6 ms·

Many stereos and cars should accept Bluetooth connections by now, so I’m not sure what the problem is.

tjoff 9y ago
1. Many more don't. Home stereos typically don't. Regular radios typically don't. 2. Bluetooth is pure crap, the UX for connecting and managing temporary devices is absolutely insane on all devices. This is something you do on your own car but is a major hassle to setup for temporary occasions. And hardly something that is done on a whim just to demo something. It is just that bad. And this is even before considering compatibility issues and security issues, of which there are plentiful. And cars also have this habit of trying to harvest all your contacts etc. (Wonder how many contacts are floating around in rental cars... sigh)
- ams6110 9y ago
  Agree, bluetooth is a knock-out factor for me. I refuse to use it, it's been a total PITA any time I've tried.
  - senorjazz 9y ago
    same, when it decides to work, it can work well, but most the time it doesn't, or is a hassle. My car just refuses my phone for some reason. cable > connect > go. Every time without fail
grincho 9y ago
Most devices can't remember more than 1 phone at a time, so you have to continually put the thing back into pairing mode. Every device has a different way of putting it into pairing mode. Sometimes there's a code to type, adding an additional step. Then it's several clicks on the phone to connect to the device. Plugging in a cable is often a lot simpler, and it works every time.
dspillett 9y ago
The problem is that people want a headphone jack. More stereos and cars don't have BT than do (significantly many more in my experience). Bluetooth pairing is a faf compared to just plugging in a jack, and many devices still only remember pairing with two devices or just one so your friend may have to repair when you are done. Double adaptors (I still see people sharing a single audio source on headphones that way) are a thing with simple audio jack that there isn't a BT solution for (at least when I've tried phones won't play down two BT audio sinks at the same time). I've used the audio jack on my phones only a couple of times in the last year or so as I do use BT for general headphone use, but that is a couple of times more than zero and in all those cases BT would not have been an option. Of course the obvious answer is: if you want a jack and Apple doesn't provide one on their devices then switch allegiance - but a lot of people feel tied to Apple for other reasons (lock in through apps they'd have to repurchase on Android, lock-in through add-on device compatibility, or just the extra usability that comes from personal or group familiarity) and would like to stay without losing that feature. Another option is bluetooth receivers, which can be bought quite cheaply these days: pair one of those with your iDevice and plug other devices into that when needed. That is an extra device (a very small one, but still an extra) to carry around and remember to keep charged and I doubt it will happen much because people won't even carry charging adaptors around with them (the amount of times I've have the look that suggests it is my fault that someone can't borrow my portable battery because their device doesn't follow the same standard as everything else and they didn't bring an adaptor!)
- wilsonnb 9y ago
  The real answer here is to use the lightning -> 3.5mm adapter which comes with the iPhone, I believe.
  - dh2424 9y ago
    But then I cannot plug my headphones into my brand new laptop...
    - wilsonnb 9y ago
      Well, you could remove the headphones from the adapter and plug them into your laptops 3.5mm port. If Apple was using USB C like they should be, then you could just plug them straight into that port.

1. Many more don't. Home stereos typically don't. Regular radios typically don't. 2. Bluetooth is pure crap, the UX for connecting and managing temporary devices is absolutely insane on all devices. This is something you do on your own car but is a major hassle to setup for temporary occasions. And hardly something that is done on a whim just to demo something. It is just that bad. And this is even before considering compatibility issues and security issues, of which there are plentiful. And cars also have this habit of trying to harvest all your contacts etc. (Wonder how many contacts are floating around in rental cars... sigh)

ams6110 9y ago
Agree, bluetooth is a knock-out factor for me. I refuse to use it, it's been a total PITA any time I've tried.
- senorjazz 9y ago
  same, when it decides to work, it can work well, but most the time it doesn't, or is a hassle. My car just refuses my phone for some reason. cable > connect > go. Every time without fail

grincho 9y ago

Most devices can't remember more than 1 phone at a time, so you have to continually put the thing back into pairing mode. Every device has a different way of putting it into pairing mode. Sometimes there's a code to type, adding an additional step. Then it's several clicks on the phone to connect to the device. Plugging in a cable is often a lot simpler, and it works every time.

dspillett 9y ago

The problem is that people want a headphone jack. More stereos and cars don't have BT than do (significantly many more in my experience). Bluetooth pairing is a faf compared to just plugging in a jack, and many devices still only remember pairing with two devices or just one so your friend may have to repair when you are done. Double adaptors (I still see people sharing a single audio source on headphones that way) are a thing with simple audio jack that there isn't a BT solution for (at least when I've tried phones won't play down two BT audio sinks at the same time). I've used the audio jack on my phones only a couple of times in the last year or so as I do use BT for general headphone use, but that is a couple of times more than zero and in all those cases BT would not have been an option. Of course the obvious answer is: if you want a jack and Apple doesn't provide one on their devices then switch allegiance - but a lot of people feel tied to Apple for other reasons (lock in through apps they'd have to repurchase on Android, lock-in through add-on device compatibility, or just the extra usability that comes from personal or group familiarity) and would like to stay without losing that feature. Another option is bluetooth receivers, which can be bought quite cheaply these days: pair one of those with your iDevice and plug other devices into that when needed. That is an extra device (a very small one, but still an extra) to carry around and remember to keep charged and I doubt it will happen much because people won't even carry charging adaptors around with them (the amount of times I've have the look that suggests it is my fault that someone can't borrow my portable battery because their device doesn't follow the same standard as everything else and they didn't bring an adaptor!)

wilsonnb 9y ago
The real answer here is to use the lightning -> 3.5mm adapter which comes with the iPhone, I believe.
- dh2424 9y ago
  But then I cannot plug my headphones into my brand new laptop...
  - wilsonnb 9y ago
    Well, you could remove the headphones from the adapter and plug them into your laptops 3.5mm port. If Apple was using USB C like they should be, then you could just plug them straight into that port.