Why did Apple not include USB-C on iPhone 7 and why did they keep the headphone jack on the MBP?

[Kendo]

In 2012 when the Retina MBPs were first released, they all had Thunderbolt 1 ports. Now no one even uses it and they have a new Thunderbolt port in a different shape (USB-C). If all iOS devices came with a USB-C Lightning cable, I would consider getting the new MBP but to me all I see is a MBP with 4 "Thunderbolt 1" ports. Even the iPhone power adapter that you plug into the wall is only compatible with a USB-A Lightning cable.

Didn't we go down this same road with Thunderbolt 1? Except back then they had other ports to keep us sane (USB, HDMI, etc). Now we just have 4 unproven ports.

 

[UltimateSyn]

USB-C is not unproven

 

[Starfyre]

There are no USB-C ports on any large scale. The only major laptop I can recall is the Macbook.
This seems to be a major oversight to not include a USB C cable for iPhone 7. Either way, just gives more reason to wait for iPhone 8.

 

[dojoman]

What does headphones jack has to do with Macbook Pro? They removed it in iPhone 7 for obviously reasons, needing more space for forcetouch homebutton and waterproofing. None of these matter in Macbook.

 

[Ghost31]

What does headphones jack has to do with Macbook Pro? They removed it in iPhone 7 for obviously reasons, needing more space for forcetouch homebutton and waterproofing. None of these matter in Macbook.

Because they didn't JUST say they removed the jack at the iPhone 7 keynote to save space. They said it was also part of their vision for a "wireless future" and that they had the courage to do it. So yeah. I understand if people call apple out on the lack of "courage" when they don't stand by those same justifications while unveiling the new mac

 

[Barrierfreeman]

Obviously the Mac engineers are not as courageous as their iPhone counterparts.

 

[Kendo]

What does headphones jack has to do with Macbook Pro? They removed it in iPhone 7 for obviously reasons, needing more space for forcetouch homebutton and waterproofing. None of these matter in Macbook.

Because if I buy a Lightning headphone and remove it from my iPhone to listen on my MacBook Pro, there is no port for it. So I need to keep a spare set of regular earphone jacks.

 

[Havok83]

Because if I buy a Lightning headphone and remove it from my iPhone to listen on my MacBook Pro, there is no port for it. So I need to keep a spare set of regular earphone jacks.

or make sure you have a spare set of adapters around. I didnt even think of this but yeah this seems like an oversight to design 2 new products knowing they will have the same audience and not think about uniformity

 

[Starfyre]

Clearly Apple was a little risk averse on that one, with a conflict of readiness to adopt between the iPhone and Macbook teams. One took the plunge, and the other decided to play it safe. Contradictory, but marketable because the masses of people are not all observant like Ghost31. ^^

 

[turbineseaplane]

or make sure you have a spare set of adapters around. I didnt even think of this but yeah this seems like an oversight to design 2 new products knowing they will have the same audience and not think about uniformity

a HUGE oversight.
I see people out and about all the time using their included iPhone earbuds with their MacBooks.

The entire reason people do it is how simple and convenient it is. Introducing any friction like "don't forget a dongle!" to that is an absolute non-starter.

I have no f'in idea who is steering the "vision" ship at Apple but it feels like a mess to me.

 

[Starfyre]

a HUGE oversight.
I see people out and about all the time using their included iPhone earbuds with their MacBooks.

The entire reason people do it is how simple and convenient it is. Introducing any friction like "don't forget a dongle!" to that is an absolute non-starter.

I have no f'in idea who is steering the "vision" ship at Apple but it feels like a mess to me.

Who knows, perhaps they were planning to remove the headphone jack from the Macbook pro, but realized quickly that despite the revenue from the iPhone 7, they realized they could have made more money had they not removed it, so they decided to keep it in for the Macbook Pro.

 

[brvhrt]

Because Tim Cook and the current decision makers are not details orientated.

 

[Barnfather]

I think they have said it's because MBP users are more likely to want to route audio through audio interfaces and amplifiers and suchlike, and therefore kept the headphone jack.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Who knows, perhaps they were planning to remove the headphone jack from the Macbook pro, but realized quickly that despite the revenue from the iPhone 7, they realized they could have made more money had they not removed it, so they decided to keep it in for the Macbook Pro.

I guess I don't see your point. They include wired lightning headphones with the iPhones still and those included headphones have proven to be the RUNAWAY #1 headphones normal iOS/Mac users utilize (i.e. not forum nerds like us).

They made the situation objectively worse here. They took something convenient that people do all the time and made it harder and require an adapter.

Just bizarre..

 

[Savor]

Well, glad the Mac team played it safe and weren't courageous as the iPhone team. The jump from different standards becomes beyond ridiculous. Apple loves the nature of incompatibilty. Going from USB-A to C is annoying already for me similar to going from mini sim to micro sim to nano sim in a span of three years with the annoying sim adapters that don't always fit.

 

[Starfyre]

I think they have said it's because MBP users are more likely to want to route audio through audio interfaces and amplifiers and suchlike, and therefore kept the headphone jack.

Let's not forget all the DAC and high quality audio that a 2.5mm jack just doesn't give you. Seems like a poor excuse.

I can accept the fact that they want thinness for iPhone design, but thats about it.

 

[petvas]

When paying such a premium for the Macbook Pros, you should expect that Apple includes all adapters that most people will use.
USB-C to USB-A, USB-C to lightning. People shouldn't have to pay for these adapters.
Apple is saying that they care about the user experience. Not including adapters shows that it is all ********...

 

[jerryk]

There are no USB-C ports on any large scale. The only major laptop I can recall is the Macbook.
This seems to be a major oversight to not include a USB C cable for iPhone 7. Either way, just gives more reason to wait for iPhone 8.

Dell XPS and HP Spectre have USB-C as do several Android phones. It is the future. Even my Samsung T-3 portable SSD has a USB-C connector only.

I applaud Apple for moving to USB-C. This will bring to the market more USB-C peripherals and docks.
[doublepost=1477670140][/doublepost]

I think they have said it's because MBP users are more likely to want to route audio through audio interfaces and amplifiers and suchlike, and therefore kept the headphone jack.

Can you explain that. All of the DACs, Amps, and audio interfaces devices I use have their own USB data ports and headphone jacks.

It seem to me they kept the headphone jack as a convenience for more casual users.

 

[zone23]

What does headphones jack has to do with Macbook Pro? They removed it in iPhone 7 for obviously reasons, needing more space for forcetouch homebutton and waterproofing. None of these matter in Macbook.

Its okay we will deal with it since only the end users seem to have an issues. I will just carry two sets of headphones one with a lighting for my iPhone and another for my mac or maybe the lighting headphones and the adapter or Bluetooth that will allow multiple pairings. Apple is out of sync I don't understand what the heck they are doing.

 

[fxbeta]

They should have included a USB-C-to-Lightning cable with the new iPhone. That's just plain obvious, and shows they have no unified vision across product lines.

And when the 12" macbook came out I thought the power brick should be a USB hub with at least one if not two USB-A ports. That way iPhone owners would be able to plug in their device to charge/sync with their new laptops from day 1 without an extra adapter. The same thought comes to me now, and again they failed to do the convenient thing.

 

[zone23]

Dell XPS and HP Spectre have USB-C as do several Android phones. It is the future. Even my Samsung T-3 portable SSD has a USB-C connector only.

I applaud Apple for moving to USB-C. This will bring to the market more USB-C peripherals and docks.
[doublepost=1477670140][/doublepost]

Can you explain that. All of the DACs, Amps, and audio interfaces devices I use have their own USB data ports and headphone jacks.

It seem to me they kept the headphone jack as a convenience for more casual users.

Nothing wrong with going USB-C but they should have done it across the board meaning the iPhone should have had it. If you buy lighting headphones today you are throwing your money away because the iPhone 8 should have USB-C. I kind of feel like Apple just doesn't want to use the same port as the rest of the world on the iPhone.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I kind of feel like Apple just doesn't want to use the same port as the rest of the world on the iPhone.

Ding ding ding - Winner!

They love to have lighting so they can force licensing fees and extortion level prices for dongles.

They continue to remove ports, then raise the prices of the laptops and then tell you to go buy $20-60 dongles for everything that used to be built into the machine.

It's borderline abusive behavior towards your customers, yet somehow the RDF is so strong that many here on the forum champion this as "innovation" and "pushing progress forwards"..

Incredible.

 

[zone23]

Ding ding ding - Winner!

They love to have lighting so they can force licensing fees and extortion level prices for dongles.

They continue to remove ports, then raise the prices of the laptops and then tell you to go buy $20-60 dongles for everything that used to be built into the machine.

It's borderline abusive behavior towards your customers, yet somehow the RDF is so strong that many here on the forum champion this as "innovation" and "pushing progress forwards"..

Incredible.

Yep, like I said in the other thread I just bought a 2015 Macbook Pro for less money and it has all the ports. I will keep that until this all gets sorted.

 

[jerryk]

Nothing wrong with going USB-C but they should have done it across the board meaning the iPhone should have had it. If you buy lighting headphones today you are throwing your money away because the iPhone 8 should have USB-C. I kind of feel like Apple just doesn't want to use the same port as the rest of the world on the iPhone.

I completely agree with that. The fact that the iPhone 7 still has a lightning port is unacceptable. Android phones use USB-C with no issues.

 

[Havok83]

Who knows, perhaps they were planning to remove the headphone jack from the Macbook pro, but realized quickly that despite the revenue from the iPhone 7, they realized they could have made more money had they not removed it, so they decided to keep it in for the Macbook Pro.

This got announced a month after the Iphone 7. There wasnt enough time to gather data that would cause them to change the redesign on these laptops.