Adding a headphone jack to the iPhone

[MrSquished]

iPhones are not high end audio equipment. Nobody cares that you can get an extra 100-200hz of frequency response with your expensive bespoke earbuds. I don't know if there really are better audio quality options that compare well to airpods for <$150... but most of the reviews of AirPods say you are wrong and their audio quality is as good or better than wired options in that price range.

It's pretty clear you are an "audiophile" who thinks they know everything about AV equipment... and you believe that knowledge somehow makes you more capable of judging Apple's iPhones and AirPods in relation to wired headphones and earbuds. I'm here to tell you, as painful as that may be (and I'm sure it's quite painful for a stereo nerd like yourself), that none of your knowledge makes one iota of difference to the average consumer or to me. Nobody cares. Apple doesn't care, consumers don't care, I don't care. The convenience offered by wireless AirPods over regular wired headphones vastly outweighs any minuscule differences in frequency response or sound reproduction quality.

So please - take your whiny, pathetic audiophile ramblings to some AV forum where people will care... because nobody is buying iPhones for premium sound quality. You just sound like another laserdisc fan circa 1996. Yes, it's better than VHS. No, nobody cares. LOL

Apple's audio out headphone jack was supposedly pretty good. My LG phone has a great audio out. Samsungs is supposedly pretty good too. This has nothing about being an audiophile, it has something to do with basic fundamental knowledge of audio gear out these days. I do some research and buy something, because I want the best I can get at the price. Wired audio headphones trounce BT versions AND there are a shit ton more options out there at all price points AND you don't have to worry about them dying due to no battery life.

Real honest to goodness research says you are an idiot and I know what I'm talking about. If this guy could reverse engineer a headphone jack into the iPhone survey says it would have been a lot easier if they did it.

 

[FIVR]

Apple's audio out headphone jack was supposedly pretty good. My LG phone has a great audio out. Samsungs is supposedly pretty good too. This has nothing about being an audiophile, it has something to do with basic fundamental knowledge of audio gear out these days. I do some research and buy something, because I want the best I can get at the price. Wired audio headphones trounce BT versions AND there are a shit ton more options out there at all price points AND you don't have to worry about them dying due to no battery life.

Real honest to goodness research says you are an idiot and I know what I'm talking about. If this guy could reverse engineer a headphone jack into the iPhone survey says it would have been a lot easier if they did it.

Real honest to goodness sales numbers say nobody cares. Real honest to goodness investors say Apple's stock is skyrocketing every day and Apple will be a $1T company by the end of the year. Real honest to goodness consumers and reviewers say AirPods are the best headphones available for <$200.


It's good that you "do research" before you buy something, but your research appears to result in you buying crap. The fact that you use an LG phone tells me that. Maybe you should have somebody else do your research for you?

 

[Zaap]

^ I wish you'd just pollute P&N with your nonsense instead of this thread. Whingeing whatever 'fact' you want to make up works in political circle jerks I guess. It has no real value in a technical discussion though.

 

[FIVR]

^ I wish you'd just pollute P&N with your nonsense instead of this thread. Whingeing whatever 'fact' you want to make up works in political circle jerks I guess. It has no real value in a technical discussion though.

It's too bad you had to post stupid fear mongering anti-apple BS.


Next time, don't jump on the Apple hate bandwagon and I won't have to throw a stick into your wheels. You'll be able to make your utterly lame and misspelled "observations" unmolested.

 

[sweenish]

Real honest to goodness sales numbers say nobody cares. Real honest to goodness investors say Apple's stock is skyrocketing every day and Apple will be a $1T company by the end of the year. Real honest to goodness consumers and reviewers say AirPods are the best headphones available for <$200.


It's good that you "do research" before you buy something, but your research appears to result in you buying crap. The fact that you use an LG phone tells me that. Maybe you should have somebody else do your research for you?

Those are all false equivocations if ever I saw them.

 

[stormkroe]

^ I wish you'd just pollute P&N with your nonsense instead of this thread. Whingeing whatever 'fact' you want to make up works in political circle jerks I guess. It has no real value in a technical discussion though.

Your opinion is invalid, you probably power your computer from a 1904 wall receptacle.
/s

 

[Zaap]

Your opinion is invalid, you probably power your computer from a 1904 wall receptacle.
/s

The tech that delivers my water was invented by the ancient Romans!

I need to rip out the pipes and replace with... nothing.

#outwiththeoldinwithnobetterreplacement

 

[Oyeve]

Real honest to goodness consumers and reviewers say AirPods are the best headphones available for <$200.

Which non-apple shill reviews are saying this? All of the reviews except for macworld and apple says they sound mediocre at best.

 

[Commodus]

Which non-apple shill reviews are saying this? All of the reviews except for macworld and apple says they sound mediocre at best.

I think AirPods are interesting products and I'd still say they sound mediocre. You get them because you like the completely wireless design and the tight Apple integration, not because they sound great. Even the BeatsX set I have is going to sound far better.

 

[purbeast0]

Serious question - do people in this thread realize that they can still use their wired headphones with the traditional headphone plug on them with the new iPhones, just as they could on the iPhone 6's? From the sounds of most posters in here it seems like no one has a clue you can still use them just fine as you always good because the phones all come with the adapters.

 

[Commodus]

Serious question - do people in this thread realize that they can still use their wired headphones with the traditional headphone plug on them with the new iPhones, just as they could on the iPhone 6's? From the sounds of most posters in here it seems like no one has a clue you can still use them just fine as you always good because the phones all come with the adapters.

They do, it's just that the issue is having to use an adapter. I don't mind the adapter myself (although I moved to Bluetooth not long ago), but I can see why it'd annoy some people.

 

[purbeast0]

They do, it's just that the issue is having to use an adapter. I don't mind the adapter myself (although I moved to Bluetooth not long ago), but I can see why it'd annoy some people.

I dunno it seemed like a bunch of people were mad they couldn't use their headphones. Not that they could still use them but had to use an adapter that comes free of charge. So I just wasn't sure if they realized it lol.

 

[Yuriman]

What I took from the video was that it's very possible to stuff a headphone jack into modern phones, and its exclusion has nothing to do with hardware/engineering limitations.

I have a Pixel, and I like it a lot. I will not be buying a Pixel 2, because I use my headphone jack frequently while charging the phone. If Google releases a dongle which allows charging at the same time, I may consider it, but as-is it's a deal-breaker. If the Pixel 3 comes out and it still doesn't have the jack, I'll buy a phone that does instead. Apple wasn't going to get my money to begin with so they haven't lost a sale, but Google has.

Frankly I'm not interested in "upgrading" my Zero Audio 'buds to more expensive, lower sound quality, bulkier PixApple Buds, which will be garbage in a year when the battery doesn't hold a charge anymore. I'm not interested in replacing my Grados to whatever wireless trash is available for several times the price, higher weight and lower sound quality.

In fact, now that I'm thinking about it, I kinda want uSD support back too. I can live without it, it's not a major inconvenience, but it's just one more thing.

EDIT: Literally the only selling point I can see for Apple or Google's new buds, is that you don't have to use a dongle and can charge your phone while listening to music. If people hadn't been pushed into it, these accessories wouldn't have sold.

 

[Zaap]

I wasn't looking to start another headphone jack debate, I just like this guy's spirit of taking his own "I wonder if...?" scenario and making it a reality. He did the same building a complete iPhone from just parts.

I'd love to see more people like this who have the skills demonstrate what's possible for all of us who are the types wanting our tech to push possibilities, not just follow corporate profit ploys.

I wish he'd do a project to add a jack to the Pixel2 as well, or better yet... add an SD slot to an iDevice or Pixel and have the most internal storage of *any* of either device on the planet.

As for replacing the headphone jack in general my take is this: when there's a single viable alternative that's better than the current (sorry, BT isn't) and is cross platform/universal, doesn't require any stupid dongle, and can be used in conjunction with wired charging.

For example: if everyone including Apple adopted USB-C and had two ports on their devices for charging and listening, that could work.

If whatever comes next relies on charging headphones (my BT headphones could never in a million years keep up with my listening patterns) or separate hardware for different systems (Apple would just be greedy to keep pushing their own I/O vs a universal standard) then it won't be better than what currently exists.

One replacement standard everyone agrees on so everything from here out has it... otherwise it'll devolve into a huge mess for no reason.

 

[Qasar]

i would prefer the headphone jack over the airbuds ANY DAY as well.. yet another reason why i wont by the iphone... they are too expensive compared to the competition, and the iphone X is proof of that, no way in hell would i pay upwards of 800 bucks cdn for a phone.. for the 64 gig model.. and.. cause apple doesnt put a micro SD slot on the phones.. considering how inexpensive micro sd cards are.. and how much apple charges for the increase in storage.. its not worth the extra cost... when a simple microSD card, is less, AND you still have the storage that was built into the phone

 

[Commodus]

i would prefer the headphone jack over the airbuds ANY DAY as well.. yet another reason why i wont by the iphone... they are too expensive compared to the competition, and the iphone X is proof of that, no way in hell would i pay upwards of 800 bucks cdn for a phone.. for the 64 gig model.. and.. cause apple doesnt put a micro SD slot on the phones.. considering how inexpensive micro sd cards are.. and how much apple charges for the increase in storage.. its not worth the extra cost... when a simple microSD card, is less, AND you still have the storage that was built into the phone

A reminder: this thread is about the headphone jack, not every little thing that keeps you from buying the iPhone X.

Also, I still don't know why people act as if there's no headphone adapter, like you have to buy a new set of headphones if you want a modern iPhone. Stick the included adapter on your favorite set of headphones; problem solved. It's not as elegant, but you stop noticing it pretty quickly.

 

[MrSquished]

Real honest to goodness sales numbers say nobody cares. Real honest to goodness investors say Apple's stock is skyrocketing every day and Apple will be a $1T company by the end of the year. Real honest to goodness consumers and reviewers say AirPods are the best headphones available for <$200.


It's good that you "do research" before you buy something, but your research appears to result in you buying crap. The fact that you use an LG phone tells me that. Maybe you should have somebody else do your research for you?

I like using my phone for music. The LG is known for having the best audio output for music. It has a removable battery. SD card. Good camera with an ultra wide option. 4 things high on my checklist. But as usual an Apple suckboy thinks they know what is best.

The fact you think the airpods are the best earbuds under $200 shows what an utter fool you are. Go crawl back under your apple shaped rock buddy.

What mass consumers want and what is best do not go hand in hand. That is another idiotic equation.

 

[J.Wilkins]

1/8th inch stereo jack is what the original sony walkman used.


You'd think people would be ready for a new standard of connector. Do you lament the loss of tape decks in your car? The video you posted was an absurd waste of time meant only to denigrate apple and forward conspiracy theories about why there is no headphone jack... when the answer is quite obvious.


There will never, ever be another iPhone with a headphone jack, so get used to it.

There is a standard connector, it's known as the 3.5 jack. Another standard connector is the USB-C or the USB-A mini, the IPhone uses neither of those either.

It's a proprietary hellhole of bullshit just like it's always been with Apple.

But the hipster kids like you love that.

 

[J.Wilkins]

I like using my phone for music. The LG is known for having the best audio output for music. It has a removable battery. SD card. Good camera with an ultra wide option. 4 things high on my checklist. But as usual an Apple suckboy thinks they know what is best.

The fact you think the airpods are the best earbuds under $200 shows what an utter fool you are. Go crawl back under your apple shaped rock buddy.

What mass consumers want and what is best do not go hand in hand. That is another idiotic equation.

This is probably true when it comes to audio, my Nexus 5X (LG G4 replica) had incredible sound through a pair of fairly expensive headphones. Didn't have removable battery or SD card though and neither does my Pixel2 but it does have a new set of bluetooth codecs that more than makes up for the missing headphone jack.

At 128GB it's not running out of space either.

Now I just have to get rid of my essential PH-1.

 

[MrSquished]

This is probably true when it comes to audio, my Nexus 5X (LG G4 replica) had incredible sound through a pair of fairly expensive headphones. Didn't have removable battery or SD card though and neither does my Pixel2 but it does have a new set of bluetooth codecs that more than makes up for the missing headphone jack.

At 128GB it's not running out of space either.

Now I just have to get rid of my essential PH-1.

I was a Nexus guy for years. I'd love to try the Pixel 2 XL but you also have to take into consideration that on AT&T the Pixel 2 will cost me $900 up front vs a monthly payment for the V20, plus a miniscule fee for a 64GB micro SDCard.

Not to mention I don't want BT headphones with any codecs since I have some pretty damn good IEM's already that will crush them in sound quality in spades. A dongle works but it adds unnecessary stress to the USB-C port and can't be used while charging. So you pick and choose your battles. I don't have anything against BT audio per se and use it with wireless speakers often enough for convenience. But for earbuds the 'inconvenience' of having a wire is negated by not having to charge them, so those things being equal I'll take the SQ of wired buds easily. With wired speakers it's different for me because I can bring that speaker into the kitchen with me, out and about on a hike or to a park, or into the bathroom for shower time.

One thing that doesn't change is that you have a massively larger selection of wired earbuds/cans/headphones vs BT ones. That don't need to be charged. Ever.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Serious question - do people in this thread realize that they can still use their wired headphones with the traditional headphone plug on them with the new iPhones, just as they could on the iPhone 6's? From the sounds of most posters in here it seems like no one has a clue you can still use them just fine as you always good because the phones all come with the adapters.

However, you do have limitations. With the Apple adapter you can't charge the phone while listening to music (which can be a big deal, for instance, if I want to plug it into my car's audio system where it only has an AUX/3.5mm input for audio, so if I wanted Google Maps navigation, I'd have to work with the tinny speaker, not be able to hear it while having the phone charge, or I'd have to buy an adapter specifically for that).

Plus, having to have an adapter on hand and being SOL if it gets lost (and if you have kids, they find ways to lose things like they're actively attempting to).

There is a standard connector, it's known as the 3.5 jack. Another standard connector is the USB-C or the USB-A mini, the IPhone uses neither of those either.

It's a proprietary hellhole of bullshit just like it's always been with Apple.

But the hipster kids like you love that.

To be fair, Apple created the Lightning connector before USB-C, specifically because USB was a mess. The USB-C design was in some ways a result of Apple pushing for a more intelligently designed connector. So its kinda stupid to say that Apple didn't go for a standard connector that didn't exist at the time, and in fact wouldn't be finalized for 2 more years, with meaningful adoption by other phone manufacturers not happening for what another 2 years?

 

[darkswordsman17]

Real honest to goodness sales numbers say nobody cares. Real honest to goodness investors say Apple's stock is skyrocketing every day and Apple will be a $1T company by the end of the year. Real honest to goodness consumers and reviewers say AirPods are the best headphones available for <$200.


It's good that you "do research" before you buy something, but your research appears to result in you buying crap. The fact that you use an LG phone tells me that. Maybe you should have somebody else do your research for you?

Nobody cares, except for the people that do? I know plenty of Apple fans that have been complaining. Sure they stick with Apple, but they're not happy about the change, and had no interest in Airpods. But hey, they can't care cause you said so!

What does stock valuation that have to do with this? I'll tell you what, nothing. Just because it hasn't hurt Apple's stock doesn't mean everybody likes it. I don't even know what it would take to hurt Apple's stock. Even Samsung can weather a major fiasco like the Note 7, and Apple would even more easily. They might suffer some short term stock issues, but they'd recover and it'd be a blip.

Tech sites are reviewing it focused on the tech features not the sound quality, which most will say is "good enough" just because. Some people like the other features they enable, while other people value sound quality more. Some people can use their brains to discern varying methods and manners for review. You apparently cannot.

I used to never put people on ignore, then after delving into P&N I decided to as it became obvious some people were intentionally trying to be as ridiculous in being illogical as they possibly can. Which you definitely are there as well, but you're no different outside of that forum.

 

[sweenish]

People realize that you can, in fact, listen to music and charge your phone at the same time, at least with the Pixel 2's?

You need a different adapter, but it does the trick. Whether asking price is worth it is also up for debate. But the possibility is not.