W1 Chip seemingly triples the battery life of the Beats Solo3 from the Solo2 (40/hr vs 12/hr). Same battery, same build, same weight and pretty much the same exact headphone but one with a 100 ft range as opposed to 30 feet.
So please... tell me again if this isn't a push for a better Wireless Headphone...
I don't mean to imply that quality wireless equipment doesn't exist, but you're talking about a $300 set of headphones. Something that Id predict less than 5% of the market owns. While wireless headphones will continue to improve with time, its certainly not because of apples decision and certainly wasn't apples priority. And while we are on the topic of Beats (which is owned by apple), theres a large number of wired headphones with the beats label that don't even have detachable cables (so that theoretically a person who just bought a set could simply buy a new cable with a lightning connector instead of a 3.5 audio plug). Apple hasn't even adjusted its own product line well to fit the transition made on the iphone. User hostile in every sense.
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Why does anyone need it to on an essentially wireless mobile device?
You think it's better to have over half-a-billion people toss out their existing Lightning cables and accessories acquired over the last four years (after tossing out all of their 30-pin cables accessories), only to replace them with unnecessary USB-C cables to accommodate a standard that doesn't presently exist, and may not for years?
Lets be clear first about what the lightning connector is really for. It may have the ability for audio/video/data up and downstream, charging and syncing, but no one uses it for that.
Currently iphone 5/6/6S users are doing nothing with the lightning cable except charging their devices. Wifi sync takes care of data (and its as fast as the worthless USB 2 speeds of lightning). Headphones and every other audio accessory in existence uses a 3.5mm headphone jack and theirs a super small group that plugs into their car via USB/lightning or a dock..
99% of us do nothing but charge with that cable. And since most iPhones barely lasts until dinner time with actual use and on LTE networks, charging frequently is a bitter necessity. What Id like, is a cable capable of delivering more power to the device to charge a larger battery faster. USB C can do that. Lightning and wireless can not. Wireless isn't even close to the charging speed of a wired connection with our current 5W standard.
Lightning accessories and cables were designed to be disposable. Worst of all, the industry has set a standard and is transitioning to USB C. That means millions of smart phones, laptops, tablets and accessories are going to have USB C connectors. If you're concerned about our environmental impact, consider that all of these companies are now going to build a whole extra set of cables and devices just to fit the iPhones. Apple has already adopted USB C but chose to keep their proprietary connector to keep the royalties moving in..
And in my opinion, lightning will be obsolete in two years when USB C has become the standard and apple will ditch it for wireless or USB C to take advantage of the power capabilities of USB C over lightning. Then 100% of the lightning headphones and accessories that you scooped up these last two years will be garbage.
Apple could have done this years ago with the 30 pin but didn't think of it. Imagine if they had ditched the 3.5mm then for 30 pin and where all of those devices would be now
Until now, there has not been an industry standard. However, the USB C connector is small enough for smartphones and tablets and has substantially more potential than lightning.
my argument is about the downsides of propietary connectors and how Apple's greed is hurting the mainstream by killing a universal 3.5mm jack (50+ years old) and not providing a proper universal wired alternative. Because at the end of the day, both options will co-exist for a long long time. And that's really the bottom line.
