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I already use my phone's charging port for charging. I'd find it very annoying if I couldn't charge and listen to music at the same time (without buying some so

I already use my phone's charging port for charging. I'd find it very annoying if I couldn't charge and listen to music at the same time (without buying some sort of USBC hub).

thaumasiotes 10y ago
I had a tiny mp3 player for my car, with an audio out and a usb charging port. It still couldn't charge and play at the same time. I was pretty upset after buying a cigarette lighter - USB adapter for it.
- mark-r 10y ago
  The first time I tried playing a device into the car radio, I had a bad experience - it was noisy to the point of being unlistenable. Later I discovered it was because I was charging it at the same time, unplug the charger and all was well.
IkmoIkmo 10y ago
Is it reasonable to say the vast majority of people simply do not sit next to a charger with the headphones in, more than once a year? I'd think so. I've literally never done it myself. I appreciate there are edge cases and that it's a tricky decision, but getting 5% of a phone's volume/thickness back for a port <5% of people use less than 5% of the time, I think makes sense. (pulling numbers from my ass here but it's probably not that far off) Further I think the majority of charge & listen usecases are those where dongles aren't horrible. (although they'll always suck). i.e., listening to music while charging in a car, is a specific use case where dropping $25-50 on a one-time solution is somewhat reasonable for the edgecase user who does that every single day. Same with a setup at work where you've got a headphone on and charge because you're a heavy user or forgot to plug it in before bedtime the night before. These are non-mobile situations in known/safe areas, where you can just leave the dongle. Which is a bit different from the dongle experience one has with say a Macbook which is charged during the day, on the go, in many different locations etc. Despite the fact I think it makes sense for the majority, I'll grant it's still a shitty situation for the minority. But even then, I think the ubiquitous advent of wireless audio is around the corner. We've seen big gains in quality of connectivity, range, price level, battery, style and comfort. And we're now seeing some pretty unique innovations too like swiping your earbud to silence the room. I'm not a big fan yet, but I think it's a very decent extra solution to some of these issues. Overal, I'm quite alright, even in favour to see the port get dropped, if it was usb-c all the way.
- ctrl-j 10y ago
  When I work from home my office calls my cell. So I often have my headset plugged in and my phone charging. Wireless headphone tech isn't there yet. There's problems that are going to be fairly difficult to solve. Problems that won't be solved in the next iPhone. For instance, again when I'm working from home, my headphones get unplugged from my computer and plugged into my phone when a call comes in. With wireless I would have to unpair from my computer, and then pair to my phone.. Not to mention, for longer calls I'd have to wear my headphones while they're plugged in? Or what? All this trouble for a thinner phone? Is the iphone 6s really that fat? I don't need it any thinner. Do 95% of people need it thinner? It looks like they are solving a non-problem and introducing new ones. (Or what's really going on is the whole DRM lobbying thing, and they're just pulling sleight of hand.)
  - xbmcuser 10y ago
    Wireless charging would help with that though as you won't be using the USB or lightning port for charging. For cars a phone holder with a wireless charging pad built in would be a good idea. Actually that would work with old cars as well connect the phone holder with the USB charger and connect the phone using the auxiliary USB jack
- floatrock 10y ago
  Charging and listening in a car is not at all an edgecase. Sure, a new car has a USB port that integrates with the media center, but thats only cars purchased in the last few years with the premium media options. A lot of car USB ports are power-only USB. By far most people I know who drive use an aux cable. Since most music now is streamed, you need to be charging it at the same time or else your battery drains by the end of your trip. Seems like you're saying "get this $25 dongle or a new $25000 car". Both are shitty and unnecessary options.

I already use my phone's charging port for charging. I'd find it very annoying if I couldn't charge and listen to music at the same time (without buying some sort of USBC hub).

thaumasiotes 10y ago

I had a tiny mp3 player for my car, with an audio out and a usb charging port. It still couldn't charge and play at the same time. I was pretty upset after buying a cigarette lighter - USB adapter for it.

mark-r 10y ago
The first time I tried playing a device into the car radio, I had a bad experience - it was noisy to the point of being unlistenable. Later I discovered it was because I was charging it at the same time, unplug the charger and all was well.

IkmoIkmo 10y ago

Is it reasonable to say the vast majority of people simply do not sit next to a charger with the headphones in, more than once a year? I'd think so. I've literally never done it myself. I appreciate there are edge cases and that it's a tricky decision, but getting 5% of a phone's volume/thickness back for a port <5% of people use less than 5% of the time, I think makes sense. (pulling numbers from my ass here but it's probably not that far off) Further I think the majority of charge & listen usecases are those where dongles aren't horrible. (although they'll always suck). i.e., listening to music while charging in a car, is a specific use case where dropping $25-50 on a one-time solution is somewhat reasonable for the edgecase user who does that every single day. Same with a setup at work where you've got a headphone on and charge because you're a heavy user or forgot to plug it in before bedtime the night before. These are non-mobile situations in known/safe areas, where you can just leave the dongle. Which is a bit different from the dongle experience one has with say a Macbook which is charged during the day, on the go, in many different locations etc. Despite the fact I think it makes sense for the majority, I'll grant it's still a shitty situation for the minority. But even then, I think the ubiquitous advent of wireless audio is around the corner. We've seen big gains in quality of connectivity, range, price level, battery, style and comfort. And we're now seeing some pretty unique innovations too like swiping your earbud to silence the room. I'm not a big fan yet, but I think it's a very decent extra solution to some of these issues. Overal, I'm quite alright, even in favour to see the port get dropped, if it was usb-c all the way.

ctrl-j 10y ago
When I work from home my office calls my cell. So I often have my headset plugged in and my phone charging. Wireless headphone tech isn't there yet. There's problems that are going to be fairly difficult to solve. Problems that won't be solved in the next iPhone. For instance, again when I'm working from home, my headphones get unplugged from my computer and plugged into my phone when a call comes in. With wireless I would have to unpair from my computer, and then pair to my phone.. Not to mention, for longer calls I'd have to wear my headphones while they're plugged in? Or what? All this trouble for a thinner phone? Is the iphone 6s really that fat? I don't need it any thinner. Do 95% of people need it thinner? It looks like they are solving a non-problem and introducing new ones. (Or what's really going on is the whole DRM lobbying thing, and they're just pulling sleight of hand.)
- xbmcuser 10y ago
  Wireless charging would help with that though as you won't be using the USB or lightning port for charging. For cars a phone holder with a wireless charging pad built in would be a good idea. Actually that would work with old cars as well connect the phone holder with the USB charger and connect the phone using the auxiliary USB jack
floatrock 10y ago
Charging and listening in a car is not at all an edgecase. Sure, a new car has a USB port that integrates with the media center, but thats only cars purchased in the last few years with the premium media options. A lot of car USB ports are power-only USB. By far most people I know who drive use an aux cable. Since most music now is streamed, you need to be charging it at the same time or else your battery drains by the end of your trip. Seems like you're saying "get this $25 dongle or a new $25000 car". Both are shitty and unnecessary options.