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If there was a real demand, there would be a roaring trade in cases that reintroduce the jack without having to use a dongle.

numbsafari 8y ago
Agreed. To be honest, the disappearing headphone jack might be what finally helps me convince my wife to let me upgrade our car stereo to something with bluetooth support.
- rusk 8y ago
  You'll be disappointed when you notice the degradation in sound quality. Anecdata: My Kenwood car stereo has both and the difference is immediately noticeable.
Spivak 8y ago
Not having a headphone jack isn't enough reason for someone to stop using their preferred device, but it seems overwhelmingly the userbase would prefer it. Trying to argue about demand when we're boiling frogs is pointless.
JackC 8y ago
John Gruber thinks Apple probably refuses to allow those cases: "But Apple wields its MFI control in other ways too. In a Twitter thread Wednesday, Nilay Patel pointed out there has never been an MFI-certified battery case with a headphone jack. This almost certainly is not because no one thought to make one, but rather that Apple will not approve them. Apple clearly thinks external battery packs (connected to iPhones via a cable) are a better solution than cases with integrated batteries. With Lightning, they can effectively control this. If the iPhone were to switch to USB-C, I don’t think they could stop anyone from making USB-C battery cases. I do not think Apple will cede this control." https://daringfireball.net/2018/11/third_party_usb-c_to_lightning_cables https://daringfireball.net/2018/11/third_party_usb-c_to_ligh...
Brakenshire 8y ago
How could you do that with a case without hugely increasing the size of the device?
zaarn 8y ago
Maybe it's because most people still use phones with 3.5mm therefore no "roaring trade"? Plus, how would a phone case reintroduce 3.5mm without bulging out like crazy... You can do it if you open the phone and insert enough chinesium guts, there is a youtuber that did it but it's certainly nothing covered by warranty.
- isostatic 8y ago
  You'd need something no more than 8mm (an iphone SE has a jack and is 7.6mm thick - thinner than an X). It would add 8mm to the length of the case too (you'd insert sideways) All iphones are 7-8mm thick, so any case is going to be thick enough to support a jack, which means adding 8mm to the length, and the mophie cases I've seen do just that. However if apple refuse to allow it, that's obviously a problem, but it's not a technical problem.
  - zaarn 8y ago
    You don't even need that, there are people who retrofit 3.5mm jacks into jack-less iPhones. Ie, the iPhones that were designed to be without audio jack still have enough space to accommodate a hub to switch the lightning port and a DAC for audio output AND a 3.5mm port.

numbsafari 8y ago

Agreed. To be honest, the disappearing headphone jack might be what finally helps me convince my wife to let me upgrade our car stereo to something with bluetooth support.

rusk 8y ago
You'll be disappointed when you notice the degradation in sound quality. Anecdata: My Kenwood car stereo has both and the difference is immediately noticeable.

Spivak 8y ago

Not having a headphone jack isn't enough reason for someone to stop using their preferred device, but it seems overwhelmingly the userbase would prefer it. Trying to argue about demand when we're boiling frogs is pointless.

JackC 8y ago

John Gruber thinks Apple probably refuses to allow those cases: "But Apple wields its MFI control in other ways too. In a Twitter thread Wednesday, Nilay Patel pointed out there has never been an MFI-certified battery case with a headphone jack. This almost certainly is not because no one thought to make one, but rather that Apple will not approve them. Apple clearly thinks external battery packs (connected to iPhones via a cable) are a better solution than cases with integrated batteries. With Lightning, they can effectively control this. If the iPhone were to switch to USB-C, I don’t think they could stop anyone from making USB-C battery cases. I do not think Apple will cede this control." https://daringfireball.net/2018/11/third_party_usb-c_to_lightning_cables https://daringfireball.net/2018/11/third_party_usb-c_to_ligh...

Brakenshire 8y ago

How could you do that with a case without hugely increasing the size of the device?

zaarn 8y ago

Maybe it's because most people still use phones with 3.5mm therefore no "roaring trade"? Plus, how would a phone case reintroduce 3.5mm without bulging out like crazy... You can do it if you open the phone and insert enough chinesium guts, there is a youtuber that did it but it's certainly nothing covered by warranty.

isostatic 8y ago
You'd need something no more than 8mm (an iphone SE has a jack and is 7.6mm thick - thinner than an X). It would add 8mm to the length of the case too (you'd insert sideways) All iphones are 7-8mm thick, so any case is going to be thick enough to support a jack, which means adding 8mm to the length, and the mophie cases I've seen do just that. However if apple refuse to allow it, that's obviously a problem, but it's not a technical problem.
- zaarn 8y ago
  You don't even need that, there are people who retrofit 3.5mm jacks into jack-less iPhones. Ie, the iPhones that were designed to be without audio jack still have enough space to accommodate a hub to switch the lightning port and a DAC for audio output AND a 3.5mm port.