4 ms·

Sorry, I understand that and was the point I was trying to make but perhaps I didn't do a good job of it. For example I can go to Target, Walmart, Best Buy, et

Sorry, I understand that and was the point I was trying to make but perhaps I didn't do a good job of it. For example I can go to Target, Walmart, Best Buy, etc and there are WALLS of headphones and right about 100% of them are 3.5mm. To make a good transition I would expect at least _some_ of them to be of other port types. I practically never see the lightning headphones for the iPhone and I know the iPhone 7 is crazy popular. I get the demand isn't there for USB-C headphones therefore they're not really being sold so there _has_ to be a catalyst; it's just hard for me to personally pay out $600+ for a phone that won't work with not just my own headphones but almost all of the headphones I can currently buy.

tw04 9y ago
1. 100% of the headphones absolutely do not have 3.5mm jacks. Almost every pair of new "sports" headphones are bluetooth and have no 3.5mm jack to speak of. 2. It's disingenuous to claim it "won't work" with the headphones. Does it need an adapter? Yes. Is that annoying? Slightly. But they absolutely will work. 3. Again... have a little patience. The whole point of the Nexus line is to push other android manufacturers to be better... and to drive adoption of technologies Google wants to see. The Galaxy S8 will have USB-C. Apple is going whole-hog towards USB-C. We are literally on the cusp of it being a broader standard. Are we still 18 months away from it being ubiquitous in Target? Probably... but to pretend like it's not going to happen is silly. IF the argument is "the phone shouldn't move until the headphones do" - why on earth would a headphone MFG start making headphones that don't actually work with ANY phone on the market?
- tomc1985 9y ago
  To answer (3), there are a lot more uses for headphones than listening to music on one's phone. Switching to USB-C means asking all those device makers to switch from relatively simple analog hardware to a new connector with an established protocol, which means more (unnecessary) logic, which means more costs. I suspect it will be a long time before this stuff become ubiquitous for the low-end.
  - falcolas 9y ago
    Audio over USB C is analog as well, no chips required. 4 wires in the USB C socket just become the analog equivalent.
    - tomc1985 9y ago
      I stand corrected then. If the only thing that changes is the physical connector then that is not nearly as bad.
      - AstralStorm 9y ago
        A physical connector that cannot rotate and will break and tangle cables.
      - falcolas 9y ago
        I think the biggest problem people (well, those who really care about the quality of the music) will identify will be that the audio DAC will go from being a (generally) distinct component of the phone to an integrated component of the USB-C driver. I believe this will likely lower the quality of the DAC (as the rest of the chip will be mostly, if not all digital components) and the overall music as a result. IOW, you may still want to have a discrete DAC dongle for your USB-C phone.
- BinaryIdiot 9y ago
  > 1. 100% of the headphones absolutely do not have 3.5mm jacks. Almost every pair of new "sports" headphones are bluetooth and have no 3.5mm jack to speak of. I said "about" but I should have clarified I meant only corded headphones. I've never actually seen a USB-C pair of headphones out in the wild, only one lightning pair and I think it was Beats. > 2. It's disingenuous to claim it "won't work" with the headphones. Does it need an adapter? Yes. Is that annoying? Slightly. But they absolutely will work. Maybe? USB-C is mostly standardized but not necessarily the protocols each type of device uses. Granted hopefully all headphones are the same but it's technically possible some headphones could use a different protocol making it not work with everything. Maybe I'm just projecting my bias with the issues of HDMI <-> USB-C. > Again... have a little patience [...] but to pretend like it's not going to happen is silly I never pretended it wouldn't and I would LIKE it to happen. The problem is, right now the user experience kinda sucks with adapters and trying to find a pair that you want and can work with your device if you lack a headphone jack. Personally, I just don't want to deal with any of that which is why I either use bluetooth headphones or only buy phones with 3.5mm plugs I hope you're right with the 18 months I just find the rush to get devices to ONLY USB-C while accessories are almost non existent a bit premature. Again, think of the UX here especially with people who are not technical savvy. This is not super straight forward...yet.

tw04 9y ago

1. 100% of the headphones absolutely do not have 3.5mm jacks. Almost every pair of new "sports" headphones are bluetooth and have no 3.5mm jack to speak of. 2. It's disingenuous to claim it "won't work" with the headphones. Does it need an adapter? Yes. Is that annoying? Slightly. But they absolutely will work. 3. Again... have a little patience. The whole point of the Nexus line is to push other android manufacturers to be better... and to drive adoption of technologies Google wants to see. The Galaxy S8 will have USB-C. Apple is going whole-hog towards USB-C. We are literally on the cusp of it being a broader standard. Are we still 18 months away from it being ubiquitous in Target? Probably... but to pretend like it's not going to happen is silly. IF the argument is "the phone shouldn't move until the headphones do" - why on earth would a headphone MFG start making headphones that don't actually work with ANY phone on the market?

tomc1985 9y ago
To answer (3), there are a lot more uses for headphones than listening to music on one's phone. Switching to USB-C means asking all those device makers to switch from relatively simple analog hardware to a new connector with an established protocol, which means more (unnecessary) logic, which means more costs. I suspect it will be a long time before this stuff become ubiquitous for the low-end.
- falcolas 9y ago
  Audio over USB C is analog as well, no chips required. 4 wires in the USB C socket just become the analog equivalent.
  - tomc1985 9y ago
    I stand corrected then. If the only thing that changes is the physical connector then that is not nearly as bad.
    - AstralStorm 9y ago
      A physical connector that cannot rotate and will break and tangle cables.
    - falcolas 9y ago
      I think the biggest problem people (well, those who really care about the quality of the music) will identify will be that the audio DAC will go from being a (generally) distinct component of the phone to an integrated component of the USB-C driver. I believe this will likely lower the quality of the DAC (as the rest of the chip will be mostly, if not all digital components) and the overall music as a result. IOW, you may still want to have a discrete DAC dongle for your USB-C phone.
BinaryIdiot 9y ago
> 1. 100% of the headphones absolutely do not have 3.5mm jacks. Almost every pair of new "sports" headphones are bluetooth and have no 3.5mm jack to speak of. I said "about" but I should have clarified I meant only corded headphones. I've never actually seen a USB-C pair of headphones out in the wild, only one lightning pair and I think it was Beats. > 2. It's disingenuous to claim it "won't work" with the headphones. Does it need an adapter? Yes. Is that annoying? Slightly. But they absolutely will work. Maybe? USB-C is mostly standardized but not necessarily the protocols each type of device uses. Granted hopefully all headphones are the same but it's technically possible some headphones could use a different protocol making it not work with everything. Maybe I'm just projecting my bias with the issues of HDMI <-> USB-C. > Again... have a little patience [...] but to pretend like it's not going to happen is silly I never pretended it wouldn't and I would LIKE it to happen. The problem is, right now the user experience kinda sucks with adapters and trying to find a pair that you want and can work with your device if you lack a headphone jack. Personally, I just don't want to deal with any of that which is why I either use bluetooth headphones or only buy phones with 3.5mm plugs I hope you're right with the 18 months I just find the rush to get devices to ONLY USB-C while accessories are almost non existent a bit premature. Again, think of the UX here especially with people who are not technical savvy. This is not super straight forward...yet.