no guarantee a customers would even go back to apple get a replacement. And this move is not to increase the 5 centers per unit margin either.

I don't know what your solution is, but the handwriting appears to be on the wall.

 

[BeatCrazy]

As far as sound quality is concerned, AirPods are pretty ******. They are decent earbuds but there are way better headphones. What if I want to use iPad with "my" $4K Audeze LCD-4z headphones?

$9 Lightning to 3.5mm adapter? Or, assuming you have $4K headphones, you'd have a Lighting to USB DAC.

 

[code-m]

Bluetooth audio is not really going to cut it for pro audio. Unless its AptX HD or a proprietary HD codec like Samsung UHQ at 24 bit 96kHz.

I believe Apple uses lossy AAC over bluetooth.

https://darko.audio/2016/09/assume-bluetooth-piped-aac-apple-makes-an-ass-out-of-you-and-me/

"
For those toting a pair of Sennheiser Momentum Wireless headphones, an Astell&Kern XB10 Bluetooth amplifier or a Wyred 4 Sound bLINK, better sound quality will more-than-likely result from pairing with an aptX-equipped smartphone – i.e. not the iPhone 7. Here the aptX-loaded Samsung Galaxy S7 betters its Apple rival.

Only if/when Apple unleashes a) their own superior-sounding Bluetooth codec or b) offers lossless Bluetooth-like streaming is this likely to change."

Lol, I believe you may have misread or misinterpreted my post.

 

[Fthree]

I hope the next thinner iPad will bring me breakfast in bed if it does not then i will be severely disappointed. I will complain about that.

 

[iSunrise]

It was proven that at 6.1" thick the device can bend very very easy....now on 5.9" really? i mean users will now have to be careful how they hold their next ipad pro in landscape in their hands...a little flex will bend the device??
I hope will not be true...6.1"mm its minimum with aluminium 6000 series

You kind of answered your own question here. The new iPad Pros are not aluminium anymore, it's stainless steel, like the iPhone XS/XS Max.

 

[FasterQuieter]

I'd be more excited if the rumor was about the 12.9" version. That is the iPad that needs to lose weight. If they could get that down to around 1lb, it would be perfect.

 

[code-m]

But, when the cordless audio is up to par with wired audio, apple will be one of the companies which made that happen.


How can you say that? Using the 3.5mm also uses power, driving dac and amplifier, and with a headphone jack and all the hardware in an iPhone/iPad battery capacity would likely be less.

The key word in your post is “when”. If a wireless option equal or better exists with the same or no drawbacks to usage then I see no problem. The issue is forcing everyone to new tech that does not meet these requirements in the hopes that someday advancements will be made is ridiculous. When the solution is on par or better then remove and don’t forget to add a transitional phase.

Using the built-in speaker/s also use power, even the display. By this logic let’s get rid of the speakers and display. Better yet let’s just replace the iPad with paper, problem solved.

Here is an experiment you can do to test out how much of a hit and how fast you battery will degrade due to more recharging. Use wired headphones on device till battery dies. Use lightening headphones till battery dies, rinse and repeat for BT v2-5 headphones, built-in speaker and while for added value connect a BT keyboard to it. Record your results. I will even give BT an advantage use it first in this test as the battery will degrade due to recharge cycles, initially the level of battery wear is minimal, however keep recharging it you will notice a difference.

Remember this is only one experiment, next record the battery life of those BT v2-5 headphones compared to those wired ones.

In this situation Apple wants you to replace those AirPods and that iPhone or the battery in it or the AirPod case, as that is the nature of batteries to degrade over time. It means a constant revenue stream, nothing else explains these actions.

 

[Tozovac]

Not read all these posts. But so far I have not seen one reason why you cannot retain the 3.5mm slot AND use wifi headphones. The most vitriol seem to be aimed at people who suggest the 3.5mm should be retained. What is the problem? If you don't want it, don't use it, but why deny others the port they want. Surely, no-one would not buy the iPAD because it has both, but some sales will be lost if the 3.5 is removed. In a market that is pretty saturated, why alienate potential users when there seems no downside to retaining the 3.5

The bigger issue is Apple's key products (iPhones, iPads, animojis) having matured into rather well-designed items with room for refinement but little room for noticeably useful changes. But Jony's need to "innovate" coupled with his penchant for "less is more" is turning into removing at least something each year in the name of "breakthrough," sometimes unfortunately removing something still rather useful. Decrease thickness and bezels in the name of fashion instead of increasing battery life and physical protection/bumpers. Remove physical function keys, Magsafe, home button, usb type A, and headphone jacks even though the argument can be made that they are all still very useful to many.

I've said it before, I'll watch with entertainment (and fear) where Jony goes next with trying to remove something...all that's left are physical volume buttons, on/off, and lightning...

 

[code-m]

And to add to this, most pro audio gear uses a 1/4” jack, which is even older than 3.5mm

That is an adapter, similar to power plug adapters around the world. There is little to no loss from the original signal. It is not even comparable to the loss associated going to wireless.

Wireless/Qi power exhibits more energy loss and increased heat generation from that loss compared to a wired connection. The same can be said in this situation. The convenience may benefit a few, however the wired option has not been eliminated. Effiency loss for very minor convenience gain. No logic as induction coils are added at even more expense.

 

[ct2k7]

That seems rather irrelevant because it's a certainty that the new iPads will have wired solutions, even if a 3.5mm port isn't one of them.

I was replying to the argument that wired is easily replaced by Bluetooth/ wireless headphones. Agree that it will have wired solutions. If it’s USB-C that might be more of a pain than lightning but depends on how Apple do it. I don’t really like travelling with dongles/adapters though.

 

[Burger Thing]

Yet again, Forget the 3.5 jack on mobile devices - they’re gone for good.
Cut the wires, embrace the future.
It’s sillily/stupid to go about it over and over again.
Reminds me of the conversations about axing floppy disk and CD drives of old...

Ah, the stupid anology which never seems to die. Bluetooth the future... Great. Apart from being wireless there are no advantages.

Sound quality is worse and latency still hasn't been solved. Bluetooth is not the future. Bluetooth is a relict from the past and unfortunately we are now stuck with it.

 

[Mac'nCheese]

Air Canada forbids using Bluetooth headphones at any phase during a flight on their Dash-8 series birds. So much for using my iPad on my flights.

Why can't you use a wired pair?

 

[ZappBdot]

camera bump on ipad, because of dimensions only affects the eye design but not the functionality on a table like iphone does

Camera bump means nothing but a “not going to buy this!” for the iPad Pro! Bad taste/ really bad design! I wouldnt put something that makes a bump underneath a sheet of paper before starting to draw on in neither!