Would no headphone jack force you to move away from the iphone?

[zorinlynx]

Honestly, I don't use my 3.5mm jack that much.

When I do use it though, it's to listen to music on my Sennheiser headphones. I suppose I could leave an adapter on the end of both good pairs of headphones I own.

The thing is, removing the jack bothers me on principle. It's not keeping the phone from getting thinner (iPod touch is thinner and still has it) and it doesn't occupy much space. I think the reasons to keep it still out number the reasons to eliminate it, at this juncture.

So, in summary, lack of the jack won't affect me that much if there's a good adapter available. But it still irritates me.

EDIT: By "good" adapter I mean one that isn't bulky and can stay neatly on the end of your headphone's plug without becoming a pain. Example of a good adapter: The MicroUSB to Lightning adapter that Apple makes. Example of a bad adapter: The USB camera connection kit. There's no reason it needs to be that bulky.

 

[peter.sift]

I use the headphone jack every single day and I will be pissed off if Apple really decides to remove it. Now I have the 6s plus and I will keep it for at least 2 year and then I will likely get the new iPhone and start living with an adapter. Not ideal but I never want to return to Android again (as my second phone, the Moto G3 is great but not as my main device).

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I would be annoyed if it were removed I must admit. I know you usually get a pair of earphones as standard with the iPhone but I tend to go through a set every 6-8 weeks. I break them and have multiple cheap sets scattered around work and home. They will no doubt produce an adapter so you can use standard earphones but that just adds something that we don't need now. It'll no doubt cost £15-£30 too.

It's not a feature/tactic that really pleases the consumer and definitely encourages people like me to consider other options where we haven't in previous releases. I do love the iPhone, but the premium we pay and then things like this do make me question whether it's worth it.

 

[flybub]

To me this seems like a money grab if they do remove the headphone jack. It is a reason to increase the cost of the phone because they are 'innovating' and it also creates a situation where people need to purchase adapters. I'm sure these adapters will only be able to be purchased from Apple to begin with (similar to the lightning adapters after Apple introduced the iPhone 5). The only advantage I could see would be to put a 2nd speaker on the other side of the lightning port, but we all know Apple wouldn't do that. It would cost them money to do that . I'm not loyal to Apple and would go back to Android without any problem, but this seems like a silly move if it is removed.

 

[pooleman]

It would make things awkward for me but I don't think it's enough of a reason to make me ditch the iPhone. I would have to just use it with the headphones that come in the box as I've no intention of rewarding Apple and buying licensed Lightning accessories.

I'll stick to my iPod classic if I want to listen to music using higher quality headphones away from home.

It wouldn't cause me to not get the phone. I'm sure adapters will be available. It would be annoying however. I fly very often and use my Bose QC25 with are not Bluetooth. I suppose I could get one of those Bluetooth adapters.

 

[Abazigal]

Just one more reason I am glad to be on the "S" cycle. By the time I am ready to upgrade my iPhone, all this furore will have died down and the requisite infrastructure and tech and support would have matured and be in place. No awkward and messy transition period for me to go through.

 

[Ta0jin]

I don't think they will provide an adapter. I think they will provide Bluetooth headphones with the box but that's it. Remember when they switched from the 30 pin connector to the lightning cable. They did not include an adapter to enable people to use their old peripherals. All the supplied was the Lightning cable in the box with the phone.

I don't mind buying an adapter.

Not bashing you for you thought and don't get me wrong it would be kind of cool if they did provide Bluetooth headphones out of the box but isn't the entire point of them using the lightning port for audio to make the audio quality better? I don't see how them providing Bluetooth headphones accomplishes that goal of making the lighting port replace the 3.5mm jack.
[doublepost=1458014648][/doublepost]You know what I find funny is focusing on something so stupid as removing the 3.5mm jack and making the phone thinner when there's other things more important to focus on. I think it would make more sense to focus on things the consumers want like better battery life, a higher res display on the non plus model, thinner bezels, hell even waterproofing seem to be more important than removing an audio jack.
[doublepost=1458014944][/doublepost]With all that being said for all I know this could just all be a waste of time and the next iPhone could come with the headphone jack until we all actually see the phone nothing is for sure known.

 

[Oridus]

I prefer BT, and I rarely use the 3.5mm jack anyway... If I need an adapter for my wife's vehicle, so be it.

 

[nj-morris]

I'm starting to think that it's only the normal size 7 that will be missing it, and the Plus will keep it.

 

[Shanghaichica]

I'm starting to think that it's only the normal size 7 that will be missing it, and the Plus will keep it.

I doubt they will do that. Removing the jack is supposed to be an advantage, as audio through the Lightning port is supposedly of higher quality. The plus model is more expensive and has always had more features than the 4.7 inch model.

 

[martin.busek]

Absolutely not. I'm using Bluetooth headphones over a year now and didn't use the jack hole once. Someone has to be the first and it's apple, as always. It makes sense and it will bring much higher qualify to the sound. Also, it will make the headphones much smarter.

 

[mmgallucci]

I was actually surprised when the iPhone 6 still has a headphone jack.
For sure Samsung and other manufacturers will follow.

It's funny how it take Apple to make others see that they are using outdated tech. The headphone jack has virtually never changed! How can we progress technologically if we are still clinging onto retro tech?

Like most computers these days still rock USB 2.0 or DVI or VGA or a fuzzy low screen resolution.

We must embrace the change and roll with it, and I'll be honest, less wires is always a welcome change!

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I was actually surprised when the iPhone 6 still has a headphone jack.
For sure Samsung and other manufacturers will follow.

It's funny how it take Apple to make others see that they are using outdated tech. The headphone jack has virtually never changed! How can we progress technologically if we are still clinging onto retro tech?

Like most computers these days still rock USB 2.0 or DVI or VGA or a fuzzy low screen resolution.

We must embrace the change and roll with it, and I'll be honest, less wires is always a welcome change!

I think change is good especially if it is universal change. By this I mean using a new type of port that provides better sound but is universal within the industry. If Apple change from a standard 3mm jack and use the Lightning port, this means the headphones are restricted to Apple devices. You can get away with it with a charger but headphones tend to be used across multiple devices. It gets expensive when you have to buy different headphones and carry 2 types. Apple have never made particularly durable headphones either despite their £25 price tag.

Better sound is also very subjective as our hearing deteriorates year on year. I'd be interested to learn how an MP3 that is already stripped down for a smaller file size is dramatically improved via the port on the phone when much of the quality is missing in the first place. If the technology is there to blow us away in this regard, then I am in favour of it.

 

[RobCoenen]

If they can bump up the audio quality by using audio over Lightning and they deliver a set of Lightning earphones with the phone, I wouldn't mind if they remove the 3.5mm jack.

 

[OllyW]

If they can bump up the audio quality by using audio over Lightning and they deliver a set of Lightning earphones with the phone, I wouldn't mind if they remove the 3.5mm jack.

You can already play audio over Lightning using Lightning headphones on current iPhones.

 

[RobCoenen]

You can already play audio over Lightning using Lightning headphones on current iPhones.

Thanks for the response I'm aware of this fact, but I would like to see Lightning headphones becoming a standard. Now there are only a few companies, such as Philips, creating Lightning headphones. If the iPhone 7 would ship with Lightning earphones, I can see other manufactures jumping on this very quickly, besides still offering the mm jack.

 

[nj-morris]

I doubt they will do that. Removing the jack is supposed to be an advantage, as audio through the Lightning port is supposedly of higher quality. The plus model is more expensive and has always had more features than the 4.7 inch model.

How is removing the jack an advantage? Users will still have the option for the higher quality audio through the Lightning port, but they will also have the old jack as a backup. It would probably come with Lightning EarPods to promote the whole idea, but it would still have backwards compatibility.

 

[Qbnkelt]

I think the forums regarding Apple keeping (or getting rid of) the headphone jack port are ridiculous. People can try to make their case, that they need to keep doing what they're doing now for using headphones with the 3.5mm connection. But time marches on and in technology there have been case after case of these types of changes happening.

Think of all the people who had (then) expensive cassette players and box after box of cassette tapes (I was one of them), only to then have cassettes all but disappear from the market - because there was a better alternative (cd's) to use. Sony's Betamax cassettes on the video side were similar, although they were the better technology, they lost out to cheaper VHS, which then lost out to dvd's (which are now losing out to streaming).

Sure, 3.5mm headphone jacks have remained a constant across all these changes, but that shows just how old and ripe for a change the headphone market is. For those that have not tried any of the new generation bluetooth headsets, they are miles ahead of where they used to be, and once you go without wires, there is little reason to go back.

But they have to be charged. One more cable to carry around.
Don't get me wrong, it's not enough for me to leave my iPhone behind. But I don't like having this other thing to charge when I want to listen to music.
I've got one not that I use for teleconferencing but I'd hate to have to rely on one for music.

 

[OllyW]

Thanks for the response I'm aware of this fact, but I would like to see Lightning headphones becoming a standard. Now there are only a few companies, such as Philips, creating Lightning headphones. If the iPhone 7 would ship with Lightning earphones, I can see other manufactures jumping on this very quickly, besides still offering the mm jack.

I still don't like the idea of a proprietary connector. Wired headphones should use an open standard that is available for all manufacturers to use.
[doublepost=1458041147][/doublepost]

Removing the jack is supposed to be an advantage, as audio through the Lightning port is supposedly of higher quality.

It has the potential to be a higher quality but it could also be worse if a cheap, low quality DAC is used in the headphones.

 

[jmgregory1]

But they have to be charged. One more cable to carry around.
Don't get me wrong, it's not enough for me to leave my iPhone behind. But I don't like having this other thing to charge when I want to listen to music.
I've got one not that I use for teleconferencing but I'd hate to have to rely on one for music.

That is how the world is moving. So many devices run on battery power, the real issues revolve around commonality of charging type and battery technologies.

The Plantronics Backbeat Pro's I've been using provide 24 hours of listening power and it's nothing to plug them in at night along with all my other devices. My last trip to Europe, I wore them on the plane over (for noise cancellation), a 5 hour flight, then again for a 3+ hour flight to the Middle East and a 12 hour flight back, all without charging them...or having wires to get tangled in my bag.

Not sure you could ask for more.

 

[Qbnkelt]

That is how the world is moving. So many devices run on battery power, the real issues revolve around commonality of charging type and battery technologies.

The Plantronics Backbeat Pro's I've been using provide 24 hours of listening power and it's nothing to plug them in at night along with all my other devices. My last trip to Europe, I wore them on the plane over (for noise cancellation), a 5 hour flight, then again for a 3+ hour flight to the Middle East and a 12 hour flight back, all without charging them...or having wires to get tangled in my bag.

Not sure you could ask for more.

Sure. I understand. Doesn't mean I have to like it nor have a fit about it.
Adapt. That's all.

 

[nj-morris]

What if they came with an adaptor in the box? Somehow I don't think that Apple would give into that luxury.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

What if they came with an adaptor in the box? Somehow I don't think that Apple would give into that luxury.

I think from a design and marketing point of view it would be a pretty poor thing. They would effectively be giving you a new feature but also giving you a DIY kit to use other earphones and that poor be embarrassing to them.

They just need to hope it'll be a success and knowing Apple it will be.

 

[MRU]

Judging by a lot of comments in general from the main thread in the news forum about now headphone jack being heavily rumored with Bluetooth earbuds/ adapter needed

Who here would be tempted to move away from the iPhone in the short term? Maybe get the s7/s7 edge maybe?

How is this rumour affecting your thought on if a change is needed?

You know me ... It would take a damn site more to get me not to upgrade, but then I'll have had a dozen other devices by then too

 

[iceterminal]

I'm kind of curious as to the duality of the comments from some. I see people saying they want this or that feature in the next phone, but then state they will have an issue if technology created in 1878 (6.35mm jack) would be removed. The 3.5mm is mostly 1960/1970's and people still want to use it?
I would think that if they drop the port, which I'm all in favor of, they'd include a pair of lightning connector headphones.
I would prefer a digital set over analog.

Yes, they'll be cheap but you'll still have options of using adapters.
But why the flat refusal to switch to modern tech? Still using 5.25" floppy discs?