Is removing the headphone jack really going to be a thing moving forward?

[Zaap]

So I now have an iPhone 7 Plus (work issued phone)...

I left my lightning ear phones at home, then I realized I had the adapter with me at work so I thought all was good, right? Wrong. Plug in my standard headphones with the adapter and I hear this constant pulsing every few seconds that interrupts any audio that is playing. The headphones work just fine on my laptop and iPad. Thanks Apple.

What's funny is that the pulsing sounds like my iPhone is saying "Beats.... Beats.... Beats..."

That's simply astounding. Not only would I be pissed that I was forced to keep a stupid dongle around... but be doubly-penalized for using it by some crappy pulsing interference?

This was a move that's just too early in the game. The replacement tech if you're going to remove what works cheaply, simply, and practically should be *better* by far and more compelling on multiple levels. It should be a downside in most key immediate ways to stick with the replaced tech.

Maybe we'll arrive at that in the near future with mobile audio, but we're not there now.

 

[Yakk]

That's simply astounding. Not only would I be pissed that I was forced to keep a stupid dongle around... but be doubly-penalized for using it by some crappy pulsing interference?

This was a move that's just too early in the game. The replacement tech if you're going to remove what works cheaply, simply, and practically should be *better* by far and more compelling on multiple levels. It should be a downside in most key immediate ways to stick with the replaced tech.

Maybe we'll arrive at that in the near future with mobile audio, but we're not there now.

If it were easy & convenient you wouldn't need courage.

 

[mrochester]

If it were easy & convenient you wouldn't need courage.

You don't need courage to buy Bluetooth headphones, there are already excellent options on the market. I have a pair of Beats Studio Wireless. They sound great and the battery lasts for ages. Haven't used a headphone jack since January 2016.

 

[fleshconsumed]

Is removing the headphone jack really going to be a thing moving forward?

Hopefully not. I hope it (the lack of headphone jack) dies just like curved TVs. I don't want another device that I need to make sure is charged before I use it. I don't want the risk of losing them. I don't want the bluetooth connection compressing my music any more. I don't want to pay $50 for apple buds when my Koss PortaPro cost me half as much on sale and sound five times as good. I don't care what apple people do, I just hope they won't spread their disease to the rest of the world.

 

[mrochester]

Hopefully not. I hope it (the lack of headphone jack) dies just like curved TVs. I don't want another device that I need to make sure is charged before I use it. I don't want the risk of losing them. I don't want the bluetooth connection compressing my music any more. I don't want to pay $50 for apple buds when my Koss PortaPro cost me half as much on sale and sound five times as good. I don't care what apple people do, I just hope they won't spread their disease to the rest of the world.

You do realise it was an Android phone that first dropped the headphone jack recently? If you want to blame someone, blame them.

 

[Yakk]

You don't need courage to buy Bluetooth headphones, there are already excellent options on the market. I have a pair of Beats Studio Wireless. They sound great and the battery lasts for ages. Haven't used a headphone jack since January 2016.

Ok... That is not a lot of Apple courage.

 

[mrochester]

Ok... That is not a lot of Apple courage.

Not sure why "courage" is related.

 

[Zaap]

Not sure why "courage" is related.

Because it really isn't.

http://mashable.com/2016/09/07/iphone-headphone-jack-courage/

 

[mrochester]

Because it really isn't.

http://mashable.com/2016/09/07/iphone-headphone-jack-courage/

It's not courage it's just the way it is.

 

[Oyeve]

It's not courage it's just the way it is.

Spoken like a true iphone user. "We just accept it because, Apple". What a tool.

 

[mrochester]

Spoken like a true iphone user. "We just accept it because, Apple". What a tool.

I got Bluetooth headphones over a year ago. There's nothing for me to 'accept'. You too can buy Bluetooth headphones.

 

[Phynaz]

Because it really isn't.

http://mashable.com/2016/09/07/iphone-headphone-jack-courage/

iPhone 7 would not have a standard 3.5mm aux cable input, better known as the headphone jack.

Doesn't take as much courage as to call a headphone jack "input". Then he goes on to say how good Bose headphones are.

Wires are for Grandparents. The rest of us don't want to be tied down.

 

[Zaap]

Sorry, the rest of us had already figured out nothing needed to be removed from our devices to do something you already could anyway... for a looooong time now.

Amazes me people don't seen to know Bluetooth was a thing LONG before Apple got 'brave'.

 

[Anubis]

Sorry, the rest of us had already figured out nothing needed to be removed from our devices to do something you already could anyway... for a looooong time now.

Amazes me people don't seen to know Bluetooth was a thing LONG before Apple got 'brave'.

we are well aware of it and how much it sucks

 

[gorcorps]

Doesn't take as much courage as to call a headphone jack "input". Then he goes on to say how good Bose headphones are.

Wires are for Grandparents. The rest of us don't want to be tied down.

Keep drinking that koolaid man... you didn't have to remove something others find useful to use your subpar Bluetooth headphones.

 

[desura]

From what I'm reading, they didn't even add a second speaker, they just drilled some holes in the grille.

I'm hoping that they reverse this stupidity a few years from now. But Tim Cook lacks the personality to do anything like that. Steve Jobs did: remember how they trumpeted the G5 before ditching it for intel?

 

[Commodus]

From what I'm reading, they didn't even add a second speaker, they just drilled some holes in the grille.

I'm hoping that they reverse this stupidity a few years from now. But Tim Cook lacks the personality to do anything like that. Steve Jobs did: remember how they trumpeted the G5 before ditching it for intel?

They won't. I can't recall a moment where Apple ever reversed a decision on ports, and it probably won't have a good reason to reconsider. About the only major reversal I've seen on any Apple product in recent years was with the iPod shuffle, when it went from no built-in buttons on the 3rd-gen model (you had to use the in-line remote) to 2nd-gen style onboard buttons on the 4th-gen model.

As for the area: they already have a second speaker, it's at the top... sounds much better than earlier models. That second bottom grille is confusing, but they used the newly cleared space for the larger haptic feedback system, a slightly larger battery and a barometer (to help with fitness tracking).

 

[dawheat]

I got Bluetooth headphones over a year ago. There's nothing for me to 'accept'. You too can buy Bluetooth headphones.

I have the Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 wireless headphones which are about as good as you can get sound quality wise from Bluetooth headphones and they sound above average at best compared to other wired headsets I have at similar price points.

I do think BT is good enough for most people but they're a clear step down in sound quality. It's even slightly worse on iPhones vs most Android devices due to encoding differences.

 

[mrochester]

I have the Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 wireless headphones which are about as good as you can get sound quality wise from Bluetooth headphones and they sound above average at best compared to other wired headsets I have at similar price points.

I do think BT is good enough for most people but they're a clear step down in sound quality. It's even slightly worse on iPhones vs most Android devices due to encoding differences.

So if Bluetooth headphones sound good (as the beats studio wireless do), what's the problem with getting rid of the headphone jack?

 

[Anubis]

So if Bluetooth headphones sound good (as the beats studio wireless do), what's the problem with getting rid of the headphone jack?

its an added cost and inconvenience to those that don't already have them for no real benefit. also its 1 more thing you have to remember to charge which is also another inconvenience

 

[mrochester]

its an added cost and inconvenience to those that don't already have them for no real benefit. also its 1 more thing you have to remember to charge which is also another inconvenience

I can't say I find charging my headphones once a month or so a massive inconvenience. Plus I get the massive benefit of having no wires to get tangled up in while in the gym or out running.

And I'm not poor, so I can afford them .

 

[Anubis]

most BT headphones have a 8-16 hour at best battery life

that would me charging ever 1-2 days for me and many. shit sometimes that would be charging them multiple times per day for me, and yes i find that massively inconvenient

 

[mrochester]

most BT headphones have a 8-16 hour at best battery life

that would me charging ever 1-2 days for me and many. shit sometimes that would be charging them multiple times per day for me, and yes i find that massively inconvenient

Then I suggest you don't buy wireless headphones until the battery life is better.

 

[Yakk]

To summarize...

Ugh... so much lack of courage here, not that you need courage cause it's the way it it is, but it doesn't work for everybody so maybe THOSE people need more courage to not need courage in the first place.

And less options is still better, apparently.

 

[Ichinisan]

So I now have an iPhone 7 Plus (work issued phone)...

I left my lightning ear phones at home, then I realized I had the adapter with me at work so I thought all was good, right? Wrong. Plug in my standard headphones with the adapter and I hear this constant pulsing every few seconds that interrupts any audio that is playing. The headphones work just fine on my laptop and iPad. Thanks Apple.

What's funny is that the pulsing sounds like my iPhone is saying "Beats.... Beats.... Beats..."

What is the audio source? Pandora? YouTube? Music app?