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Those are good points, but I'm more outraged that I can't just hand someone an AUX-cable and let them play music. Nowadays you have to fiddle with bluetooth (wh

by tjoff 9y ago

Those are good points, but I'm more outraged that I can't just hand someone an AUX-cable and let them play music. Nowadays you have to fiddle with bluetooth (which for some reason tries borrow your contacts) and it just isn't worth it. It is beyond insane to remove the headphone jack when we have no even half-decent alternatives. This is before the detail that today you can be absolutely certain that all your bluetooth devices are remotely hackable. Most people that don't seem to mind the disappearing of the headphone jack only seems to view it from their own very narrow perspective. Yes, you've just bought some decent bluetooth headphones and love the cordless freedom, I get that - it is awesome. But that is a very narrow use case that isn't going to hold long. I've alternating between cordless and wired headphones for many years and there is no reason even on the horizon to stick with cordless headphones. Also, you have to pay $100 extra for that bluetooth connectivity. So, a wired headphone for $100 will cost you $200 if you want it cordless, and that goes with the assumption that you have aptx. And I don't even have a clue of whether I have aptx. And a decent wired headphone will just last (spoiler, good headphones have better cables and connectors than that $25 headphones that break all the time), the cordless version will not be that cool when the irreplaceable battery dies. Also, I have to spend tons of money on adapters I have to carry with my all the fricking time just so my phone manufacturer can save a few cents, it's ludicrous.

wilsonnb 9y ago
The only issue I see is that iPhones aren't using USB C, at least not yet. If you go out and buy a new android smartphone and a new laptop right now, there's a pretty high chance that they will both have USB C. You can then use a reasonably priced USB C -> 3.5mm adapater with a DAC (the Google one is only 9 dollars, and your phone will probably come with one of these) and use your headphones with either device. In the past, laptops/desktops and smartphones/mp3 players didn't share any ports aside from the 3.5mm analog port. Now, they're going to share a USB C port so there's no longer as much of a need for the 3.5mm port. In the near future, I expect many more headphones to come with their own USB C adapter or to forgo the 3.5mm jack entirely. In the medium to far future, I expect Apple will replace the lightning port with USB C and from that point on, including a 3.5mm port on something will make about as much sense as any other legacy port that most people no longer care about. The exception will probably be professional audio equipment, which I expect will keep analog ports around forever because it actually makes sense in that field.
- tjoff 9y ago
  Why? Oh, and why shouldn't I be able to charge and listen to music at the same time? I need another adapter for that? Adapters are an insane solution to a non-problem.
  - wilsonnb 9y ago
    I'm not sure what you're asking why too - I will go ahead and assume you're asking why analog ports make sense for professional audio. The answer to that is partially because there is a huge culture of analog being superior to anything digital in parts of the field, and doing live signal processing on an analog signal being cheaper than digital. For most recording purposes, the sound is recorded and turned into a digital signal almost immediately. However, for live sound, a lot of places still use analog compressors, equalizers, reverb, and other effects because they're cheaper than the good sounding digital counterparts and easier to troubleshoot. If that wasn't what you were asking why too, feel free to specify what you were asking about and I'll give answering that a shot too. > Oh, and why shouldn't I be able to charge and listen to music at the same time? I need another adapter for that? The answer to this is pretty simple, I think. Most people just don't charge their phone and listen to music with the headphone jack at the same time very often. Obviously, for those who do this will be an inconvenience but for most people who charge their phone every night and don't listen to insane amounts of music this will never be a problem. Even if Apple were to put a second port on the next iPhone, it would make much more sense to put a second lightning port instead of a headphone jack. Then people could listen to music and charge, or do any number of other things and charge at the same time. In a perfect world they would put a lightning and a USB C as the start to their transition to USB C iPhones, but I can't see Apple doing that.
    - tjoff 9y ago
      Why I would ever want to listen to music through the USB C port. There is no benefit and there are tons of decade old devices still being used that use 3.5mm. There is no reason to change. > The answer to this is pretty simple, I think. Most people just don't charge their phone and listen to music with the headphone jack at the same time very often. Quite common during work. Or when traveling, airports, trains etc. do have USB ports for charging.

by tjoff 9y ago

wilsonnb 9y ago

The only issue I see is that iPhones aren't using USB C, at least not yet. If you go out and buy a new android smartphone and a new laptop right now, there's a pretty high chance that they will both have USB C. You can then use a reasonably priced USB C -> 3.5mm adapater with a DAC (the Google one is only 9 dollars, and your phone will probably come with one of these) and use your headphones with either device. In the past, laptops/desktops and smartphones/mp3 players didn't share any ports aside from the 3.5mm analog port. Now, they're going to share a USB C port so there's no longer as much of a need for the 3.5mm port. In the near future, I expect many more headphones to come with their own USB C adapter or to forgo the 3.5mm jack entirely. In the medium to far future, I expect Apple will replace the lightning port with USB C and from that point on, including a 3.5mm port on something will make about as much sense as any other legacy port that most people no longer care about. The exception will probably be professional audio equipment, which I expect will keep analog ports around forever because it actually makes sense in that field.

tjoff 9y ago
Why? Oh, and why shouldn't I be able to charge and listen to music at the same time? I need another adapter for that? Adapters are an insane solution to a non-problem.
- wilsonnb 9y ago
  I'm not sure what you're asking why too - I will go ahead and assume you're asking why analog ports make sense for professional audio. The answer to that is partially because there is a huge culture of analog being superior to anything digital in parts of the field, and doing live signal processing on an analog signal being cheaper than digital. For most recording purposes, the sound is recorded and turned into a digital signal almost immediately. However, for live sound, a lot of places still use analog compressors, equalizers, reverb, and other effects because they're cheaper than the good sounding digital counterparts and easier to troubleshoot. If that wasn't what you were asking why too, feel free to specify what you were asking about and I'll give answering that a shot too. > Oh, and why shouldn't I be able to charge and listen to music at the same time? I need another adapter for that? The answer to this is pretty simple, I think. Most people just don't charge their phone and listen to music with the headphone jack at the same time very often. Obviously, for those who do this will be an inconvenience but for most people who charge their phone every night and don't listen to insane amounts of music this will never be a problem. Even if Apple were to put a second port on the next iPhone, it would make much more sense to put a second lightning port instead of a headphone jack. Then people could listen to music and charge, or do any number of other things and charge at the same time. In a perfect world they would put a lightning and a USB C as the start to their transition to USB C iPhones, but I can't see Apple doing that.
  - tjoff 9y ago
    Why I would ever want to listen to music through the USB C port. There is no benefit and there are tons of decade old devices still being used that use 3.5mm. There is no reason to change. > The answer to this is pretty simple, I think. Most people just don't charge their phone and listen to music with the headphone jack at the same time very often. Quite common during work. Or when traveling, airports, trains etc. do have USB ports for charging.