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I was not irritated by the thickness or weight of my iPhone 6 and its headphone jack. I am regularly irritated by the fact that I can’t charge my iPhone and plu

I was not irritated by the thickness or weight of my iPhone 6 and its headphone jack. I am regularly irritated by the fact that I can’t charge my iPhone and plug in headphones at the same time. Obviously I can plan around this, but it’s gone from something I don’t have to think about to something I have to think about.

annamargot 8y ago
Agreed. Wireless charging would be helpful.
- anonu 8y ago
  Does wireless charging meet the same performance levels of wired charging? Doesn't it take much longer to do an induction charge? It's like a lose lose here. Poorer audio quality with bluetooth, slower charging with wireless....
  - annamargot 8y ago
    It’s getting better I guess. I’ll let you know in a couple years when I’m ready to ditch my iPhone 7. https://wccftech.com/the-iphone-xs-and-iphone-xs-max-both-have-faster-wireless-charging-than-iphone-x-video/ https://wccftech.com/the-iphone-xs-and-iphone-xs-max-both-ha...
  - Bud 8y ago
    Much longer? No, unless you're comparing to using fast charge with a 30W charger and USB-C to Lightning cable. Somewhat longer? Yes. 7.5W is common for induction chargers. Apple's iPhone chargers in the box have long been 5W; I don't know what the wattage will be on this year's iPhone chargers. You lose some speed, you gain some convenience.
    - toomuchtodo 8y ago
      It's also unfortunately less efficient, consuming more power not using a cable to charge.
  - marcosdumay 8y ago
    There is no reason why it should take any longer. Induction chargers can deliver much more power than a phone battery can use.
    - dbuder 8y ago
      It creates more heat.
- cimmanom 8y ago
  Won’t do you much good, though when you’re trying to charge and listen while waking or in a moving vehicle. Unless what you mean is contactless charging - which would be ... interesting ... in public spaces (street or transit).
  - frankydp 8y ago
    There is a whole niche market for wireless vehicle charging. Check this provider out. No connection to me just a customer. https://www.brandmotion.com/freedom-charge/wireless-charging.html https://www.brandmotion.com/freedom-charge/wireless-charging...
    - cimmanom 8y ago
      And if you’re on a bus or subway?
mauvehaus 8y ago
This was originally going to read "Phenomenally stupid question, but why hasn't somebody brought out an adapter cable that provides both charging and a 3.5mm jack?" But I figured I should google first. Does anybody have any firsthand experience with Belkin's adapter that lets you do both simultaneously? Asking since my wife's work phone just got "upgraded" and we found ourselves unable to listen to a podcast on our last road trip.
- Big_crimpin 8y ago
  You may find this helpful https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/5/18/17369236/android-usb-c-charge-listen-headphone-jack-adapter https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/5/18/17369236/a... If you're on Android the answer is no, there's no way to do it.
  - mbrameld 8y ago
    Which is frustrating since GoPro has solved this problem already. They use a single USB-C connector for both charging and audio input with a single dongle.
  - mjrpes 8y ago
    This was true until recently. A new product has come out: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07FCZY1ZB/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07FCZY1ZB/ I bought this for my essential phone two weeks ago and it does actually work, like reviews state. It's been wonderful to get that jack back. Bluetooth, as cool as it is, has never been 100% reliable for me. Getting random choppy audio and charging headphone batteries is something I don't want to deal with anymore when I am sitting in bed. I tried it for nine months, and the experience sucked big time. Bluetooth still works fine in my car, though. So I'll keep using it there.
    - B1FF_PSUVM 8y ago
      "This is the World’s FIRST USB c to 3.5mm audio adapter that supports listening music from usb c phone and charging the phone simultaneously" Whelp, good thing those Android phone makers ensured this existed before pulling the plug ... oh, wait ...
mortenjorck 8y ago
Somewhat ironically, iPhones have only gotten thicker since the abandonment of the headphone jack. The iPhone X/XS, XS Max, and XR are all thicker than the 6/6S. https://www.apple.com/iphone/compare/ https://www.apple.com/iphone/compare/
- ianai 8y ago
  Wow makes me think it’s more for water sealing than form.
  - jrs95 8y ago
    Samsung has done just fine with waterproofing and they've kept the headphone jack.
  - CamperBob2 8y ago
    No shortage of waterproof and water-resistant headphone jacks on the market. This argument was always a red herring. It’s about DRM and vendor lock-in, nothing more and nothing less.
    - KyeRussell 8y ago
      What DRM?
      - smolder 8y ago
        You can make the signal encrypted all the way to the approved Bluetooth device, making it harder to extract audio to a raw format if it's played on a phone.
jseliger 8y ago
I just bought one of these: https://www.belkin.com/us/p/P-F8J198/ https://www.belkin.com/us/p/P-F8J198/. Yes, it's yet another annoying dongle, but there are options out there.
- WillPostForFood 8y ago
  The photo at you link sums up the modern confused apple ecosystem for many of us, a big mess of wires, dongles, adapters, and chargers. https://www.belkin.com/resources/img/overview/f8j198/belkin-lightning-audio-charge-rockstar-f8j198-photo-car-v01-r01-us.jpg https://www.belkin.com/resources/img/overview/f8j198/belkin-...
  - brokenmachine 8y ago
    "Just works".
philjohn 8y ago
It wasn't about thickness - the taptic engine takes up the space that would have otherwise been used for the headphone jack. I would also wager that it makes waterproofing to IP68 somewhat harder (not impossible).

annamargot 8y ago

Agreed. Wireless charging would be helpful.

anonu 8y ago
Does wireless charging meet the same performance levels of wired charging? Doesn't it take much longer to do an induction charge? It's like a lose lose here. Poorer audio quality with bluetooth, slower charging with wireless....
- annamargot 8y ago
  It’s getting better I guess. I’ll let you know in a couple years when I’m ready to ditch my iPhone 7. https://wccftech.com/the-iphone-xs-and-iphone-xs-max-both-have-faster-wireless-charging-than-iphone-x-video/ https://wccftech.com/the-iphone-xs-and-iphone-xs-max-both-ha...
- Bud 8y ago
  Much longer? No, unless you're comparing to using fast charge with a 30W charger and USB-C to Lightning cable. Somewhat longer? Yes. 7.5W is common for induction chargers. Apple's iPhone chargers in the box have long been 5W; I don't know what the wattage will be on this year's iPhone chargers. You lose some speed, you gain some convenience.
  - toomuchtodo 8y ago
    It's also unfortunately less efficient, consuming more power not using a cable to charge.
- marcosdumay 8y ago
  There is no reason why it should take any longer. Induction chargers can deliver much more power than a phone battery can use.
  - dbuder 8y ago
    It creates more heat.
cimmanom 8y ago
Won’t do you much good, though when you’re trying to charge and listen while waking or in a moving vehicle. Unless what you mean is contactless charging - which would be ... interesting ... in public spaces (street or transit).
- frankydp 8y ago
  There is a whole niche market for wireless vehicle charging. Check this provider out. No connection to me just a customer. https://www.brandmotion.com/freedom-charge/wireless-charging.html https://www.brandmotion.com/freedom-charge/wireless-charging...
  - cimmanom 8y ago
    And if you’re on a bus or subway?

mauvehaus 8y ago

This was originally going to read "Phenomenally stupid question, but why hasn't somebody brought out an adapter cable that provides both charging and a 3.5mm jack?" But I figured I should google first. Does anybody have any firsthand experience with Belkin's adapter that lets you do both simultaneously? Asking since my wife's work phone just got "upgraded" and we found ourselves unable to listen to a podcast on our last road trip.

Big_crimpin 8y ago
You may find this helpful https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/5/18/17369236/android-usb-c-charge-listen-headphone-jack-adapter https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/5/18/17369236/a... If you're on Android the answer is no, there's no way to do it.
- mbrameld 8y ago
  Which is frustrating since GoPro has solved this problem already. They use a single USB-C connector for both charging and audio input with a single dongle.
- mjrpes 8y ago
  This was true until recently. A new product has come out: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07FCZY1ZB/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07FCZY1ZB/ I bought this for my essential phone two weeks ago and it does actually work, like reviews state. It's been wonderful to get that jack back. Bluetooth, as cool as it is, has never been 100% reliable for me. Getting random choppy audio and charging headphone batteries is something I don't want to deal with anymore when I am sitting in bed. I tried it for nine months, and the experience sucked big time. Bluetooth still works fine in my car, though. So I'll keep using it there.
  - B1FF_PSUVM 8y ago
    "This is the World’s FIRST USB c to 3.5mm audio adapter that supports listening music from usb c phone and charging the phone simultaneously" Whelp, good thing those Android phone makers ensured this existed before pulling the plug ... oh, wait ...

mortenjorck 8y ago

Somewhat ironically, iPhones have only gotten thicker since the abandonment of the headphone jack. The iPhone X/XS, XS Max, and XR are all thicker than the 6/6S. https://www.apple.com/iphone/compare/ https://www.apple.com/iphone/compare/

ianai 8y ago
Wow makes me think it’s more for water sealing than form.
- jrs95 8y ago
  Samsung has done just fine with waterproofing and they've kept the headphone jack.
- CamperBob2 8y ago
  No shortage of waterproof and water-resistant headphone jacks on the market. This argument was always a red herring. It’s about DRM and vendor lock-in, nothing more and nothing less.
  - KyeRussell 8y ago
    What DRM?
    - smolder 8y ago
      You can make the signal encrypted all the way to the approved Bluetooth device, making it harder to extract audio to a raw format if it's played on a phone.

jseliger 8y ago

I just bought one of these: https://www.belkin.com/us/p/P-F8J198/ https://www.belkin.com/us/p/P-F8J198/. Yes, it's yet another annoying dongle, but there are options out there.

WillPostForFood 8y ago
The photo at you link sums up the modern confused apple ecosystem for many of us, a big mess of wires, dongles, adapters, and chargers. https://www.belkin.com/resources/img/overview/f8j198/belkin-lightning-audio-charge-rockstar-f8j198-photo-car-v01-r01-us.jpg https://www.belkin.com/resources/img/overview/f8j198/belkin-...
- brokenmachine 8y ago
  "Just works".

philjohn 8y ago

It wasn't about thickness - the taptic engine takes up the space that would have otherwise been used for the headphone jack. I would also wager that it makes waterproofing to IP68 somewhat harder (not impossible).