4 ms·

Impressive-- https://twitter.com/steipete/status/1025029133175336960 https://twitter.com/steipete/status/1025029133175336960 "They even store the brand of head

Impressive-- https://twitter.com/steipete/status/1025029133175336960 https://twitter.com/steipete/status/1025029133175336960 "They even store the brand of headphone I use. How do you even get that data, digging deep in CoreBluetooth?"

m45t3r 8y ago
If you think about it, now it makes sense why big names in smartphone industry like Apple and Samsung are removing P2 plugs from smartphones in favor of more powerful interfaces like Lighting/USB-C: so you can track more information about the user. Just imagine: you can track which kind of phone a user that likes to listen to Heavy Metal, for example, likes to use, or which phone is more popular at the moment. Based on this you can develop phones that is more likely to sell or use specific marketing campaigns depending of the kind of music a person listen.
- jdietrich 8y ago
  There's a much more mundane explanation - waterproofing. Lightning and USB-C connectors can both be made intrinsically waterproof up to IPx7, while the 3.5mm jack can't. Waterproofing is a key point of differentiation for recent flagship phones. An iPhone 7 will survive a dip in a toilet bowl or a pint of beer, but an iPhone 6 probably won't.
  - steve19 8y ago
    Plenty of phones where waterproof before. The lightning port is waterproof despite having many more pins than a simple phone jack.
  - detaro 8y ago
    So all the other phone manufacturers selling IP68 phones with headphone jacks are lying?
    - _r_o_y_ 8y ago
      I had a Xperia Z5 and every time water touched the headphone jack the phone would go crazy thinking that I was plugging and unplugging something repeatedly.
      - mhh__ 8y ago
        On the assumption that the phone itself is fine, that could be fixed in software.
  - gsich 8y ago
    You are wrong there.
  - diggan 8y ago
    I don't see the difference in the connector and how that can determine how waterproof the phone is. In the end, lightning/usb-c and 3.5 are just sending electron via a connection, how would the format determine how waterproof you can make it?
  - ars 8y ago
    > while the 3.5mm jack can't Of course it can. It's just 3 or 4 wire connections, and an insertion switch. Why do you think it can't be made waterproof? It's even easier than USB-C to waterproof. A simple google search "waterproof 3.5mm socket" find tons of results.
  - CamperBob2 8y ago
    Yeah, that must be it. http://www.tradekorea.com/product/detail/P698873/IP67-waterproof-headphone-jack-3-5mm-waterproof-audio-jack.html http://www.tradekorea.com/product/detail/P698873/IP67-waterp...
  - fox8091 8y ago
    To all the people saying "but waterproof 3.5mm", here's the thing. Despite having _more pins_, lightning and USB-C have the advantage of _active signalling_. So not just an "open/closed" signal, but an active communication saying something was plugged in. So while 3.5mm can be made where it doesn't damage the phone, water will still short the open/closed switch, causing false insertion events.
  - pymai 8y ago
    well then sony had been lying to me for years. the last 3 phones I've owned have had waterproof headphone jacks
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- mitjak 8y ago
  There is a lot of conjecture happening here. I'm sure it doesn't hurt to know data about headphones but I'm having doubts that's the primary motivator.
  - m45t3r 8y ago
    Yeah, I am not saying this is happening right now (however this log from Spotify is alarming). However, considering that they will have this option is sufficient to someone in the industry to abuse it, and after someone start to use this information, everyone will to remain competitive.
eli 8y ago
It displays the name of bluetooth headphones in the app as a useful feature to help you pick where you want the audio to go.
kevin_b_er 8y ago
So all a device needs to do is play sound and they can retrieve you bluetooth make, model, and serial number. There's your replacement for the unique ID that Apple supposedly killed years ago. They just need to look at your bluetooth device identifier.

m45t3r 8y ago

If you think about it, now it makes sense why big names in smartphone industry like Apple and Samsung are removing P2 plugs from smartphones in favor of more powerful interfaces like Lighting/USB-C: so you can track more information about the user. Just imagine: you can track which kind of phone a user that likes to listen to Heavy Metal, for example, likes to use, or which phone is more popular at the moment. Based on this you can develop phones that is more likely to sell or use specific marketing campaigns depending of the kind of music a person listen.

jdietrich 8y ago
There's a much more mundane explanation - waterproofing. Lightning and USB-C connectors can both be made intrinsically waterproof up to IPx7, while the 3.5mm jack can't. Waterproofing is a key point of differentiation for recent flagship phones. An iPhone 7 will survive a dip in a toilet bowl or a pint of beer, but an iPhone 6 probably won't.
- steve19 8y ago
  Plenty of phones where waterproof before. The lightning port is waterproof despite having many more pins than a simple phone jack.
- detaro 8y ago
  So all the other phone manufacturers selling IP68 phones with headphone jacks are lying?
  - _r_o_y_ 8y ago
    I had a Xperia Z5 and every time water touched the headphone jack the phone would go crazy thinking that I was plugging and unplugging something repeatedly.
    - mhh__ 8y ago
      On the assumption that the phone itself is fine, that could be fixed in software.
- gsich 8y ago
  You are wrong there.
- diggan 8y ago
  I don't see the difference in the connector and how that can determine how waterproof the phone is. In the end, lightning/usb-c and 3.5 are just sending electron via a connection, how would the format determine how waterproof you can make it?
- ars 8y ago
  > while the 3.5mm jack can't Of course it can. It's just 3 or 4 wire connections, and an insertion switch. Why do you think it can't be made waterproof? It's even easier than USB-C to waterproof. A simple google search "waterproof 3.5mm socket" find tons of results.
- CamperBob2 8y ago
  Yeah, that must be it. http://www.tradekorea.com/product/detail/P698873/IP67-waterproof-headphone-jack-3-5mm-waterproof-audio-jack.html http://www.tradekorea.com/product/detail/P698873/IP67-waterp...
- fox8091 8y ago
  To all the people saying "but waterproof 3.5mm", here's the thing. Despite having _more pins_, lightning and USB-C have the advantage of _active signalling_. So not just an "open/closed" signal, but an active communication saying something was plugged in. So while 3.5mm can be made where it doesn't damage the phone, water will still short the open/closed switch, causing false insertion events.
- pymai 8y ago
  well then sony had been lying to me for years. the last 3 phones I've owned have had waterproof headphone jacks
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
mitjak 8y ago
There is a lot of conjecture happening here. I'm sure it doesn't hurt to know data about headphones but I'm having doubts that's the primary motivator.
- m45t3r 8y ago
  Yeah, I am not saying this is happening right now (however this log from Spotify is alarming). However, considering that they will have this option is sufficient to someone in the industry to abuse it, and after someone start to use this information, everyone will to remain competitive.

eli 8y ago

It displays the name of bluetooth headphones in the app as a useful feature to help you pick where you want the audio to go.

kevin_b_er 8y ago

So all a device needs to do is play sound and they can retrieve you bluetooth make, model, and serial number. There's your replacement for the unique ID that Apple supposedly killed years ago. They just need to look at your bluetooth device identifier.