15 ms·

We don't need a thinner iPhone if that means killing the headphone jack

75 points by edward 11y ago

dkrich 11y ago
How could you charge your phone and listen to music simultaneously? There could be two lighting ports. After all, there is currently a lighting port and a 3.5mm jack, so why would replacing the jack with a lightning port be out of the question? But what if I want to play music at a party? Use Bluetooth. But my current set of headphones won't work! Get a new pair. Think that's ridiculous? Most people buy new headphones pretty often, it's not that hard to imagine that in a year's time when the iPhone 7 comes out that people who don't currently have Bluetooth headphones (which would work anyway) or a lighting port compatible set of headphones that aren't satisfied with the set that ship with the iPhone (probably not an overwhelming percentage) wouldn't buy a new set.
- ihuman 11y ago
  >But what if I want to play music at a party? >Use Bluetooth. Or use lightning. Stereos have been using the 30-pin and lightning connectors to get audio from the iPod/Phone for a while now.
- bweitzman 11y ago
  Bluetooth is tolerably good but a headphone jack works so much better if you're listening on headphones IMO Not to mention that most companies making medium-to-high end headphones are not even dealing with bluetooth.
  - 6stringmerc 11y ago
    Looks like a few are in the market (my favorite being Sennheiser) but the prices are, from what I can tell, 2x what a comparable corded headphone set would run. Yikes.
  - KirinDave 11y ago
    Can I just be honest for a second? No one actually cares about the "I want to DJ at a party!" usecase that badly. Those people that do will carry the right cables, like they already probably have to. Seriously, pretending that's an important use case is what lead Google to invent the Nexus Q and no one cared about that even though it was a stunning device.
- stock_toaster 11y ago
  > There could be two lighting ports. After all, there is > currently a lighting port and a 3.5mm jack, so why would > replacing the jack with a lightning port be out of the > question? My guess would be something more akin to the current hdmi dongle, which has a power input as well as hdmi out. http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MD826AM/A/lightning-digital-av-adapter http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MD826AM/A/lightning-digita...
massysett 11y ago
I thought it crazy to make the iPad Air 2 so thin. But now that I have one I see the benefit. Just reducing the effort required to pick the thing up is a big benefit. I rarely use corded headphones and would not miss the jack.
- TazeTSchnitzel 11y ago
  I really appreciate that I can relatively easily pick up my MacBook Air. But it still requires quite a bit of effort. The MacBook dropped all ports bar two so it could be lighter and thinner, and while that bothers some people, I'd love a laptop that lightweight.
LinkDJ 11y ago
But... bluetooth exists!
- niels_olson 11y ago
  Genius. I can carry batteries on my ears. Oh, that sounds heavenly. /sarcasm.
  - LinkDJ 11y ago
    I've had bluetooth headphones for 18 months, they get 13 hours of battery life and I charge them about once a week. It's really not an issue.
- krisdol 11y ago
  Bluetooth quality ain't great for high-quality audio.
mesozoic 11y ago
Hey Apple when you start making my life more complicated (gotta carry around a lightning to headphone adapter) it's time I stop upgrading.
- austenallred 11y ago
  If that were truly the case you would have stopped upgrading 5 years ago
  - KirinDave 11y ago
    If only there was evidence that a lot of units of a different kind of phone get sold and that the proportion of the market they carry has grown over the last 5 years...
  - mathgeek 11y ago
    Some of us did stop upgrading with Apple products.
JoshTriplett 11y ago
As long as there's an adapter that provides a headphone jack, I don't see a problem in removing the onboard headphone jack. The bigger problem lies with the use of Lightning to begin with, rather than a standard like USB type-C. That would solve the power problem: adapters exist to split out power and other ports from a single type-C port. It would also solve the "only works with" problem, since normal USB headphones would work, or analog-over-type-C devices; that, unfortunately, makes it far less likely to happen on an iDevice. I look forward to incredibly thin Android devices with nothing except type-C, though.
- panic 11y ago
  As long as there's an adapter that provides a headphone jack, I don't see a problem in removing the onboard headphone jack. Well, you have to keep track of an adapter, which you can easily lose or forget to bring with you.
  - baldeagle 11y ago
    Or you could just attach it to the end of your headphones, and store it with them. That would cover the bulk of the cases, except people that need to plug into multiple AV outputs throughout the day.
    - gambiting 11y ago
      What do you do if you need to charge your phone but also want to listen to some music at the same time? Another special adapter that allows you to plug in both?
      - sb23 11y ago
        Bluetooth headphones, or wireless charging would both solve this issue
        gambiting 11y ago
        1) Audio over bluetooth offers mediocre sound quality at best. It's really not ideal. 2) So....I'm on my bed, 3% of battery left, and I want to watch something on YT on my phone. Right now, I simply connect the power cable to it + my headphones. With wireless charging I can't be watching anything because the phone has to stay on the charging cradle. Or if I connect the cable, then I can't connect headphones.
revelation 11y ago
How does the author go from "Apple shouldn't get rid of the perfectly fine headphone jack" to "The truth is we need a new standard for headphones, and we haven’t figured out what that is yet."?
- darkstar999 11y ago
  Author also fails to explain _why_ the 3.5mm standard "needs" to be replaced.
Animats 11y ago
"We need a new standard for headphones, and we haven’t figured out what that is yet." Bluetooth stereo headsets have been available for years. It's time for the all-wireless phone - wireless charging, wireless everything else. Waterproof, too. Are people still using iDweebs with their silly white wires?
- spdionis 11y ago
  I want to see wireless waterproof :D
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
mschuster91 11y ago
If you want to develop a new connector, just use fucking MagSafe. Watertight phones without a way for water to enter, easier cleaning because no dirt in your pants can sneak into the connector, and if you trip on your headphone wire (or the cat plays with it), the phone won't go down with the headphones.
- celticninja 11y ago
  Why is there even a question over this? Combined with an adapter for existing headphones this is the solution.
  - mschuster91 11y ago
    Because Apple owns a patent on any MagSafe technology. I do hope it expires soon...
    - celticninja 11y ago
      Does the patent cover any use of magnets in an accessory on power cable?
    - celticninja 11y ago
      Does the patent cover any use of magnets in an accessory on power cable?
- archagon 11y ago
  That would be amazing! It's too bad Apple made such an investment in Lightning; it's appearing even in peripheral devices such as the Pencil and Apple TV remote. I imagine they would be reluctant to switch away from it so soon, especially after all the rage from obsoleting the 30-pin connector the last time around.
celticninja 11y ago
Non issue. One word - adapter.
- krisdol 11y ago
  on adapter vs thicker phone, I'd much rather choose thicker phone.
  - celticninja 11y ago
    I would take a thicker phone with a longer battery life over a thinner phone.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
- ctdonath 11y ago
  Issue. One word - adapter. As in "Where the he11 did my adapter go?"
  - post_break 11y ago
    That'll be $29 plus tax.
hoodoof 11y ago
Apple made the last iPod shuffle so small that it was a bad design. The super tiny design couldn't be operated easily when running and it was hard to press the buttons. The "next track" button was moved so close to the headphone jack that my fingers couldn't actually get in there to click it (the headphone jack used to be on the other side of the device). They trimmed a few millimeters off the edge of the device so that the clip used to clip it to your clothing could no longer be operated easily. My fingers kept slipping off the clip when trying to operate it. The previous model iPod shuffle was, I think, one of the finest designed consumer electronics ever - it didn't need anything changed. But Apple just had to go make it smaller. Apple seems to have come to believe that smaller is better when in fact there is an optimal size and any smaller is detrimental to usability. Apple doesn't understand the concept of "the right size", all it wants to do is stroke its own ego by making things smaller. I miss that old iPod shuffle design. I would have kept buying them buy they are no longer available, and I'm not going to buy the crappy new useless super tiny design.
- ctdonath 11y ago
  Apple briefly made a Shuffle even smaller - no on-device controls. That didn't last long, and the Shuffle returned to it's current size. (Small size remains a problem. I've lost 3 Shuffles and a Nano in my house. The Touch disappeared for 6 months too, reappearing in the bed frame.)
  - hoodoof 11y ago
    I felt like no-one at Apple had bothered to wear a shuffle and go for a run. So much for the greatest usability team on earth.
    - JohnBooty 11y ago
      What do you mean? I think the clip-on shuffle is fantastic for exercise. Edit: Thanks, I didn't realize there were multiple clip-on models
      - 11y ago
tambourine_man 11y ago
Like the floppy disk, we will be thanking Apple for killing the headphone jack in 5 years. Sure, it will be a bit of a pain in the mean time, but worth it in the long run.
- foldor 11y ago
  Have you read the article? It's not about them killing the headphone jack, as much as it is about them killing it with a proprietary connector. Something as ubiquitous as a headphone jack should be standardized in an open way.
- venomsnake 11y ago
  Except apple has gone their own way of making everything proprietary. Which is not good for anyone but apple. They don't respect standards anymore.
  - TazeTSchnitzel 11y ago
    > Except apple has gone their own way of making everything proprietary. USB? FireWire? Mini DisplayPort? Thunderbolt? FaceTime (before they were sued)? WebKit? Darwin?
    - scott_karana 11y ago
      Actually, Apple's onerous/expensive licensing requirements on Firewire are probably what allowed USB to beat it. "Thunderbolt"/Displayport: yes, after decades of making laptops with proprietary adapters, they finally conceded that point. Intel deserves some thanks here too, I think. Facetime: what lawsuit are you talking about? It's still only interoperable with Apple's software on Apple's platforms. Proprietary. Webkit, Darwin, and LLVM: these are all good things. Note that all of them have non-Apple (and also non-NeXT) origins.
- mathgeek 11y ago
  Killing off the floppy was great because everyone who used to use floppies no longer did. You're still going to use headphones if you use them currently.
6stringmerc 11y ago
Look, I'm not on some big high-horse about audio quality in the modern era (cough Pono cough), so I really don't see any reason to be upset with Apple deciding "thinner" is an improvement by way of ditching support for a widely used industry standard. We're talking about consumer electronics, an industry where (subjectively speaking) over-priced, under-performing headphones like Beats command significant status and market share. iDevices are nice-to-have items, and after having several, I can honestly say I care less about upgrading for 'features' and more about build quality concerns (having various buttons giving out across different models, etc) so I'm really comfortable viewing Apple products as expensive yet disposable items. Shrug Oh, and anybody who is surprised by such a mentality might want to refresh a few historical examples. CD-Rom drives, gone. Final Cut? Turned into consumer-class software. Now they have a high-priced laptop with a single connector which really doesn't make sense for live performers and professionals. It's kind of how the company does business, so yeah I buy this rumor somewhat.
- TazeTSchnitzel 11y ago
  Apple dropped the Ethernet port from the MacBook Pro because it was too big, and the MacBook Air couldn't have an HDMI port for the same reason. But they replaced both of those with WiFi and Mini DisplayPort (now Thunderbolt).
  - kayamon 11y ago
    They didn't "replace" the Ethernet with WiFi. The WiFi was always there. The Ethernet port was for people who _needed_ to plug into an Ethernet socket. If you still have that need, WiFi doesn't replace that. So now you're in a situation where you _need_ to plug in an external adapter every single time.
Joeboy 11y ago
Phones have been plenty small enough for some time. If there's spare space, stick more battery in it rather than making the phone smaller.
- tetraodonpuffer 11y ago
  not gonna happen with every reviewer oo-ing and aah-ing about the phone being 0.1mm thinner and leaving the battery to a back page where it says that it lasted them all day therefore it's fine. Look at Samsung having to get rid of replaceable batteries (very user friendly and environmental) and move to glued/sealed phone because every single time a new phone came out the reviewers complained about how it didn't feel "premium" enough due to the plastic back (which personally I think is a lot more user-friendly than glass anyways) If the market continues to reward style over substance, that is what we will get, people will keep grumbling about the too-low battery life but will still upgrade every year or two to the latest-and-greatest.
nik_0_0 11y ago
"Apple is reportedly planning on shipping EarPods that connect through the Lighting port with the next iPhone" Good proofreading Verge. Also blanket statements like "no one is clamoring for a thinner iPhone". I look forward to iPhone removing the headphone jack, making a thinner, lighter phone, and also propelling forward the market demand for bluetooth headphones. I love my Jaybirds, but there needs to be more players in the market. I mean, it would also be great if it also shipped with a lightning -> 3.5mm adapter, but there is almost no chance of that happening. You can buy one for 40$.
- gambiting 11y ago
  "and also propelling forward the market demand for bluetooth headphones" If bluetooth audio quality actually improved, and they got rid of the lag that makes videos unwatchable - sure. Until then, I would rather at least have an option to use my old analog headphones.
- KirinDave 11y ago
  I look forward to more people joining me outside the ecosystem of iPhone, so I think we are aligned. Apple is systematically strangling the ecosystem to force their short-term prosperity. Their price setting, app store review model, NDA on developers (the fearful silence devs are forced into) and their increasingly bad mobile UI are things worth killing. So I hope Apple continues to isolate their ecosystem, because while the upshot is you can make more money selling the entire ecosystem (or licensing it), the downside is that it gets easier and easier for people to start ignoring you.
  - zarify 11y ago
    I'm with you on the price setting and App Store stuff, but it was my impression that they had gotten much better about the NDA issue over the last couple of years. I would love to see the 3.5mm jack disappear though. I have mixed feelings about consolidating on Lightning though considering that it'd mean the end of auxiliary in car trips for those of us not BT enabled. Regardless of how you feel about the quest for thinness, the headphone jack is unreasonably wide, and something thinner would make it easier to get other components in there, as well as opening it up for other control methods beyond the simple clicker found on many headphones without the need for any hackery to do it. I think it'd be inevitable that they would then license it rather than making it an open hardware spec, which would be a crying shame though.
JustSomeNobody 11y ago
I don't understand the desire to get ever thinner. I truly don't. I never ever hear anyone saying their iPhone is too thick. What I hear is that the 5S had the best design of all iPhones to date. I also hear that people would not mind a couple millimeters thicker if it meant a larger battery. Who is Apple listening to? Are there people out there who think the iPhone should be thinner? (That was a rhetorical question. Of course there's someone reading this that is going to say yes. I get that. But I don't believe for a moment that most iPhone users want a thinner phone.)
- JohnBooty 11y ago
  I don't understand the desire to get ever thinner. I truly don't. I never ever hear anyone saying their iPhone is too thick. This is my experience as well. I have heard people complaining about battery, screen size, and/or durability but never thickness. To me (an adult male) there are only really two sizes of portable objects: things that fit comfortably in my pants pocket and things that don't. The iPhone has passed that test for years and years now and making it thinner will make no difference to me.
  - kawsper 11y ago
    I have a 6S which is a nice phone, but the size of an iPhone 4S was perfect for fitting in your pocket, and you could easily use it with one-hand. I can't one-hand my 6S.
  - RightWingRabble 11y ago
    Young women complain about the thickness of phones a lot. Specifically, that it sticks out when they put it in the front pocket of their very tight jeans.
- xlm1717 11y ago
  Well, I would bet you never hear someone saying their iPhone is too thick precisely because they make them thinner all the time.
  - 11y ago
post_break 11y ago
Apple will make millions for licensing MFA lightning to 3.5mm adapters. The only reason I would want something like this is if the lightning port was more like magsafe, magnetic. Break away headphone jack? Yes please.
- KirinDave 11y ago
  Apple has billions. Why are they going to pick a fight with everyone to make millions?
  - JohnBooty 11y ago
    Yes. Of every possible reason to eliminate the headphone jack, the idea that a $200bil company wants to make a few extra million dollars is literally the only reason I'd conclusively rule out. It would take a $2bil product to even change their revenue by 1%. They're not going to make a big strategic move for a few million.
    - post_break 11y ago
      They make more on peripherals than the Mac or Software. http://www.asymco.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Screen-shot-2011-01-25-at-1-25-11.33.04-AM.png http://www.asymco.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Screen-shot...
      - JohnBooty 11y ago
        No, you're reading that wrong. That's a stacked graph.
awqrre 11y ago
Apple is planning on going in the headphone business?
- derefr 11y ago
  They already are; they own Beats.
  - awqrre 11y ago
    I should have looked it up first, but I'm surprised that so much time elapsed between the 2 actions. Maybe some other reason is the root cause of this decision then (some people use this port for other purposes for example).
- stock_toaster 11y ago
  After the beats acquisition, aren't they already?
- officialjunk 11y ago
  they did acquire beats
mathgeek 11y ago
"... famously killed both optical and floppy drives with no remorse — doing things that upset people in the name of progress isn’t new for the company." The difference with floppies and optical drives was that many people were using alternative delivery and storage methods already. Many of us welcomed fewer moving parts in our computers. That doesn't apply here.
TazeTSchnitzel 11y ago
If Apple switches to USB-C for the iPhone and friends, then this would make sense, because with USB-C EarPods they could replace the headphone jack on the MacBook with a second USB-C port.
- sneak 11y ago
  Ash port durbatulûk, ash port gimbatul, ash port thrakatulûk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul.
rabboRubble 11y ago
You know, I have my original iPhone3GS with the original charging cable. This ancient cable is in perfect shape. Meanwhile, my much younger iPhone5, I've gone through 3 Lightening cables and of the 3, 2 have fully blown out. They are complete crap. The iPhone5 headphone cables are okay-ish and better quality compared to the Lightening cable. Get rid of the stupid crappy made Lightening and keep the headphone jack. Figure out why the Lightening cables are such crap and fix them!
oneeyedpigeon 11y ago
It's alright, you can just use an iPod. ... Oops.
kevin_b_er 11y ago
I figure thinness is secondary. The headphone jack is not controlled by Apple and Apple demands control. It now owns a headphone manufacturer that manufactures devices at very high markups, so why would it continue to permit competition on its devices with other companies? The adapter will cost enough and be inconvenient enough that it will prevent 3rd party manufacturing of headphones. You say bluetooth, but that requires another battery and is much more expensive to make that a pair of earbuds. Also Apple is now a top tier member of the Bluetooth SIG, which controls the bluetooth standard and trademarks. Expect your Extend phase for bluetooth soon. I personally expect nothing less from the anti-standards anti-interoperability Apple.
JohnBooty 11y ago
Possible alternate explanation: maybe Apple is promoting Lightning headphones not because they want to eliminate the headphone jack, but because they intend to start pushing some kind of smart functionality to headphones and audio devices. That's pure speculation. No clue what that functionality might be. What if they were leveraging the processing power of the iPhone to achieve some kind of adaptive noise canceling on any headphones? I don't know. I do know this: this isn't like dropping the floppy drive or optical drives on Macs. By the time those were dropped, hardly anybody was using those features on their Macs. But a casual glance around any plane or public transit tells you that a lot people use their headphone jacks all the time.
- TazeTSchnitzel 11y ago
  EarPod cameras? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcPhMqLPuvQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcPhMqLPuvQ
martin_bech 11y ago
i have a solution for a headset which would work with a thinner iPhone, Mac, Macbook and so on. It's already a standard and its called bluetooth. http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MKLD2AM/A/beats-by-dr-dre-solo2-wireless-headphones-gold?fnode=7a http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MKLD2AM/A/beats-by-dr-dre-...
Spooky23 11y ago
This is solving a problem that nobody has, and replacing it with an obvious set of real problems. Who wants to buy expensive certified headphones or wireless in all cases? Headphones are pure commodity -- they can be had for $3. I wouldn't buy another iOS device if this happens.
dragonwriter 11y ago
> How could you charge your phone and listen to music simultaneously? The could have things like existing microUSB-to-HDMI adapters for mobile devices, where the adapter also has a charging-only microUSB port. Or it could use wireless charging. Or Apple, who is great at optimizing for what they perceive to be the most common use case and selling it as all people need, might just consider simultaneous charging and headphone use as an unimportant niche case.
bhauer 11y ago
I am no fan of Apple's phones, last I used being an iPhone 2. But this argument is nonsense to my mind. I cannot remember the last time I used the headphone adapter on my phone. It was probably at least two phone upgrades ago, making it an early generation Android device (I have since dumped Android for Windows). Modern mobile headphones, speakers, and automobiles attach to the device via Bluetooth. If am doing high-fidelity listening using good headphones, I'm not playing the audio from my phone anyway; I am at home with my proper audio equipment. I don't know anyone who uses the headphone port on their phone. That said, I agree that I'm not clamoring for an ultra-thin device, principally because I don't find it particularly easy to hold a super thin phone. I'm not ruling out the possibility that an ultra-thin device could be designed that is easy to hold, but of all the problems I have with mobile computing, thickness is not in my top 50 complaints. In fact, subjective or apparent fragility is more a concern than thickness, and reducing thickness will inevitably (I feel) increase apparent fragility.
- JohnBooty 11y ago
  I don't think your experience is representative. The wired headphone business is booming. If am doing high-fidelity listening using good headphones, I'm not playing the audio from my phone anyway; I am at home with my proper audio equipment. Audio quality over headphones is typically a thing that Apple does really well. Objectively measured, the iPhone's DAC and headphone amp are darn good: http://www.kenrockwell.com/apple/iphone-6-plus.htm#measurements http://www.kenrockwell.com/apple/iphone-6-plus.htm#measureme... The built-in amp may be lacking in power if you're using hard-to-drive headphones. Bluetooth [...] high-fidelity I've read that Bluetooth headphones that support the AAC codec sound great (theoretically this can avoid transcoding if your music is AAC) although they're few and far between.
frou_dh 11y ago
Not that I'm advocating doing away with wired earphones completely, but I'd just like to mention how ridiculously inexpensive passable bluetooth earphones have become. "Bluedio N2" stereo bluetooth IEMs (incl mic/remote)... SUB-$10! Delivered! From China! No, the sound quality is not as good as my wired Etymotics, but being unattached to the phone is often preferable. These things are head and shoulders the best bang/buck I've ever had in consumer electronics. Stockpiled 3 pairs.
- mrcrassic 11y ago
  Word. My Qy8 IEMs from some no-name Chinese electronics company were $25 shipped and sound just as good as Jaybirds! I was shocked that they've gotten this good now.
crunchiness 11y ago
Well, there was a time when phones didn't have headphone jacks, but could play music and would often ship with proprietary shitty earphones, and everyone had their standard (same as for chargers). And I'm pretty sure people just used to use mp3 players more rather than buying adapters. But somehow everything went the standardization way, so why on earth would this (alleged) Apple's move be considered progress, I have no idea. Also don't really see why 3.5mm jack "needs to be replaced". MicroUSB is worse imo.
davnn 11y ago
Product manager meeting at Apple: x: Guys, Tim told me we have to expand our ecosystem asap. y: Yea right.. I mean we have already evaluated a few ideas last time but im not sure if we truly understand our customers. x: Why would that matter? y: Maybe it would then be easier to find things that could expand our ecosystem. x: No (y), it doesn't work that way. Look at those unicorn startups with ultra short feedback loops - they are their customers' slaves and you should have read that in our book. We are innovators, we know what our customers want before them. y: Oh yea that was in the book sorry. I just think that we did not come up with promising ideas yet. x: Let's see.. where do we have the biggest margins? y: Beats! x: Thats right! We just have to find a way to integrate them into our ecosystem. ......
- chrisdbaldwin 11y ago
  Ah! You caught the hook. Apple can get away with removing the 3.5mm by packaging the iPhone 7 with (likely Beats) wearables.
mmariani 11y ago
The next headphone connector standard is Bluetooth. No messy cables, great quality, and good battery life (I get 20+ hours with my headphones). I don't get all the fuss. Just make it thinner already.
vladgur 11y ago
Whats being overlooked in most of the comments here is that Apple is killing off the only non-licensed hardware input that their iDevices had since the beginning, and the one without which a number of companies, including Square would probably not exist. Im not sure about this day in age, but as someone working on hardware adapter feeding a stream of data into the iPhone in 2009 and 2010, the cost of getting into an MFI(or whatever the licensing term for hardware/bluetooth interoperability with iDevices was) was cost prohibitive and largely NDA-d out for smaller startups. So we went with the audio input just like Square did. Unless something has changed in Apple's attitude to licensing and interoperability, the door has just been shut close for companies trying to innovate with other hardware products interacting with iDevices.
- bruceboughton 11y ago
  Are rumoured to
- saurik 11y ago
  I agree with you, but still feel the need to point out that Bluetooth LE (as opposed to "Classic Bluetooth") is, as far as I understand, allowed to be used by any developer without going through MFi.
panglott 11y ago
Still bitter about killing off the 3.5" floppy, huh? I for one would like a thinner iPhone eventually. It's ridiculous to think that the thickness of the legacy headphone jack is such a sacred cow that it should limit all future hardware designs.
- scott_karana 11y ago
  Pretty sure that "universal interoperability of a still-useful interface with a 100+ year legacy" was the sacred cow, balanced against the "usefulness" of paper-thin, flimsy, low-mAh-speculated phones. Not its size.
  - panglott 11y ago
    I love the stereo minijack, too. But as the author concludes "The truth is we need a new standard for headphones, and we haven’t figured out what that is yet. The shift from 3.5mm to whatever the next standard may be will be painful..." And yet, the first step will require a first step. Apple could take it, and catch hell for it, but hopefully a better future standard would be the result.
    - scott_karana 11y ago
      I don't hold out any hope that Apple will be the harbinger of an open, interoperable format. I think other comments here have the right idea: they want to remove the last uncontrolled, competitive port on their device.
jinushaun 11y ago
I'm fine with ditching the headphone jack for lightning. Whatever. I use the stock EarPods anyway, and an adapter won't be the end of the world. High end headphones are already stupidly bulky for mobile usage and an adapter won't make it worse. And headphone manufacturers will probably start shipping with adapters like they already do with multiple earbud sizes if there is a lightning/usb-c split anyway. What I do have a problem with is thinness for thinness' sake. I upgraded from an iPhone 4 to an iPhone 6—skipping the 4S, 5 and 5S—and noticed no improvement in battery life! We're talking brand new day-one battery performance comparable to a busted 2 year old phone. I can't go a whole day without needing to recharge my 6. I can't believe Apple hasn't gotten into the battery bank game yet since I now own several of them and can't live without them. Stopping me making phones thinner. Make the battery bigger!
- massysett 11y ago
  You need the Plus. It can last two days on a charge, and will last a day even if you're doing battery burners like GPS. Now there's the best of both worlds: for small, get the 6; for big and battery, get the Plus. Some folks like small and don't want their phone fattened.

75 points by edward 11y ago

How could you charge your phone and listen to music simultaneously? There could be two lighting ports. After all, there is currently a lighting port and a 3.5mm jack, so why would replacing the jack with a lightning port be out of the question? But what if I want to play music at a party? Use Bluetooth. But my current set of headphones won't work! Get a new pair. Think that's ridiculous? Most people buy new headphones pretty often, it's not that hard to imagine that in a year's time when the iPhone 7 comes out that people who don't currently have Bluetooth headphones (which would work anyway) or a lighting port compatible set of headphones that aren't satisfied with the set that ship with the iPhone (probably not an overwhelming percentage) wouldn't buy a new set.

ihuman 11y ago
>But what if I want to play music at a party? >Use Bluetooth. Or use lightning. Stereos have been using the 30-pin and lightning connectors to get audio from the iPod/Phone for a while now.
bweitzman 11y ago
Bluetooth is tolerably good but a headphone jack works so much better if you're listening on headphones IMO Not to mention that most companies making medium-to-high end headphones are not even dealing with bluetooth.
- 6stringmerc 11y ago
  Looks like a few are in the market (my favorite being Sennheiser) but the prices are, from what I can tell, 2x what a comparable corded headphone set would run. Yikes.
- KirinDave 11y ago
  Can I just be honest for a second? No one actually cares about the "I want to DJ at a party!" usecase that badly. Those people that do will carry the right cables, like they already probably have to. Seriously, pretending that's an important use case is what lead Google to invent the Nexus Q and no one cared about that even though it was a stunning device.
stock_toaster 11y ago
> There could be two lighting ports. After all, there is > currently a lighting port and a 3.5mm jack, so why would > replacing the jack with a lightning port be out of the > question? My guess would be something more akin to the current hdmi dongle, which has a power input as well as hdmi out. http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MD826AM/A/lightning-digital-av-adapter http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MD826AM/A/lightning-digita...

massysett 11y ago

I thought it crazy to make the iPad Air 2 so thin. But now that I have one I see the benefit. Just reducing the effort required to pick the thing up is a big benefit. I rarely use corded headphones and would not miss the jack.

TazeTSchnitzel 11y ago
I really appreciate that I can relatively easily pick up my MacBook Air. But it still requires quite a bit of effort. The MacBook dropped all ports bar two so it could be lighter and thinner, and while that bothers some people, I'd love a laptop that lightweight.

LinkDJ 11y ago

But... bluetooth exists!

niels_olson 11y ago
Genius. I can carry batteries on my ears. Oh, that sounds heavenly. /sarcasm.
- LinkDJ 11y ago
  I've had bluetooth headphones for 18 months, they get 13 hours of battery life and I charge them about once a week. It's really not an issue.
krisdol 11y ago
Bluetooth quality ain't great for high-quality audio.

mesozoic 11y ago

Hey Apple when you start making my life more complicated (gotta carry around a lightning to headphone adapter) it's time I stop upgrading.

austenallred 11y ago
If that were truly the case you would have stopped upgrading 5 years ago
- KirinDave 11y ago
  If only there was evidence that a lot of units of a different kind of phone get sold and that the proportion of the market they carry has grown over the last 5 years...
- mathgeek 11y ago
  Some of us did stop upgrading with Apple products.

JoshTriplett 11y ago

As long as there's an adapter that provides a headphone jack, I don't see a problem in removing the onboard headphone jack. The bigger problem lies with the use of Lightning to begin with, rather than a standard like USB type-C. That would solve the power problem: adapters exist to split out power and other ports from a single type-C port. It would also solve the "only works with" problem, since normal USB headphones would work, or analog-over-type-C devices; that, unfortunately, makes it far less likely to happen on an iDevice. I look forward to incredibly thin Android devices with nothing except type-C, though.

panic 11y ago
As long as there's an adapter that provides a headphone jack, I don't see a problem in removing the onboard headphone jack. Well, you have to keep track of an adapter, which you can easily lose or forget to bring with you.
- baldeagle 11y ago
  Or you could just attach it to the end of your headphones, and store it with them. That would cover the bulk of the cases, except people that need to plug into multiple AV outputs throughout the day.
  - gambiting 11y ago
    What do you do if you need to charge your phone but also want to listen to some music at the same time? Another special adapter that allows you to plug in both?
    - sb23 11y ago
      Bluetooth headphones, or wireless charging would both solve this issue
      - gambiting 11y ago
        1) Audio over bluetooth offers mediocre sound quality at best. It's really not ideal. 2) So....I'm on my bed, 3% of battery left, and I want to watch something on YT on my phone. Right now, I simply connect the power cable to it + my headphones. With wireless charging I can't be watching anything because the phone has to stay on the charging cradle. Or if I connect the cable, then I can't connect headphones.

revelation 11y ago

How does the author go from "Apple shouldn't get rid of the perfectly fine headphone jack" to "The truth is we need a new standard for headphones, and we haven’t figured out what that is yet."?

darkstar999 11y ago
Author also fails to explain _why_ the 3.5mm standard "needs" to be replaced.

Animats 11y ago

"We need a new standard for headphones, and we haven’t figured out what that is yet." Bluetooth stereo headsets have been available for years. It's time for the all-wireless phone - wireless charging, wireless everything else. Waterproof, too. Are people still using iDweebs with their silly white wires?

spdionis 11y ago
I want to see wireless waterproof :D
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]

mschuster91 11y ago

If you want to develop a new connector, just use fucking MagSafe. Watertight phones without a way for water to enter, easier cleaning because no dirt in your pants can sneak into the connector, and if you trip on your headphone wire (or the cat plays with it), the phone won't go down with the headphones.

celticninja 11y ago
Why is there even a question over this? Combined with an adapter for existing headphones this is the solution.
- mschuster91 11y ago
  Because Apple owns a patent on any MagSafe technology. I do hope it expires soon...
  - celticninja 11y ago
    Does the patent cover any use of magnets in an accessory on power cable?
  - celticninja 11y ago
    Does the patent cover any use of magnets in an accessory on power cable?
archagon 11y ago
That would be amazing! It's too bad Apple made such an investment in Lightning; it's appearing even in peripheral devices such as the Pencil and Apple TV remote. I imagine they would be reluctant to switch away from it so soon, especially after all the rage from obsoleting the 30-pin connector the last time around.

celticninja 11y ago

Non issue. One word - adapter.

krisdol 11y ago
on adapter vs thicker phone, I'd much rather choose thicker phone.
- celticninja 11y ago
  I would take a thicker phone with a longer battery life over a thinner phone.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
ctdonath 11y ago
Issue. One word - adapter. As in "Where the he11 did my adapter go?"
- post_break 11y ago
  That'll be $29 plus tax.

hoodoof 11y ago

Apple made the last iPod shuffle so small that it was a bad design. The super tiny design couldn't be operated easily when running and it was hard to press the buttons. The "next track" button was moved so close to the headphone jack that my fingers couldn't actually get in there to click it (the headphone jack used to be on the other side of the device). They trimmed a few millimeters off the edge of the device so that the clip used to clip it to your clothing could no longer be operated easily. My fingers kept slipping off the clip when trying to operate it. The previous model iPod shuffle was, I think, one of the finest designed consumer electronics ever - it didn't need anything changed. But Apple just had to go make it smaller. Apple seems to have come to believe that smaller is better when in fact there is an optimal size and any smaller is detrimental to usability. Apple doesn't understand the concept of "the right size", all it wants to do is stroke its own ego by making things smaller. I miss that old iPod shuffle design. I would have kept buying them buy they are no longer available, and I'm not going to buy the crappy new useless super tiny design.

ctdonath 11y ago
Apple briefly made a Shuffle even smaller - no on-device controls. That didn't last long, and the Shuffle returned to it's current size. (Small size remains a problem. I've lost 3 Shuffles and a Nano in my house. The Touch disappeared for 6 months too, reappearing in the bed frame.)
- hoodoof 11y ago
  I felt like no-one at Apple had bothered to wear a shuffle and go for a run. So much for the greatest usability team on earth.
  - JohnBooty 11y ago
    What do you mean? I think the clip-on shuffle is fantastic for exercise. Edit: Thanks, I didn't realize there were multiple clip-on models
    - 11y ago

tambourine_man 11y ago

Like the floppy disk, we will be thanking Apple for killing the headphone jack in 5 years. Sure, it will be a bit of a pain in the mean time, but worth it in the long run.

foldor 11y ago
Have you read the article? It's not about them killing the headphone jack, as much as it is about them killing it with a proprietary connector. Something as ubiquitous as a headphone jack should be standardized in an open way.
venomsnake 11y ago
Except apple has gone their own way of making everything proprietary. Which is not good for anyone but apple. They don't respect standards anymore.
- TazeTSchnitzel 11y ago
  > Except apple has gone their own way of making everything proprietary. USB? FireWire? Mini DisplayPort? Thunderbolt? FaceTime (before they were sued)? WebKit? Darwin?
  - scott_karana 11y ago
    Actually, Apple's onerous/expensive licensing requirements on Firewire are probably what allowed USB to beat it. "Thunderbolt"/Displayport: yes, after decades of making laptops with proprietary adapters, they finally conceded that point. Intel deserves some thanks here too, I think. Facetime: what lawsuit are you talking about? It's still only interoperable with Apple's software on Apple's platforms. Proprietary. Webkit, Darwin, and LLVM: these are all good things. Note that all of them have non-Apple (and also non-NeXT) origins.
mathgeek 11y ago
Killing off the floppy was great because everyone who used to use floppies no longer did. You're still going to use headphones if you use them currently.

6stringmerc 11y ago

Look, I'm not on some big high-horse about audio quality in the modern era (cough Pono cough), so I really don't see any reason to be upset with Apple deciding "thinner" is an improvement by way of ditching support for a widely used industry standard. We're talking about consumer electronics, an industry where (subjectively speaking) over-priced, under-performing headphones like Beats command significant status and market share. iDevices are nice-to-have items, and after having several, I can honestly say I care less about upgrading for 'features' and more about build quality concerns (having various buttons giving out across different models, etc) so I'm really comfortable viewing Apple products as expensive yet disposable items. Shrug Oh, and anybody who is surprised by such a mentality might want to refresh a few historical examples. CD-Rom drives, gone. Final Cut? Turned into consumer-class software. Now they have a high-priced laptop with a single connector which really doesn't make sense for live performers and professionals. It's kind of how the company does business, so yeah I buy this rumor somewhat.

TazeTSchnitzel 11y ago
Apple dropped the Ethernet port from the MacBook Pro because it was too big, and the MacBook Air couldn't have an HDMI port for the same reason. But they replaced both of those with WiFi and Mini DisplayPort (now Thunderbolt).
- kayamon 11y ago
  They didn't "replace" the Ethernet with WiFi. The WiFi was always there. The Ethernet port was for people who _needed_ to plug into an Ethernet socket. If you still have that need, WiFi doesn't replace that. So now you're in a situation where you _need_ to plug in an external adapter every single time.

Joeboy 11y ago

Phones have been plenty small enough for some time. If there's spare space, stick more battery in it rather than making the phone smaller.

tetraodonpuffer 11y ago
not gonna happen with every reviewer oo-ing and aah-ing about the phone being 0.1mm thinner and leaving the battery to a back page where it says that it lasted them all day therefore it's fine. Look at Samsung having to get rid of replaceable batteries (very user friendly and environmental) and move to glued/sealed phone because every single time a new phone came out the reviewers complained about how it didn't feel "premium" enough due to the plastic back (which personally I think is a lot more user-friendly than glass anyways) If the market continues to reward style over substance, that is what we will get, people will keep grumbling about the too-low battery life but will still upgrade every year or two to the latest-and-greatest.

nik_0_0 11y ago

"Apple is reportedly planning on shipping EarPods that connect through the Lighting port with the next iPhone" Good proofreading Verge. Also blanket statements like "no one is clamoring for a thinner iPhone". I look forward to iPhone removing the headphone jack, making a thinner, lighter phone, and also propelling forward the market demand for bluetooth headphones. I love my Jaybirds, but there needs to be more players in the market. I mean, it would also be great if it also shipped with a lightning -> 3.5mm adapter, but there is almost no chance of that happening. You can buy one for 40$.

gambiting 11y ago
"and also propelling forward the market demand for bluetooth headphones" If bluetooth audio quality actually improved, and they got rid of the lag that makes videos unwatchable - sure. Until then, I would rather at least have an option to use my old analog headphones.
KirinDave 11y ago
I look forward to more people joining me outside the ecosystem of iPhone, so I think we are aligned. Apple is systematically strangling the ecosystem to force their short-term prosperity. Their price setting, app store review model, NDA on developers (the fearful silence devs are forced into) and their increasingly bad mobile UI are things worth killing. So I hope Apple continues to isolate their ecosystem, because while the upshot is you can make more money selling the entire ecosystem (or licensing it), the downside is that it gets easier and easier for people to start ignoring you.
- zarify 11y ago
  I'm with you on the price setting and App Store stuff, but it was my impression that they had gotten much better about the NDA issue over the last couple of years. I would love to see the 3.5mm jack disappear though. I have mixed feelings about consolidating on Lightning though considering that it'd mean the end of auxiliary in car trips for those of us not BT enabled. Regardless of how you feel about the quest for thinness, the headphone jack is unreasonably wide, and something thinner would make it easier to get other components in there, as well as opening it up for other control methods beyond the simple clicker found on many headphones without the need for any hackery to do it. I think it'd be inevitable that they would then license it rather than making it an open hardware spec, which would be a crying shame though.

JustSomeNobody 11y ago

I don't understand the desire to get ever thinner. I truly don't. I never ever hear anyone saying their iPhone is too thick. What I hear is that the 5S had the best design of all iPhones to date. I also hear that people would not mind a couple millimeters thicker if it meant a larger battery. Who is Apple listening to? Are there people out there who think the iPhone should be thinner? (That was a rhetorical question. Of course there's someone reading this that is going to say yes. I get that. But I don't believe for a moment that most iPhone users want a thinner phone.)

JohnBooty 11y ago
I don't understand the desire to get ever thinner. I truly don't. I never ever hear anyone saying their iPhone is too thick. This is my experience as well. I have heard people complaining about battery, screen size, and/or durability but never thickness. To me (an adult male) there are only really two sizes of portable objects: things that fit comfortably in my pants pocket and things that don't. The iPhone has passed that test for years and years now and making it thinner will make no difference to me.
- kawsper 11y ago
  I have a 6S which is a nice phone, but the size of an iPhone 4S was perfect for fitting in your pocket, and you could easily use it with one-hand. I can't one-hand my 6S.
- RightWingRabble 11y ago
  Young women complain about the thickness of phones a lot. Specifically, that it sticks out when they put it in the front pocket of their very tight jeans.
xlm1717 11y ago
Well, I would bet you never hear someone saying their iPhone is too thick precisely because they make them thinner all the time.
- 11y ago

post_break 11y ago

Apple will make millions for licensing MFA lightning to 3.5mm adapters. The only reason I would want something like this is if the lightning port was more like magsafe, magnetic. Break away headphone jack? Yes please.

KirinDave 11y ago
Apple has billions. Why are they going to pick a fight with everyone to make millions?
- JohnBooty 11y ago
  Yes. Of every possible reason to eliminate the headphone jack, the idea that a $200bil company wants to make a few extra million dollars is literally the only reason I'd conclusively rule out. It would take a $2bil product to even change their revenue by 1%. They're not going to make a big strategic move for a few million.
  - post_break 11y ago
    They make more on peripherals than the Mac or Software. http://www.asymco.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Screen-shot-2011-01-25-at-1-25-11.33.04-AM.png http://www.asymco.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Screen-shot...
    - JohnBooty 11y ago
      No, you're reading that wrong. That's a stacked graph.

awqrre 11y ago

Apple is planning on going in the headphone business?

derefr 11y ago
They already are; they own Beats.
- awqrre 11y ago
  I should have looked it up first, but I'm surprised that so much time elapsed between the 2 actions. Maybe some other reason is the root cause of this decision then (some people use this port for other purposes for example).
stock_toaster 11y ago
After the beats acquisition, aren't they already?
officialjunk 11y ago
they did acquire beats

mathgeek 11y ago

"... famously killed both optical and floppy drives with no remorse — doing things that upset people in the name of progress isn’t new for the company." The difference with floppies and optical drives was that many people were using alternative delivery and storage methods already. Many of us welcomed fewer moving parts in our computers. That doesn't apply here.

TazeTSchnitzel 11y ago

If Apple switches to USB-C for the iPhone and friends, then this would make sense, because with USB-C EarPods they could replace the headphone jack on the MacBook with a second USB-C port.

sneak 11y ago
Ash port durbatulûk, ash port gimbatul, ash port thrakatulûk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul.

rabboRubble 11y ago

You know, I have my original iPhone3GS with the original charging cable. This ancient cable is in perfect shape. Meanwhile, my much younger iPhone5, I've gone through 3 Lightening cables and of the 3, 2 have fully blown out. They are complete crap. The iPhone5 headphone cables are okay-ish and better quality compared to the Lightening cable. Get rid of the stupid crappy made Lightening and keep the headphone jack. Figure out why the Lightening cables are such crap and fix them!

oneeyedpigeon 11y ago

It's alright, you can just use an iPod. ... Oops.

kevin_b_er 11y ago

I figure thinness is secondary. The headphone jack is not controlled by Apple and Apple demands control. It now owns a headphone manufacturer that manufactures devices at very high markups, so why would it continue to permit competition on its devices with other companies? The adapter will cost enough and be inconvenient enough that it will prevent 3rd party manufacturing of headphones. You say bluetooth, but that requires another battery and is much more expensive to make that a pair of earbuds. Also Apple is now a top tier member of the Bluetooth SIG, which controls the bluetooth standard and trademarks. Expect your Extend phase for bluetooth soon. I personally expect nothing less from the anti-standards anti-interoperability Apple.

JohnBooty 11y ago

Possible alternate explanation: maybe Apple is promoting Lightning headphones not because they want to eliminate the headphone jack, but because they intend to start pushing some kind of smart functionality to headphones and audio devices. That's pure speculation. No clue what that functionality might be. What if they were leveraging the processing power of the iPhone to achieve some kind of adaptive noise canceling on any headphones? I don't know. I do know this: this isn't like dropping the floppy drive or optical drives on Macs. By the time those were dropped, hardly anybody was using those features on their Macs. But a casual glance around any plane or public transit tells you that a lot people use their headphone jacks all the time.

TazeTSchnitzel 11y ago
EarPod cameras? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcPhMqLPuvQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcPhMqLPuvQ

martin_bech 11y ago

i have a solution for a headset which would work with a thinner iPhone, Mac, Macbook and so on. It's already a standard and its called bluetooth. http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MKLD2AM/A/beats-by-dr-dre-solo2-wireless-headphones-gold?fnode=7a http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MKLD2AM/A/beats-by-dr-dre-...

Spooky23 11y ago

This is solving a problem that nobody has, and replacing it with an obvious set of real problems. Who wants to buy expensive certified headphones or wireless in all cases? Headphones are pure commodity -- they can be had for $3. I wouldn't buy another iOS device if this happens.

dragonwriter 11y ago

> How could you charge your phone and listen to music simultaneously? The could have things like existing microUSB-to-HDMI adapters for mobile devices, where the adapter also has a charging-only microUSB port. Or it could use wireless charging. Or Apple, who is great at optimizing for what they perceive to be the most common use case and selling it as all people need, might just consider simultaneous charging and headphone use as an unimportant niche case.

bhauer 11y ago

I am no fan of Apple's phones, last I used being an iPhone 2. But this argument is nonsense to my mind. I cannot remember the last time I used the headphone adapter on my phone. It was probably at least two phone upgrades ago, making it an early generation Android device (I have since dumped Android for Windows). Modern mobile headphones, speakers, and automobiles attach to the device via Bluetooth. If am doing high-fidelity listening using good headphones, I'm not playing the audio from my phone anyway; I am at home with my proper audio equipment. I don't know anyone who uses the headphone port on their phone. That said, I agree that I'm not clamoring for an ultra-thin device, principally because I don't find it particularly easy to hold a super thin phone. I'm not ruling out the possibility that an ultra-thin device could be designed that is easy to hold, but of all the problems I have with mobile computing, thickness is not in my top 50 complaints. In fact, subjective or apparent fragility is more a concern than thickness, and reducing thickness will inevitably (I feel) increase apparent fragility.

JohnBooty 11y ago
I don't think your experience is representative. The wired headphone business is booming. If am doing high-fidelity listening using good headphones, I'm not playing the audio from my phone anyway; I am at home with my proper audio equipment. Audio quality over headphones is typically a thing that Apple does really well. Objectively measured, the iPhone's DAC and headphone amp are darn good: http://www.kenrockwell.com/apple/iphone-6-plus.htm#measurements http://www.kenrockwell.com/apple/iphone-6-plus.htm#measureme... The built-in amp may be lacking in power if you're using hard-to-drive headphones. Bluetooth [...] high-fidelity I've read that Bluetooth headphones that support the AAC codec sound great (theoretically this can avoid transcoding if your music is AAC) although they're few and far between.

frou_dh 11y ago

Not that I'm advocating doing away with wired earphones completely, but I'd just like to mention how ridiculously inexpensive passable bluetooth earphones have become. "Bluedio N2" stereo bluetooth IEMs (incl mic/remote)... SUB-$10! Delivered! From China! No, the sound quality is not as good as my wired Etymotics, but being unattached to the phone is often preferable. These things are head and shoulders the best bang/buck I've ever had in consumer electronics. Stockpiled 3 pairs.

mrcrassic 11y ago
Word. My Qy8 IEMs from some no-name Chinese electronics company were $25 shipped and sound just as good as Jaybirds! I was shocked that they've gotten this good now.

crunchiness 11y ago

Well, there was a time when phones didn't have headphone jacks, but could play music and would often ship with proprietary shitty earphones, and everyone had their standard (same as for chargers). And I'm pretty sure people just used to use mp3 players more rather than buying adapters. But somehow everything went the standardization way, so why on earth would this (alleged) Apple's move be considered progress, I have no idea. Also don't really see why 3.5mm jack "needs to be replaced". MicroUSB is worse imo.

davnn 11y ago

Product manager meeting at Apple: x: Guys, Tim told me we have to expand our ecosystem asap. y: Yea right.. I mean we have already evaluated a few ideas last time but im not sure if we truly understand our customers. x: Why would that matter? y: Maybe it would then be easier to find things that could expand our ecosystem. x: No (y), it doesn't work that way. Look at those unicorn startups with ultra short feedback loops - they are their customers' slaves and you should have read that in our book. We are innovators, we know what our customers want before them. y: Oh yea that was in the book sorry. I just think that we did not come up with promising ideas yet. x: Let's see.. where do we have the biggest margins? y: Beats! x: Thats right! We just have to find a way to integrate them into our ecosystem. ......

chrisdbaldwin 11y ago
Ah! You caught the hook. Apple can get away with removing the 3.5mm by packaging the iPhone 7 with (likely Beats) wearables.

mmariani 11y ago

The next headphone connector standard is Bluetooth. No messy cables, great quality, and good battery life (I get 20+ hours with my headphones). I don't get all the fuss. Just make it thinner already.

vladgur 11y ago

Whats being overlooked in most of the comments here is that Apple is killing off the only non-licensed hardware input that their iDevices had since the beginning, and the one without which a number of companies, including Square would probably not exist. Im not sure about this day in age, but as someone working on hardware adapter feeding a stream of data into the iPhone in 2009 and 2010, the cost of getting into an MFI(or whatever the licensing term for hardware/bluetooth interoperability with iDevices was) was cost prohibitive and largely NDA-d out for smaller startups. So we went with the audio input just like Square did. Unless something has changed in Apple's attitude to licensing and interoperability, the door has just been shut close for companies trying to innovate with other hardware products interacting with iDevices.

bruceboughton 11y ago
Are rumoured to
saurik 11y ago
I agree with you, but still feel the need to point out that Bluetooth LE (as opposed to "Classic Bluetooth") is, as far as I understand, allowed to be used by any developer without going through MFi.

panglott 11y ago

Still bitter about killing off the 3.5" floppy, huh? I for one would like a thinner iPhone eventually. It's ridiculous to think that the thickness of the legacy headphone jack is such a sacred cow that it should limit all future hardware designs.

scott_karana 11y ago
Pretty sure that "universal interoperability of a still-useful interface with a 100+ year legacy" was the sacred cow, balanced against the "usefulness" of paper-thin, flimsy, low-mAh-speculated phones. Not its size.
- panglott 11y ago
  I love the stereo minijack, too. But as the author concludes "The truth is we need a new standard for headphones, and we haven’t figured out what that is yet. The shift from 3.5mm to whatever the next standard may be will be painful..." And yet, the first step will require a first step. Apple could take it, and catch hell for it, but hopefully a better future standard would be the result.
  - scott_karana 11y ago
    I don't hold out any hope that Apple will be the harbinger of an open, interoperable format. I think other comments here have the right idea: they want to remove the last uncontrolled, competitive port on their device.

jinushaun 11y ago

I'm fine with ditching the headphone jack for lightning. Whatever. I use the stock EarPods anyway, and an adapter won't be the end of the world. High end headphones are already stupidly bulky for mobile usage and an adapter won't make it worse. And headphone manufacturers will probably start shipping with adapters like they already do with multiple earbud sizes if there is a lightning/usb-c split anyway. What I do have a problem with is thinness for thinness' sake. I upgraded from an iPhone 4 to an iPhone 6—skipping the 4S, 5 and 5S—and noticed no improvement in battery life! We're talking brand new day-one battery performance comparable to a busted 2 year old phone. I can't go a whole day without needing to recharge my 6. I can't believe Apple hasn't gotten into the battery bank game yet since I now own several of them and can't live without them. Stopping me making phones thinner. Make the battery bigger!

massysett 11y ago
You need the Plus. It can last two days on a charge, and will last a day even if you're doing battery burners like GPS. Now there's the best of both worlds: for small, get the 6; for big and battery, get the Plus. Some folks like small and don't want their phone fattened.