4 ms·

Seriously? More shit on the iPhone headphone jack? >> What brings this to mind is the introduction of the Apple iPhone 7. One of its highly touted 'features' i

Seriously? More shit on the iPhone headphone jack? >> What brings this to mind is the introduction of the Apple iPhone 7. One of its highly touted 'features' is the elimination of a headphone jack. Taking advantage of this 'feature' requires the purchase of optional wireless earbuds (AirPods) that retail for an additional $159.00. Plus, the AirPods need their batteries charged independent of your smartphone on a dedicated charger (each charge lasts a maximum of five hours) . 1. The elimination of the headphone jack is not touted as a 'feature'. The bluetooth alternative using the W1 chip is and that's not actually related to the phone. 2. AirPod's are an optional accessory. Just like a case. Or any other pair of wireless headphones. Standard headphones still ship in the box as always and connect to your phone with a wire. Complaining that they are 'required' to use a feature of the phone (which again, they are not) is like complaining you need to buy a Car to use the 'CarPlay' feature or that you need to buy a lightbulb to use the 'HomeKit' feature. 3. Of course they need charging. Just like most other wireless headphones. In fact charging AirPods is more convenient than most because the carrying case doubles as a charger and stores 24hours power. So when they're in your pocket not being used they can be charging. When is this circle jerk going to stop? If you're going to waste time keeping it going at least get the basic facts right.

Apocryphon 10y ago
It seems less of a critique of the headphone jack, than of $160 AirPods that easily fall out of one's ears. As the article concludes, the saving grace is the lack of a jack will lead to the proliferation of cheaper alternatives from other manufacturers.
- k-mcgrady 10y ago
  >> "AirPods that easily fall out of one's ears" Fine, but they haven't even been released yet. EarPods are the best fitting earphones for me. However I'm sure for others they fall out all the time. My point is that a paragraph based on the assertion that these 'expensive' earphones will fall out is ridiculous when the author hasn't tried them and their fit will differ from person to person.
  - dougmwne 10y ago
    I think the author's point stands since they show that the airpods should be expected to have the same fit as the earpods and that the earpods don't fit half of people's ears without falling out. Therefore the $160 headphones are vastly more disposable than wired IEMs of the same price. That's about what I paid for a pair of etymotic er4s a decade ago.
- usrusr 10y ago
  It seems like a critique of the airpods, but it claims to be a general critique of consumerism. So far, Apple has not sold a single pair and it would not be the first Apple accessory to get rejected by the market. The airpods might turn out to be more of an example of reason prevailing than of consumerism. (If this happens, I would blame part of it on the tactical decision to announce the airpods alongside the removal of the headphone jack. If those had been spread out over an iPhone generation or two, the airpods would have been met with a lot less hostility. Or maybe this was the plan, make people vent all their steam on the airpods while happily plugging into the lightning port?)

Apocryphon 10y ago

It seems less of a critique of the headphone jack, than of $160 AirPods that easily fall out of one's ears. As the article concludes, the saving grace is the lack of a jack will lead to the proliferation of cheaper alternatives from other manufacturers.

k-mcgrady 10y ago
>> "AirPods that easily fall out of one's ears" Fine, but they haven't even been released yet. EarPods are the best fitting earphones for me. However I'm sure for others they fall out all the time. My point is that a paragraph based on the assertion that these 'expensive' earphones will fall out is ridiculous when the author hasn't tried them and their fit will differ from person to person.
- dougmwne 10y ago
  I think the author's point stands since they show that the airpods should be expected to have the same fit as the earpods and that the earpods don't fit half of people's ears without falling out. Therefore the $160 headphones are vastly more disposable than wired IEMs of the same price. That's about what I paid for a pair of etymotic er4s a decade ago.
usrusr 10y ago
It seems like a critique of the airpods, but it claims to be a general critique of consumerism. So far, Apple has not sold a single pair and it would not be the first Apple accessory to get rejected by the market. The airpods might turn out to be more of an example of reason prevailing than of consumerism. (If this happens, I would blame part of it on the tactical decision to announce the airpods alongside the removal of the headphone jack. If those had been spread out over an iPhone generation or two, the airpods would have been met with a lot less hostility. Or maybe this was the plan, make people vent all their steam on the airpods while happily plugging into the lightning port?)