6 ms·

I came here to say just this, but you captured every though I had, and better. USB-C finally has the chance to be the universal adapter for "phone sized" devic

I came here to say just this, but you captured every though I had, and better. USB-C finally has the chance to be the universal adapter for "phone sized" devices (there will probably have to be a micro-USB C for things that are tinier) - and if Apple really wanted to show courage/leadership, they would replace their lightning ports with a standard that every device in the world is moving to. I'd have no problem with USB-C headphones.

gambiting 10y ago
I do - you now can't charge your phone and listen to music at the same time, unless you have some weird Y-splitter-type cable. Can we have two usb-c ports on phones?
- trowawee 10y ago
  This is a thing that was concerning me. One port means I am either charging or listening to music, never both (at least, not with good headphones).
- ghshephard 10y ago
  Agreed, we leave that behind - for those people for whom it's important, they either need to buy a powerbank/charger with two USB-C connections, with chaining enabled or, as you indicated, use a Y-Splitter. I wonder if Apple already knows what % of their users listen and recharge at the same time. If it's a small percentage, Apple has always been willing to leave behind that use case, in pursuit of a "purer" product. I just wish the pure product used a universal standard.
- arthurfm 10y ago
  > you now can't charge your phone and listen to music at the same time, unless you have some weird Y-splitter-type cable Rather than have a splitter cable, couldn't you have an additional USB-C port on the headphones which could be used to power the smartphone indirectly? If that's not possible I reckon some manufacturers will start putting small batteries in USB-C headphones.
  - danblick 10y ago
    I think you just suggested running a power line around my head?
falcolas 10y ago
> I'd have no problem with USB-C headphones. I would. Can you imagine how terrible the sound would be for 90% of the headphone market? We have all of these manufacturers racing to the bottom of the headphone market, offering crappy speakers and microphones for $50. Now we expect them to also include an amp and DAC? The least expensive, decent headphone USB DAC that I've personally used was already over $70, and it's about the size of an Altoids tin. There's not a trivial amount of additional circuitry to handle the data and power requirements. Perhaps it's just me, but I'm not really interested in buying yet another dongle for my phone so I can use decent headphones (that I already own) with it. I thought the goal was to reduce the size of phones.
- phil21 10y ago
  Why does everyone keep saying you need a DAC? That's an option, the other option is simply using the physical connector for an old-school analog audio connection. If the concern is device manufacturers won't support USB-C analog audio that's one thing, but pretending like it isn't the (current) intention to utilize is quite strange to me. This is quite literally changing a round plug to a oval one if implemented properly and to the spec.
  - sethhochberg 10y ago
    Many people don't trust that it will be "implemented properly and to the spec". Even look at something like Displayport on Macbooks - the hardware chosen and standard used is functionally capable of spec'd features like passthrough, and this even works on non-stock operating systems, but Apple simply refuses to implement them in their drivers. Digital, analog, or both... I don't want to have to worry about the parts of the spec implemented on my specific device's connector. Stereo audio is not complicated stuff and shouldn't be made to be that way.
  - falcolas 10y ago
    So, correct me if I'm missing something (there's precious little documentation out there), but attempts to standardize support for analog audio over USB C using the sideband pins [1] is still fairly new, and perhaps most importantly, not required by any USB specification but the cable/port specification [2]. From this, I assume that audio accessory support is unlikely to be implemented by all USB chip manufacturers, so attempting to use it as any kind of standard would fall flat on it's face. Whereas any USB C port will support USB communication, making a DAC interface an obvious one. [1] http://www.anandtech.com/show/10273/intel-proposes-to-use-usb-typec-cables-to-connect-headsets-to-mobile-devices http://www.anandtech.com/show/10273/intel-proposes-to-use-us... [2] "Accessory Mode support by phones/notebooks aren’t mandatory, so consumers will need to read the fine print on their new electronic device to determine if audio over USB Type-C is supported or not." http://electronicdesign.com/interconnects/usb-type-c-unplugged http://electronicdesign.com/interconnects/usb-type-c-unplugg...

gambiting 10y ago

I do - you now can't charge your phone and listen to music at the same time, unless you have some weird Y-splitter-type cable. Can we have two usb-c ports on phones?

trowawee 10y ago
This is a thing that was concerning me. One port means I am either charging or listening to music, never both (at least, not with good headphones).
ghshephard 10y ago
Agreed, we leave that behind - for those people for whom it's important, they either need to buy a powerbank/charger with two USB-C connections, with chaining enabled or, as you indicated, use a Y-Splitter. I wonder if Apple already knows what % of their users listen and recharge at the same time. If it's a small percentage, Apple has always been willing to leave behind that use case, in pursuit of a "purer" product. I just wish the pure product used a universal standard.
arthurfm 10y ago
> you now can't charge your phone and listen to music at the same time, unless you have some weird Y-splitter-type cable Rather than have a splitter cable, couldn't you have an additional USB-C port on the headphones which could be used to power the smartphone indirectly? If that's not possible I reckon some manufacturers will start putting small batteries in USB-C headphones.
- danblick 10y ago
  I think you just suggested running a power line around my head?

falcolas 10y ago

> I'd have no problem with USB-C headphones. I would. Can you imagine how terrible the sound would be for 90% of the headphone market? We have all of these manufacturers racing to the bottom of the headphone market, offering crappy speakers and microphones for $50. Now we expect them to also include an amp and DAC? The least expensive, decent headphone USB DAC that I've personally used was already over $70, and it's about the size of an Altoids tin. There's not a trivial amount of additional circuitry to handle the data and power requirements. Perhaps it's just me, but I'm not really interested in buying yet another dongle for my phone so I can use decent headphones (that I already own) with it. I thought the goal was to reduce the size of phones.

phil21 10y ago
Why does everyone keep saying you need a DAC? That's an option, the other option is simply using the physical connector for an old-school analog audio connection. If the concern is device manufacturers won't support USB-C analog audio that's one thing, but pretending like it isn't the (current) intention to utilize is quite strange to me. This is quite literally changing a round plug to a oval one if implemented properly and to the spec.
- sethhochberg 10y ago
  Many people don't trust that it will be "implemented properly and to the spec". Even look at something like Displayport on Macbooks - the hardware chosen and standard used is functionally capable of spec'd features like passthrough, and this even works on non-stock operating systems, but Apple simply refuses to implement them in their drivers. Digital, analog, or both... I don't want to have to worry about the parts of the spec implemented on my specific device's connector. Stereo audio is not complicated stuff and shouldn't be made to be that way.
- falcolas 10y ago
  So, correct me if I'm missing something (there's precious little documentation out there), but attempts to standardize support for analog audio over USB C using the sideband pins [1] is still fairly new, and perhaps most importantly, not required by any USB specification but the cable/port specification [2]. From this, I assume that audio accessory support is unlikely to be implemented by all USB chip manufacturers, so attempting to use it as any kind of standard would fall flat on it's face. Whereas any USB C port will support USB communication, making a DAC interface an obvious one. [1] http://www.anandtech.com/show/10273/intel-proposes-to-use-usb-typec-cables-to-connect-headsets-to-mobile-devices http://www.anandtech.com/show/10273/intel-proposes-to-use-us... [2] "Accessory Mode support by phones/notebooks aren’t mandatory, so consumers will need to read the fine print on their new electronic device to determine if audio over USB Type-C is supported or not." http://electronicdesign.com/interconnects/usb-type-c-unplugged http://electronicdesign.com/interconnects/usb-type-c-unplugg...