Apple does away with headphone jack in iPhone 7

logistopath

Molar Police
Staff member
Super Mod
Your ubiquitous 3.5mm headphone jack might no longer be so. In a move that might be deemed controversial and stupid or amazing and perfectly correct depending on which side of the fence you are, most rumors indicate that the next version of iPhone will sacrifice the 3.5mm jack in favor of a slim waterproof design.

Apple would be using the lightning port for audio output too. While this has its own advantages, it also has as many cons. From what little knowledge I could gain, these are my findings:

Pros:
1. Digital audio output
2. Headphone can draw power from the device, so DAC, amplifier, ANC all would work seamlessly (correct me if I'm wrong).
3.Device can use the space saved for battery or any other internal component.

Cons
1. Your collection of headphones are now obsolete.
2. Apple might sell an adapter for 3.5mm jack, but it's gonna cost.
3. Headphones might need to be apple certified only to work.. again gonna cost.
4. Charging the device while using the headphone might not be possible.

So, what are your thoughts?

Source:
http://www.cnet.com/news/would-it-b...to-remove-the-headphone-jack-on-the-iphone-7/
http://www.youredm.com/2016/01/07/apple-is-actually-going-through-with-this/

P.S: This thread is just about the headphone jack or the lack of it. Please keep iPhone 7 device discussions elsewhere.
 
Sounds very much Apple like. I would not be surprised at all if they actually implement this.
They have the skills to market this move and justify it also .... And there will be no shortage of ppl rushing to buy the new iphone even if its without a h/p jack.
I think if they go ahead with this they will figure some way to listen to songs and charge at the same time. It could very well be either in form of an additional accessory to allow using multiple device or wireless charging. Earning through certified and over priced accessories has been their business plan for long and they have very well monetized it.
 
Meh, how many of you actually buy iphones. Let the iphone users comment. Who knows maybe they might come up with a better sounding ones. Since when are we averse to Tech change? Lets try new stuff as long as they bundle in an adapter or something for normal headphones at no extra cost.
 
Meh, how many of you actually buy iphones. Let the iphone users comment.

Since when is it a requirement to own a product to criticize stupid moves intended to rip users off ?

Everyone here will be raving about this move when Samsung copies it a year after Apple.

It's a stupid decision irrespective of whoever implements it. In fact that's a cause for concern since Apple is such a "trend-setter".

Who knows maybe they might come up with a better sounding ones.

This is just a case of re-inventing the wheel. There's nothing they can do that'll magically improve sound over analog standards. It'd be great if the industry creates a new standard as a whole but considering it's Apple it's obviously going to be something proprietary that'll end up fragmenting the market.

Since when are we averse to Tech change?

When it's obviously going in the backwards direction.
First of all no one is asking for thinner phones, who wants devices that are more prone to getting damaged/bending along with smaller batteries.
If you're one of those people who're happy with boxed accessories good for you but a lot of people like to use their own iem's/headphones. In this case it means an adapter that'll jut 3.5mm out adding more strain and chances of damaging whichever miniscule digital port they opt for when the phone is in your pocket.

Lets try new stuff as long as they bundle in an adapter or something for normal headphones at no extra cost.

Top kek, you know this is apple we're talking about. Free is not a word that exists in their dictionary. They didn't give away 30pin to lightning adapters and they sure as hell won't give away 3.5mm to lightning/USB C adapters for free.
You have to be super naive to think that this is about moving the industry forward instead of reaping dividends on that $3 billion Beats acquisition.
 
As many of you know I am a total Apple Guy (only android I have is nexus 7 and is was only used for video consumption). Been with iPhone 4S first and now iPhone 6S. I personally love using apple products and they make my life easy. I am not saying it will work for you. I am just saying it works for me and my family.

Now with apple, everyone knows they don't leave any opportunity to milk money and yes this is going to be one of those. Personally it does affect me a little as I take my office calls using a connected earphone and with the bluetooth I have, people on other side complain that my sound is coming from far or is hollow, may be I have crap bluetooth earphones. I read that apple might bundle a bluetooth earphone inside the iPhone package instead of the wired ones or probably a wired headphone with lightning port.

I have been apple lover but am critical also. Their 16GB current iPhones are useless and are ONLY made so people go for 64GB. I made mistake of getting my wife a 16GB 6 plus last year and she would always get memory full and so this time we got the 64GB 6S Plus. Hell I got even the iPad Air 2 in 64GB just so I don't run out of memory.
I can also criticize this piece of news but me doing that is not going to change anything.
Will it force me to go away from iPhone, probably not, I will still use it just because I feel comfortable using iOS and it just works well for me. I cannot even bash android as I have little experience now with them but just want to tell that I have a Nexus 7 2012 which has totally got fcked up in terms of it working after I updated to latest android (whatever version it is). I mean it was great when I bought it (jelly bean or whatever) but now my wife tears her hair when using it (we use it to play youtube videos for my little kid when he is having food). Through my anti show off endeavor, I am trying to see if I can squeeze in an iPad Mini for replacement to this nexus as it is just frustrating to use it.
Again this is just my experience so please do not consider it android bashing at least.

And yeah I hate these thin iPhones, I mean I cannot use without case as I just cannot hold the slippery thin design. My case adds the bulk which I am comfortable using.

Also anyone who thinks apple will "bundle" something, forget it. If they had their way, they would charge money, each time we unlocked our iPhones (slide to unlock thing, not carrier unlock).
 
Unless they move to USB-C, this might be a problem.....
It'd be great if they move to USB type C , minimum of 64gb capacity & also Quick Charge compatibility in iPhone 7.

With falling sales of IPhone 6s ; I expect finally some user friendly upgrades similar to inclusion of stylus, 4gb Ram in iPad Pro.
 
@raksrules Exactly, it's not about picking one side and bashing the other. Use whatever product you're comfortable with which suits your needs and requirements but don't be a blind fanboy and defend its worst decisions without applying some common sense either.
The problem with manufacturers these days is they feel compelled to add unnecessary features to convince consumers in a saturating market to upgrade their phone every year. They just end up adding gimmicks to their checklist which ends up adding little to the experience, last year it was 3D Touch, curved screens and smartwatches, this year it's going to be 2k/4k screens and whatever Apple is trying to pull here.
All I want is for manufacturers to focus on better batteries and sub 5-inch screens again.
 
@raksrules Exactly, it's not about picking one side and bashing the other. Use whatever product you're comfortable with which suits your needs and requirements but don't be a blind fanboy and defend its worst decisions without applying some common sense either.
Sole reason I gave up on my iphone 6 and came back onto S6 Edge. I thought I got bored of droids and Samsung has given me enough reasons for the plunge (age old design and body) - not a fan of Samsung but definitely not a fan of bulky looks like Motorola/HTC.
After the change in design on S6, I took the hard step of leaving out iPhone for good as I think I am only cut out for a droid and not iOS.

Re the current change, I would say the users will still stick to iPhones regardless this minor (infact major design change after the iPhone 6 - which wasnt expected this early :))
 
Since when is it a requirement to own a product to criticize stupid moves intended to rip users off ?
Cause hardcore Apple users dont think the way you do. They let apple decide for them, try it, and if its bad then complain. Secondly its not a move or a stratergy, its a product. So save your criticism till you try it maybe.

When it's obviously going in the backwards direction.
First of all no one is asking for thinner phones, who wants devices that are more prone to getting damaged/bending along with smaller batteries.
If you're one of those people who're happy with boxed accessories good for you but a lot of people like to use their own iem's/headphones. In this case it means an adapter that'll jut 3.5mm out adding more strain and chances of damaging whichever miniscule digital port they opt for when the phone is in your pocket.
And how did you come to the conclusion that its going backward? Did you try it? Did you find the sound quality not at par? Oh wait the product is yet to launch, but thank you for your opinion, but be a little open to change maybe. You dont have to buy it till its proven. Buy something else if you prefer.

Oh you're talking for everyone now? I'd love thinner phones, and stronger and with better battery. You clearly dont know what youre saying if you say that size of the phone is the only factor that determines if phones will bend.

You can make all that criticism AFTER you see or test the damn thing. Whether it juts out or they find a better way to desing it depends on them. Save your criticism till it comes out.
 
And how did you come to the conclusion that its going backward? Did you try it? Did you find the sound quality not at par?

Because it's taking away the ability from users to use their existing gear, It may or may not be at par but it isn't going to be better either. There's a reason that 3.5mm jacks have lasted so long, it's one of the few perfect universal standards in existence. Besides lightning is digital not analog, so whatever third party headsets will show up in the market will be more expensive because they'll need to have an in-built DAC as well.
It's kinda apparent that they want to go for a single lightning port design so the adapter (which'll again need to have a DAC) is definitely gonna stick out like a sore thumb. The only advantage I can think of is them being able to use lightning powered noise cancelling headphones but then again it's gonna drain the phone battery faster too.

You clearly dont know what youre saying if you say that size of the phone is the only factor that determines if phones will bend.

I never said it's the only reason that phones bend, what I meant is that slimmer phones are more susceptible to damage because of a number of reasons. Besides most high end phone users end up putting one in a case anyways so a drop of a few millimeters in thickness at the expense of a smaller battery really isn't worth it, how many people have you seen using an iphone w/o a case ?
 
how many people have you seen using an iphone w/o a case ?

Actually, I know several people who do not have a case with their 6S/6S+. But they do not travel by public transport, have their own car.

On a different note, I had a similar discussion several years back about Microsoft, licensing and other issues with HG. The point he is trying to make is that we look at certain things and functionality. Lets say for example - the ability to put music to a iPhone - its a mess with one library only allowed at a time. I actually wasted several minutes trying to find a workaround before giving up. You would not have this issue with Android. Microsoft did this and left it behind. The problem is that Apple is a semi dominant force in the market and if they do something like this, it could fragment the market, but they would not care that much. Instead, people will resort to Bluetooth headphones and workarounds. Just like with Microsoft, we almost gave Windows 8/8.1 a skip and moved to 10. Or jumped back to 7.

Apple does make mistakes, and they lose customers/brownie points when they do.
 
Because it's taking away the ability from users to use their existing gear, It may or may not be at par but it isn't going to be better either. There's a reason that 3.5mm jacks have lasted so long, it's one of the few perfect universal standards in existence. Besides lightning is digital not analog, so whatever third party headsets will show up in the market will be more expensive because they'll need to have an in-built DAC as well.
It's kinda apparent that they want to go for a single lightning port design so the adapter (which'll again need to have a DAC) is definitely gonna stick out like a sore thumb. The only advantage I can think of is them being able to use lightning powered noise cancelling headphones but then again it's gonna drain the phone battery faster too.
If they give an adapter how will it take away anything? Again you're making a conjecture before they release it. Why not give it a try, if its bad its bad. But what if its good? Should we not make new stuff cause the old one is good enough or just your idea of perfect? If they screw it up they get ****ed. But jeesus, wait till you try it. Maybe they ahve ideas and they sort it out in the second or third release. Who knows. Let the people that like apple pay for their experiments if they like. I understand why you'd want to stick to what works for you, but why would you bash anyone else who wants to try something new.

Again you assume stuff on the DAC point. Apple made a kick ass ssd controller from scratch that doubled the read write speeds in iphones to entry level ssd speeds on desktop. That is why a lot of tradition iphone haters have hailed the iPhone 6s. Imagine the size of that controller inside. They have the engineering resources to reinvent things. Maybe it might turn out for the better.

Frankly innovation has reached a stage where you'll mostly have incremental improvement. So you're left with a few mm shaved off the port or a few percentage points increase in quality.

I never said it's the only reason that phones bend, what I meant is that slimmer phones are more susceptible to damage because of a number of reasons. Besides most high end phone users end up putting one in a case anyways so a drop of a few millimeters in thickness at the expense of a smaller battery really isn't worth it, how many people have you seen using an iphone w/o a case ?
No you only said "First of all no one is asking for thinner phones, who wants devices that are more prone to getting damaged/bending along with smaller batteries."
You made a direct corelation between thinness and bending. IMO it depends on the engineering going inside it. Look at how the nexus 6p bends. Just Bad engineering, nothing to do with thickness.
 
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