16 ms·

Come on. There are plenty of phones with two speakers and a headphone jack. This is the cry of people who desperately want to love a company unconditionally, ev

by SCdF 10y ago

Come on. There are plenty of phones with two speakers and a headphone jack. This is the cry of people who desperately want to love a company unconditionally, even when they screw up.

eridius 10y ago
They moved the headphone jack to the bottom of the phone for a reason (I'm not sure offhand what the specific reason was, but there was one). They can't just move it back to the top. > This is the cry of people who desperately want to love a company unconditionally Insulting people is not how you win arguments. Edit: Seriously guys, what's with the downvotes? I feel like I'm being brigaded at this point.
- throwanem 10y ago
  > They moved the headphone jack to the bottom of the phone for a reason I seem to recall hearing that was because people most often carry their phones upside-down in their pockets, in order more quickly to bring them up to viewing position when retrieving them. (Think about it: Your hand goes fingers-down into your pocket, but viewing position has the top of the phone alongside your fingertips, so if you pocket your phone upside-down, you don't have to rotate it around the Z axis to get it into position before you can use it.) No idea whether that's actually the case, or whether instead it was something to do with easier component placement or the like. But as far as just-so stories go, it's not a bad one.
  - flukus 10y ago
    A lot of early android phones had this, it was much nicer. If your holding the phone in your hand you just put your arm down and slide it in your pocket. With the headphone jack on top you have to turn the phone around every time you put it in/take it out. Of course apple and their legion will claim it as an innovation.
    - throwanem 10y ago
      It is much nicer. That may be why Apple copied it, which is something I've observed them to do on a fairly regular basis. I really appreciate the efforts of Android users in vetting stuff like that; it's a lot nicer as an iPhone owner not to have to worry quite so much about new ideas turning out bad, because a lot of the time they've been well put through their paces before Apple takes a look at them. Do we really need that last sentence? Is this perhaps not already divisive enough a subject for anyone?
- toomanybeersies 10y ago
  They moved the headphone jack to the bottom of the phone because most people put their phone in their pocket upside down, so it's a more natural place to put it.
  - Washuu 10y ago
    I never heard of people putting their phones in their pockets upside down until a few weeks ago. I have always put it right side up and it is more naturally of a movement to pull it out of my pocket that way.
    - albedoa 10y ago
      I knew one person who carried his phone in his pocket right-side up. When the switch happened, he was surprised to learn everyone else stores it upside down. Then he realized why they do it, and now I know zero people who store it right-side up. > it is more naturally of a movement to pull it out of my pocket that way. How is that more natural than simply landing your hand on the phone in the position that it will be holding it? I'm having trouble seeing this as a matter of opinion.
      - Washuu 10y ago
        1.) Start with the phone in your left pocket with the screen facing outwards. 2.) Reach into your pocket with your left hand. 3.) Grab the phone by edges near the top between your thumb and middle finger. 4.) Lift upward while rotating your wrist counter-clockwise. The phone should swivel between your two fingers while coming to rest right side up in the palm of your hand. It is an entirely fluid motion that does not require flipping the phone over since pulling it out upside down results in the screen facing away into the palm of your hand.
        PeanutNore 10y ago
        Carrying your phone in your pocket with the screen facing outwards seems like asking for a broken screen. I, and I suspect a great number of others, pocket my phone with the screen in towards my leg and the phone upside down. As soon as I put my hand in my pocket, the phone is in my hand in the same orientation as if I were holding and using it.
- intoverflow2 10y ago
  > They can't just move it back to the top. Why not? They did just moved it to the bottom just as frivolously.
  - eridius 10y ago
    Frivolously? Just because you don't know why they made a change doesn't make it frivolous. Other people have said it's because people tend to store their phones in their pocket upside-down (I know I do) and so it's nicer that way. This may be the reason, or they may have wanted to put other stuff at the top of the phone and the headphone jack was in the way. If it was just because of the phone being upside-down in your pocket, they've still put other stuff where the jack was (there's no empty space in the phone), and whatever they put there may or may not be able to be relocated (for example, it's possible that the extra space there is used for camera-related hardware).
    - intoverflow2 10y ago
      My point was you acted like moving it down there was easy but moving it back was impossible. They're both the same level of difficulty.
      - eridius 10y ago
        Only if nothing's changed in the meantime, which certainly isn't the case.
Kadin 10y ago
I find it interesting how hard people are trying to find some reason for Apple's decision to remove the headphone jack, aside from the very obvious one: they're going to make a shitload of money by forcing everyone to buy new headphones. Apple gets royalties from the production of Lightning connectors, which they certainly don't from standard 1/8th-inch TRS jacks. So therefore, they have a very obvious and vested interest in killing off standardized connectors and pushing everything to proprietary connectors, for which they receive royalties, whenever possible.
- cezary 10y ago
  This is how I see it. There's no mention of Airpods using bluetooth, I'm betting that W1 chip is using a proprietary wireless protocol that keeps other manufacturers from easily/cheaply creating wireless headphones or using these wireless headphones on other devices.
  - SCdF 10y ago
    Exactly. And then at some point they'll have the "courage" to drop bluetooth as well.
  - mulmen 10y ago
    From the Apple webpage: http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MMEF2AM/A/airpods http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MMEF2AM/A/airpods Connections AirPods: Bluetooth
  - WillPostForFood 10y ago
    Apple says they are bluetooth here: http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MMEF2AM/A/airpods http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MMEF2AM/A/airpods
- eridius 10y ago
  > aside from the very obvious one: they're going to make a shitload of money by forcing everyone to buy new headphones You obviously have no idea how Apple works. Apple would never in a million years make a user-hostile decision like this simply to collect royalties. They hold user experience to be sacred, and the fact that they're making this move now means they think that, at least in the long term, this will provide for a better overall user experience, despite the pain of the transition. Everybody complained when Apple ditched the 30pin connector for Lightning too, basically all of the same arguments here (e.g. "Apple just wants everybody to buy new accessories"), but it turned out to be the right move. Making this argument again over the headphone port just means you don't know Apple and you don't know history.

by SCdF 10y ago

Come on. There are plenty of phones with two speakers and a headphone jack. This is the cry of people who desperately want to love a company unconditionally, even when they screw up.

eridius 10y ago

They moved the headphone jack to the bottom of the phone for a reason (I'm not sure offhand what the specific reason was, but there was one). They can't just move it back to the top. > This is the cry of people who desperately want to love a company unconditionally Insulting people is not how you win arguments. Edit: Seriously guys, what's with the downvotes? I feel like I'm being brigaded at this point.

throwanem 10y ago
> They moved the headphone jack to the bottom of the phone for a reason I seem to recall hearing that was because people most often carry their phones upside-down in their pockets, in order more quickly to bring them up to viewing position when retrieving them. (Think about it: Your hand goes fingers-down into your pocket, but viewing position has the top of the phone alongside your fingertips, so if you pocket your phone upside-down, you don't have to rotate it around the Z axis to get it into position before you can use it.) No idea whether that's actually the case, or whether instead it was something to do with easier component placement or the like. But as far as just-so stories go, it's not a bad one.
- flukus 10y ago
  A lot of early android phones had this, it was much nicer. If your holding the phone in your hand you just put your arm down and slide it in your pocket. With the headphone jack on top you have to turn the phone around every time you put it in/take it out. Of course apple and their legion will claim it as an innovation.
  - throwanem 10y ago
    It is much nicer. That may be why Apple copied it, which is something I've observed them to do on a fairly regular basis. I really appreciate the efforts of Android users in vetting stuff like that; it's a lot nicer as an iPhone owner not to have to worry quite so much about new ideas turning out bad, because a lot of the time they've been well put through their paces before Apple takes a look at them. Do we really need that last sentence? Is this perhaps not already divisive enough a subject for anyone?
toomanybeersies 10y ago
They moved the headphone jack to the bottom of the phone because most people put their phone in their pocket upside down, so it's a more natural place to put it.
- Washuu 10y ago
  I never heard of people putting their phones in their pockets upside down until a few weeks ago. I have always put it right side up and it is more naturally of a movement to pull it out of my pocket that way.
  - albedoa 10y ago
    I knew one person who carried his phone in his pocket right-side up. When the switch happened, he was surprised to learn everyone else stores it upside down. Then he realized why they do it, and now I know zero people who store it right-side up. > it is more naturally of a movement to pull it out of my pocket that way. How is that more natural than simply landing your hand on the phone in the position that it will be holding it? I'm having trouble seeing this as a matter of opinion.
    - Washuu 10y ago
      1.) Start with the phone in your left pocket with the screen facing outwards. 2.) Reach into your pocket with your left hand. 3.) Grab the phone by edges near the top between your thumb and middle finger. 4.) Lift upward while rotating your wrist counter-clockwise. The phone should swivel between your two fingers while coming to rest right side up in the palm of your hand. It is an entirely fluid motion that does not require flipping the phone over since pulling it out upside down results in the screen facing away into the palm of your hand.
      - PeanutNore 10y ago
        Carrying your phone in your pocket with the screen facing outwards seems like asking for a broken screen. I, and I suspect a great number of others, pocket my phone with the screen in towards my leg and the phone upside down. As soon as I put my hand in my pocket, the phone is in my hand in the same orientation as if I were holding and using it.
intoverflow2 10y ago
> They can't just move it back to the top. Why not? They did just moved it to the bottom just as frivolously.
- eridius 10y ago
  Frivolously? Just because you don't know why they made a change doesn't make it frivolous. Other people have said it's because people tend to store their phones in their pocket upside-down (I know I do) and so it's nicer that way. This may be the reason, or they may have wanted to put other stuff at the top of the phone and the headphone jack was in the way. If it was just because of the phone being upside-down in your pocket, they've still put other stuff where the jack was (there's no empty space in the phone), and whatever they put there may or may not be able to be relocated (for example, it's possible that the extra space there is used for camera-related hardware).
  - intoverflow2 10y ago
    My point was you acted like moving it down there was easy but moving it back was impossible. They're both the same level of difficulty.
    - eridius 10y ago
      Only if nothing's changed in the meantime, which certainly isn't the case.

Kadin 10y ago

I find it interesting how hard people are trying to find some reason for Apple's decision to remove the headphone jack, aside from the very obvious one: they're going to make a shitload of money by forcing everyone to buy new headphones. Apple gets royalties from the production of Lightning connectors, which they certainly don't from standard 1/8th-inch TRS jacks. So therefore, they have a very obvious and vested interest in killing off standardized connectors and pushing everything to proprietary connectors, for which they receive royalties, whenever possible.

cezary 10y ago
This is how I see it. There's no mention of Airpods using bluetooth, I'm betting that W1 chip is using a proprietary wireless protocol that keeps other manufacturers from easily/cheaply creating wireless headphones or using these wireless headphones on other devices.
- SCdF 10y ago
  Exactly. And then at some point they'll have the "courage" to drop bluetooth as well.
- mulmen 10y ago
  From the Apple webpage: http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MMEF2AM/A/airpods http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MMEF2AM/A/airpods Connections AirPods: Bluetooth
- WillPostForFood 10y ago
  Apple says they are bluetooth here: http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MMEF2AM/A/airpods http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MMEF2AM/A/airpods
eridius 10y ago
> aside from the very obvious one: they're going to make a shitload of money by forcing everyone to buy new headphones You obviously have no idea how Apple works. Apple would never in a million years make a user-hostile decision like this simply to collect royalties. They hold user experience to be sacred, and the fact that they're making this move now means they think that, at least in the long term, this will provide for a better overall user experience, despite the pain of the transition. Everybody complained when Apple ditched the 30pin connector for Lightning too, basically all of the same arguments here (e.g. "Apple just wants everybody to buy new accessories"), but it turned out to be the right move. Making this argument again over the headphone port just means you don't know Apple and you don't know history.