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I still miss my headphone jack, and I want it back
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- dvcrn 8y agoI don't miss the headphone jack a bit. Apple forced me into trying bluetooth headphones and so far I've not looked back. For cases when I want a cabled connection after all (like in airplanes), I just use the adapter. I had it a few times in the past that I used cabled headphones, ripped on the cable and smacked my phone on the floor by accident.
- mattnewton 8y agoGlad it worked out for you. They could have just sold you the product the way they used to though: I would have bought airpods after trying them out since I trust apple, not because I was forced to abandon my perfectly good wired headphones after breaking or losing all my adaptors, and all the collateral damage with that.
- MarkSweep 8y agoPersonally, the one time where the lack of a headphone jack is especially annoying is an airplane, especially the planes that only have "person device entertainment". You can't charge the phone and listen to the movie at the same time.
- barbs 8y agoYou couldn't make the decision to try bluetooth headphones yourself??
- metildaa 8y agoIts sad to see the contortions my boyfriend makes to support his purchase of a headphone jack free android, despite his desire for high quality audio (he hates bluetooth with a passion). USB C to 3.5mm adapters are cheap, but break at the drop of a hat. His integrated speaker meanwhile has blown, and makes for terrible calls. Headphone jacks serve a useful purpose, most phones could still have them without compromising other properties, but its been made fashionable to go without.
- lowercased 8y ago> but its been made fashionable to go without. fashionable implies people are making a choice. i guess you can say they are, somewhat, but... if you want larger storage and good camera in a portable device while maintaining any investment in a particular ecosystem... you have to do without a jack. i've stuck with my iphone se and plan to for a while longer, hoping apple will eventually put out another device with headphone jack. or perhaps i can find an android device i like well enough that still has a jack (those seem to be harder to find too)
- mingabunga 8y agoReminds me recently when I was out and was asked to use my phone to play some music through one of those external speakers for an event, went to plug the cable in to my phone... Oh that's right, my new Pixel 2 requires a dongle which no one carries around with them.
- eikenberry 8y agoIf he desires high quality audio he should buy a separate DAC/Amp or a dedicated audio player. DACs in cell phones are mediocre at best and you can get better sound (and headphone jack support) elsewhere.
- justtopost 8y agoThis is not true. Apple, LG, both have/had audiophile grade dacs, and I suspect many others do as well.
- BLKNSLVR 8y agoThe blog ends with the best and most insightful comment: And no human’s life is measurably better since Apple had the “courage” to remove the 3.5 mm jack. But a lot of our lives are just a little worse. The author also points towards active de-standardisation between Android and iOS: "if only there was one universal audio port they both could use" Apple gets an advantage from this with their iron-grip on compatible peripherals, but I don't know why any of the Android manufacturers would follow suit. The ugliness of the impracticality of fashion.
- abtinf 8y ago> "if only there was one universal audio port they both could use" Bluetooth?
- tanbog 8y agoIf I had a dollar for every time bluetooth failed between two devices...
- baroffoos 8y agoBluetooth has been better for me 80% of the time and then that last 20% is a huge pain where as AUX is consistently a little bit worse but it never totally lets you down.
- thrower123 8y agoI think I can count the number of times that I've managed to get bluetooth to actually work on the fingers of one hand. It's just trash. Give me a wired connection every day of the week, and it better be something universal like USB-A, micro-usb, HDMI or 3.5mm.
- Johnny555 8y agoI've never plugged my headphones into a jack and had them fail to work (ok, on my old cassette Walkman, I sometimes had to jiggle the plug around to get the headphones to work, but modern devices seem to have solved that problem (through gold plated connectors? I dunno)). But around once every 8 times I get into my car, I need to turn off/on Bluetooth on my car, my phone, or both to get it to connect. More rarely, I have to reboot my phone. I haven't used a Bluetooth headset with my phone in several years, but I had the same problem then. So I don't think Bluetooth is that reliable "works every time" standard.
- thedudeabides5 8y ago"arg, hold on one second, I can't find my headphone dongle" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XSC_UG5_kU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XSC_UG5_kU
- Nerdfest 8y agoAfter saying I'd never get a phone without a headphone jack until Bluetooth codecs improved, I ended up getting a Pixel2XL through "reward points". It's a great phone ... and I've "only" been needed a headphone jack a dozen or so times in the six months I've had it. Not for headphone, but for other audio input or output requirements. What an absolutely idiotic idea. I've started leaving those stupid dongles everywhere, but even they don't for with everything. Fashion over function, with an eye to more lock-in.
- ngngngng 8y agoThe more I have my pixel 2 xl the more I miss the headphone jack. I lost the dongle long ago and have no idea where to buy a new one. Google doesn't seem to sell them and everywhere online says the don't even work.
- scarcely 8y agoMaybe your baby ate the dongle?
- baobrain 8y agoA simple google search returns this as the first result: https://store.google.com/us/product/usb_c_headphone_adapter?hl=en-US https://store.google.com/us/product/usb_c_headphone_adapter?...
- ngngngng 8y agoIt's been a few months since I checked, maybe they just happened to not have them when I was looking, thanks!
- akvadrako 8y agoBT codes are already pretty good. You can use AAC@256kbps. The only thing better is basically lossless.
- Overtonwindow 8y agoBeen hanging on to my 6 Plus for dear life for this very reason
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- c17r 8y agoI'm holding onto my 6s+ with a death grip. If they had replaced the 3.5mm with another lightning port, I would have upgraded by now. This single port thing is just silly. Same thing with the latest Macbook Pros, the switch to USB-C doesn't bother me, the low number of ports does.
- rabboRubble 8y agoSame with my iPhone SE.
- Latty 8y agoI was looking for this, I think it's crazy there isn't a phone with dual USB-C ports - one top, one bottom. Not only is it a thinner port for audio, but you can use a wired peripheral while charging, or use a charger from the top if it is more convenient. I guess it's not something enough people would care about, but it seems like at least one company would have done it by now.
- jacknews 8y agoI don't think I've ever used my phone headphone jack (still 3.5mm), but I will absolutely never buy a laptop without 3.5mm. The article is spot on, no-one is served by this change, except manufacturers.
- tonmoy 8y agoExcept people who don’t use headphones now don’t have to carry a heavier, bigger, power hungry power ADC everywhere they go.
- CamperBob2 8y agoAn ADC weighs a fraction of a gram, costs next to nothing in volume, and consumes microamperes at most when not being used. In fact, it may even be integrated on the SoC, meaning it's still present but with nothing to do. Would need to have a look at some teardown photos to be sure.
- cozzyd 8y agoHow does the microphone on the phone work then?
- CamperBob2 8y agoI'm assuming he really meant 'DAC' rather than 'ADC', referring specifically to the part that drives the headphone jack as opposed to the built-in earpiece transducer. Some people use the terms interchangeably for whatever reason, even though it's not technically correct.
- WillPostForFood 8y agoAt this point I'd take a MacBook with a lightning jack, because now I have to carry a separate pair of headphones for my iPhone and my Macbook. I'd prefer 3.5mm everywhere, but if you are going to drop it, make it consistent across product lines.
- andreakate 8y ago
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- aerophilic 8y agoOne of the things I feel happens in the tech world is innovation for innovation’s sake. In my opinion, “Real innovation” solves problems. What was the problem Apple was really trying to solve by removing the jack? The only thing I can come up with is to allow a “thinner” design. In all the previous “radical changes”, they created a “better solution” to a problem. Take the removal of Floppies or CD drives, in both cases, the problem was getting data onto the machine efficiently. In both cases technology moved ahead and created better methods of moving data. Please correct me if I am wrong here, but I fail to see what problem they really “solved” by removing the audio jack.
- NeedMoreTea 8y agoMany have said thinner is the reason, yet phones without jacks are not thinner than those with. The problem solved was encouraging sales of some very expensive wireless earbuds. I really do think it was as simple as that. Those who want Bluetooth wireless could just as easily have it on a phone with a jack without losing any benefit. They already did.
- MAGZine 8y agoMy understanding is that the headphone jack actually occupies a lot of space. If you have opened up a phone before, it is evident that all internal space is _very_ well accounted for, so removing a headphone jack is actually a very tangible increase in usable internal space. And it's not just the jack, you need to include a DAC in the device, too! This means being able to include more/new co-processors, different/better microphone technology, etc, not just thinner. Only what I've heard from other hardware engineers though, I do not work directly in the space. "Sell headphones," could absolutely be a goal.
- S_A_P 8y ago100% agree with this. Its pretty interesting that I almost never use headphones anymore now because bluetooth headphones require a few things: 1) preplanning/foresight in charging the headphones 2) refer to number 1. I have 2 really nice pairs of bluetooth headphones, and almost NEVER use them. Guess what pair gets used almost daily? my 15 year old beyerdynamic DT770s. 3.5mm or ¼" plug, closed back. Not really the most accurate, but a nice bass heavy rich sound and plenty loud. they work with gear that is 50 years old and brand new(so long as they include a headphone jack). I have vintage analog synthesizers 80s and 90s samplers to <2 year old digital synths. All work with these headphones. Apple really really really really really really screwed up here. reverse course immediately.
- S_A_P 8y agoI am happy to discuss with anyone who downvotes as to why they disagree with me. My comment may be tangental but is completely relevant to the discussion and reinforces points made in the article.
- PhasmaFelis 8y agoThere's a few people on HN who seem to have a weirdly emotional affection for the iPhone's lack-of-headphone-jack. One guy argued that it was all worth it because it reduces dust infiltration, another because it makes it more water-resistant. (Yeah.) I can see why someone who's never used wired earbuds wouldn't care one way or another, but I really don't understand this sort of attachment.
- catchmeifyoucan 8y ago+1 for one extra battery to keep charged. I don't like that. That's precisely why I stopped using my Apple Watch after a few months.
- wickedOne 8y agoapple ditched the floppy drive with the release of their g3 hardware, the ethernet port with the macbook air (and built in cd/dvd drive), before that they ditched the serial & parallel port, etc. any of us still missing those? needless to say that it kinda sucks when a new device forces you to buy new adapters / peripherals, but in the long run, is this really an issue?
- whiddershins 8y agoAs I mentioned in another comment, those were computer standards. 3.5mm is an audio standard. It's an important difference.
- tuananh 8y agostandard comes and go. ethernet is not a standard anymore these days. heck even if my laptop comes with a ethernet port, i still couldn't use it at my workplace.
- PretzelFisch 8y agoI miss my ethernet port.
- lmm 8y agoI still miss the ethernet port whenever I'm staying in a hotel with dodgy wifi (many of which have ethernet). I still miss having a dvd drive every couple of weeks, when I want to watch a video that isn't on a streaming service. I still miss the serial port when I'm fiddling with bits of hardware (and my old graphing calculator). Parallel port we're well shot of though.
- craftyguy 8y agoI would miss a built in ethernet port. (My Thinkpad X230 FTW) Anyways, your examples are not exactly the same as this situation. In the cases of removing the floppy drive and CD/DVD drives, it was upgrading one technology for another which was able to hold more data, was a more stable medium than the predecessor, and was generally more reliable. The 3.5mm->bluetooth was not an upgrade in stability or reliability, and the ethernet->wifi change was not an upgrade in anything except 'mobility' (but systems with ethernet jacks at that time typically had wifi too, so, again, it was a general downgrade in functionality).
- mark-r 8y agoI'm voting with my wallet. My household will never have a phone that is missing the 3.5mm jack.
- chillacy 8y agoThis comment is bound to age poorly ;) Unless 3.5mm headphone jacks will be around in 50 years who knows.
- MarkSweep 8y agoThey were already around 50 years ago: https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/apple-iphone-headphone-jack-history-1.3755120 https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/apple-iphone-headphone-ja...
- buboard 8y agoi mean, people buy turntables nowadays. new ones, not just vintage and antiques. Audio equipment tends to age veery slowly
- akvadrako 8y agoThat's not how it worked. Turntables became obsolete then they become popular years later because everything about them is inferior.
- buboard 8y agobut also because people have old vinyl disks which they can revive. and people complained about the cold sound of CDs forever. it's not like tech, where you don't really see people crying over their burnt memory chips. Especially for audio connectors, i don't think it is a coincidence that the 3.5mm jacks and its fatter brother have not changed since forever. people wanted to use it with their older stuff.
- EnderMB 8y agoThat's becoming increasingly more difficult on the Android side, with so many high-end vendors looking to remove the headphone jack too. Hell, OnePlus ran a campaign eight months ago laughing about others removing the headphone jack, only to remove it six months later on the 6T. I bought the OnePlus 6 because I wanted a good phone with a close-to-stock OS and a headphone jack. Nowadays, I think you'll struggle to get both, and I think that we're one manufacturer away (Samsung) away from the market joining Apple and Google in getting rid of the jack. I'll support it for as long as I can, because I use the jack every single day, but I fear that in three years time the high-end market will have left us behind.
- 51Cards 8y agoI've hung onto my first generation Pixel for largely this reason. There isn't a lot in the new models to entice me to switch however the loss of the 3.5mm port was the tipping point for me not to purchase either of the updates. I just put a new factory battery in my Pixel ($90 CAD) and it's back to like new again. At the moment I think I'll hold on to it for at least another year.
- petecox 8y agoI still use the FM tuner built into Snapdragon phones. I guess everyone else streams their radio these days.
- BLKNSLVR 8y agoMy phone has an FM tuner built-in but, for whatever ridiculous manufacturer reason, it's disabled by default and can only be switched on in some kind of debug mode which won't allow it to play in the background whilst doing other things on the phone. I could stream the local radio station, sure, but that's a fair whack of data just doesn't need to clog up my internets / quota.
- awkward 8y agoOne of the big reasons given was to make a slimmer phone, but I've got the iPhone SE I use personally here next to the iPhone 7 I use for work, and, if you were to run your hand over them, you wouldn't detect a difference in height off the table.
- asdff 8y agoI believe the 7 was the slimmest iPhone. The notch phones are noticeably heavier as well.
- whiddershins 8y agoApple has had great success in the past by pushing new standards in computer peripherals, deprecating old standards, and generally moving the industry forward by fiat. I think we've all benefitted somewhat from this attitude, even if it was inconvenient. The distinction here is that the 3.5mm standard isn't/wasn't a computer peripheral standard. It is/was an audio industry standard. There are many uses for 3.5mm that have nothing to do with phones/tablets/laptops/desktops. Additionally, the audio industry has a different obsolescence timeline than computer equipment. Audiophile and pro audio headphones (for example) represent a significant investment and are intended to last many years. In my view, Apple's approach to this was a kind of chauvinistic hubris. No, I don't want to use a $15 adapter of dubious quality on my $1500 custom molded in-ear monitors. No, I can't just get a new pair. No, I can't re-sell them, they only fit my ears. No, they wouldn't sound the same even if a bluetooth version were to become available. No, I doubt the 4 person company that makes them is eager to try to figure out how to make a lightning version, even if they have the in-house expertise. The decision really shows a lack of understanding of the world outside of computer manufacturing, and it is too bad others followed suit.
- joelhooks 8y agoThe adapter works great with the Shure SE846 IEMs. I’d rather use the speakers than die on the no adapter hill.
- ddingus 8y agoEasy, get a phone that does not force this stuff.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- stouset 8y agoAh yes, let me just throw out the hundreds of dollars worth of apps, not to mention the rest of my investment in the ecosystem, because I might have to buy, once, an adapter that costs 1% of the sticker price of the phone and can just be permanently left attached. “Easy”.
- torgian 8y agoI would miss the headphone jack if I ever bother upgrading my iPhone. As it is, I use my Bluetooth headphones a lot at home. Noise canceling and no cord is pretty nice. But for very good audio I use my normal sennheisers
- ggg9990 8y agoJust bought an iPhone 6S four days ago because of this and the physical home button. $140 brand new.
- beloch 8y agoApple and Google seem to have approached removing the headphone jack, not as a way to reduce costs to the customer by eliminating an obsolete feature they don't use but, instead, as a way to increase the money they can squeeze out of customers by forcing them to replace perfectly good headphones they are currently using with new headphones hopefully made by Apple or Google. I'm honestly not surprised by this. Headphone technology hasn't really changed for many decades. A good pair of cans made a very long time ago are probably still a good pair of cans. I have some Audio Technica woodies that I absolutely love and are still going strong after more than a decade. To Apple and Google, this is a state of affairs that cannot be allowed to stand! Where's the planned obsolescence and constant product turnover? Apple tried to make their earbuds a disposable commodity that need to be replaced frequently, but people caught onto the fact that it was just due to bad build quality and kept buying stuff from other companies. So, change up the connectors and force wireless standards that are, quite frankly, not that good for audio and ripe for eventual upgrade (i.e. bluetooth) into headphones so people won't be able to use the same pair for decades. Profit! So what should consumers do if they like their current headphones or just don't want to deal with adapters, charging bluetooth devices, or sorting out multiple incompatible connectors? Buy phones that still have headphone jacks, like the Samsung S9.
- asdff 8y agoI hate the direction they are moving with the port situation on their products, which is to nickel and dime you for the privilege of using different connections. I can buy a brand new iPhone and macbook, and come home with no way to connect them with the supplied cables, I need to buy a dongle. I can't use the same headphones with my computer and phone anymore, either; apple doesn't include the 3.5mm dongle with their phones anymore and instead would gladly tack on $10 for 1-inch of cable that should have never existed on this earth in the first place.
- fyfy18 8y agoWhen Apple first removed the headphone jack I was a big opponent of what they had done. It didn't affect me personally though, as I had an old laptop and phone both with headphone jacks and no plans to upgrade. Still I was quite vocal about how stupid it was to remove them. At the time I was working at home, and had an old set of Sennheiser headphones with a 3m long cable that I usually used for music. Occasionally I'd end up tangled up in the cable, all attempts to prevent it failed. For calls I had a cheap Sennheiser headset which did the trick, and did (what I thought was) a pretty decent job of blocking out noise when travelling. Earlier this year I went back to the office, and needed some noise cancelling headphones, so got Sony MDR-1000X which are Bluetooth. The noise cancelling really puts the old headset I had to shame, when on an aircraft if I play light music I literally can't hear any outside noise. They are comfortable to wear all the time (a few times in summer my ears did get a bit sweaty) and I usually charge them once or a maximum twice a week, even though I'm using them most of the day. When they say they are low I still get a few hours usage, so just put them on charge at lunch when it first warns me. Compared to my old headphones the noise quality is about the same, but these have built in volume and track controls, and a microphone. Bluetooth just works for me, and the range is not a problem. I can easily have my phone on one side of my apartment, and listen to music on the other. I have them paired with my phone and computer, and can easily switch the source without major issues. It just works (apart from some weird Linux bug where it uses the wrong audio profile, but on other OSes it's fine). A few months ago I got a new phone and it didn't come with an audio jack. I tried to find one that did, but this had the best specs for what I wanted, so it was a sacrifice I would have to make. The phone come with a dongle, but I haven't even removed it from the packaging in the box. I just haven't needed it, and don't care that it's gone. Same thing on my laptop, it has an audio jack (output only) but I don't care if it's removed as I never use it now. On my PC I had to buy a cheapo USB sound card as the built in audio jack had lots of static, so I don't really care if that's removed either. Bluetooth is good enough, it's just going to be a while until a $15 set of Bluetooth earphones are at a similar quality level to a $15 set of wired earphones. I do agree the execution could have been done better by Apple (e.g. lightning headphones, which you can't use on all Apple hardware) and it was possibly a bit premature, but eventually we would have reached this point. As for the so called audiophiles who need it, wouldn't you be better off with an external soundcard, rather than relying on whatever $0.50 chip the manufacturer can find?
- etrautmann 8y agoYES! I could have written this exact article. It rings true daily. Such a massive PITA, the number of dongles I've bought / lost, etc. is unreal.
- arvinsim 8y agoI remember using my adapter only once but I still manage to lost it! I swear, these things are so easy to misplace.
- starik36 8y ago"Without a doubt, even from the vantage of today, 2016 will go down as one of the saddest sack years in recent history. A reality show billionaire was elected president." Right off the bat, in the first paragraph, with an unnecessary political statement. Turns off half the audience right there. Everything said thereafter is taken with a giant grain of salt. Is this person living in such a bubble that he can't have a conversation without mentioning Trump?
- asdff 8y agoNo, but the editor insisted on some SEO.
- jueteng_lord 8y agoIt is my strong opinion that Apple's "design courage" is business driven than actual innovation. The reason being is that it was released the same day as the Apple AirPods. A similar comment can be said for Google's "design courage" for the Pixel 2, when on the same day they released the Pixel Buds. If they were concerned about space and waterproofing, could they have just made a magsafe lightning port instead of a hole taking that amount of space at the bottom?
- KiDD 8y agostares at Ember mug in hand You don't know me!
- KiDD 8y ago
- notatoad 8y agoApple, and all the other phone companies on board with this, seem to have made the gamble that there's a whole bunch of other stuff people care about more than headphone jacks. And they seem to have been right. I don't miss my headphone jack - my phone still has one. If people really wanted headphone jacks, they'd buy phones with headphone jacks. But if you care more about the social stigma of having a blue bubble in iMessage or being seen with a previous-gen phone, I guess you're stuck with no choice but to complain.
- deniska 8y ago15 years ago most phones didn't have a 3.5 jack and you had to have a dongle. I don't want to go back to that time.
- tpxl 8y agoCurious, what did they have then? As far as I can remember, my two first phones around 14 and 12 years ago both had headphone jacks.
- nikki93 8y agoRHA TrueConnect is the best AirPods alternative I've seen. Fits different ear sizes (this was my problem w/ AirPods -- RHA's come with many sizes of covering, including one that you can shrink and expands inside your ear like earplugs), good audio quality (RHA is good at it), look sleek and have a great case, use Bluetooth 5. Just wish I could use AAC and aptX with it for lower latency (I know they say they don't support it -- I tried just for kicks and it removed the latency but added weird artifacts -- only noticed latency originally w/ macOS btw, not on iOS).
- rabboRubble 8y agoThe most annoying thing about the missing headphone jack, is the missing headphone jack on other people's phones. The people who ride public transport blaring bad music without headphones. Because Bluetooth headsets are a pain and the overlap between a) the type of person willing to annoy an entire carful of passengers and b) the type of person unable to manage the planning of wireless headphone charing ahead of time is nearly 100%. And now that the cultural prohibition against making unnecessary noise is broken, it won't be coming back easily. Thanks Apple. Thanks...
- diegoperini 8y agoI use a six dollars worth 3.5mm to blutooth reciever to convert my good old headphones into a wireless one. Didn't regret since.
- fsloth 8y agoAn unrelated note: there seems to be lot of comments in this thread that are downvoted just because people disagree with them. I would prefer a culture where comments that you agree with are upvoted, comments that you disagree on you offer an alternative point of view, and only comments that are completely deragatory to the quality of discussion are downvoted. Thanks! And yeah, I love my 3.5 mm jacks, sometimes tech matures to a point where it really does not need to change for centuries.
- justtopost 8y agoI have lobbied for years that downvotes should only be enabled if A. You respond B. You upvote a response to the comment. This would bring all the nasty bias to the surface, which I feel is why its not implemented.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- unixhero 8y agoWell! Buy the Galaxy S9 then. Easy.
- mattnewton 8y agoI really wish it was a comparable product. My SO had absolutely terrible support experiences with them and I don’t want to buy a phone with preloaded NFL or 3 email apps again
- unixhero 8y agoSounds like a Carrier problem, not a Samsung issue. We don't get that in Europe. The phone is smoking.
- pookieinc 8y agoWe need to take into account _Accessibility_. A large use case that I've found most people seems to miss are individuals who are older and don't have much experience with bluetooth or wireless technology. I'm fine with Apple removing the headphone jack, but they've alienated so many people to find their own path when they don't include the adapter. Anecdotal example: I recently purchased headphones for my 65-year old father and showed him how to use it, in preparation for his "headphone jack-less" future. After about a month (he lives in China, so I see him only a couple times a year), I asked him how it's going and he said he doesn't use them anymore because he just couldn't figure it out. I tried to explain "Turn on Bluetooth on your phone, then turn on your headphones, then hold down the button to pair, etc", but it was actually quite complicated because once he did this dance, 2 months later his phone restarted and bluetooth was off and we had to do it again. Software-wise, I can just send a link, but when it comes to hardware + software like printers, things become really challenging to explain. I bring this up because if we're moving to the "wireless" world, we need to really consider accessibility for the elderly. My father ended up throwing away these really expensive Beats headphones, went to his local market and bought some cheap Sony headphones and is now listening fine. I'm not really sure what's going on happen when his next phone doesn't have the headphone jack.
- m_mueller 8y agomaybe an industry standard that works like AirPods pairing?
- Natanael_L 8y agoNFC pairing is a thing, used by a few Sony headphones. Android supports it.
- roboyoshi 8y agoYes, but looking at Apple, Google, HTC, Samsung and recent history, I think it will come down to this: https://xkcd.com/927/ https://xkcd.com/927/ . I'm almost certain that whatever Apple developed for the Airpods will not be shared with other companies. And whatever other companies push forward as a "Standard" will not replace the Apple Solution in the near future. Even replacing apples crappy AFP Network Protocol took 13 years, until SMB finally took over in macOS Mavericks. And even then, they used their own implementation instead of the official "Standard" one.
- Kiro 8y agoMeanwhile normal people outside the tech and HN bubble have moved on and forgot what a headphone jack is.
- intended 8y agoI just need the headline. This is 100% what I wish I had in my damn phones.
- solatic 8y agoUSB-C audio wouldn't suck if: a) there was a standard protocol for a USB-C DAC that everyone supported (across desktop and mobile OSes) such that an end consumer could purchase a USB-C DAC and be reasonably confident that it'll work universally, b) phones came with more than one USB-C port, such that playing and charging at the same time wouldn't be an issue If anything, USB-C should've been a revolution, pushing the DAC closer to the speakers can help improve audio quality and getting rid of the DAC in the phone helps to level the playing field between devices. But the OEMs dropped the ball hard.
- WheelsAtLarge 8y agoThe missing jack is all about expanding sales for Apple. Had they not bought Beats we would still have the jack. By removing the jack they can sell a hell of a lot more headphones to people by telling them that the new tech will make the music sound so much better. Previously 150 dollar headphones seemed expensive. Now 150 dollar beats feel like the norm, even cheap. We won't be getting the jack back. Good for Apple but sucks for suckers -- sorry I mean consumers.
- peterwwillis 8y agoI'm still pining for my old brick phone, where I could text with the phone still in my pocket, the battery lasted for a week, and the signal was strong.
- metafunctor 8y agoBased on all the other comments here I'm probably in the minority, but I still think the author should just get some decent Bluetooth headphones. I have AirPods and Sennheiser Momentums. I'm looking forward to another year of my life when I don't need to untangle a mess of wires in my jacket pocket every day. Battery life is very good, and I haven't had any problems with running out of juice on these.
- snaky 8y agoThat's great, but that's not the point. The point is > And no human’s life is measurably better since Apple had the “courage” to remove the 3.5 mm jack. But a lot of our lives are just a little worse. The headphone jack don't disable BT you know.
- sidchilling 8y agoI still want to be able to charge my phone and listen to music using the headphone jack. How is that not even a use case anymore? I don’t like the AirPods because they are too easy to lose, and I’m so clumsy with headphones that I buy cheap ones every month, which comes with headphone jack only. I think Apple made a very bad UX, and never cared about users. I moved to Android phones as a result, which frankly aren’t as inferior as they used to be 4 years ago.
- marcodave 8y ago> I still want to be able to charge my phone and listen to music using the headphone jack I guess they want you to buy the wireless charging dock?
- glogla 8y agoSo you're okay with hurting other people, especially the elderly, disabled and poor, because you get something. I guess admitting that takes "courage" as well?
- jamesrcole 8y ago[People downvoting this, care to explain what you think is incorrect or invalid about the points it makes?] You need to explain how Apple removing headphone jacks from their phone hurts these people. And why do you think it couldn't provide any benefit to any of them, either? (e.g. read the bit about AirPods here https://www.apple.com/lae/accessibility/iphone/hearing/ https://www.apple.com/lae/accessibility/iphone/hearing/ . Or consider how not having cables might help prevent accidents with the elderly, because there's no cables to get caught on things). The most laughable thing about your comment is the notion that Apple is somehow forcing phones without headphone jacks upon people. Because of course it is not possible to buy any phones that have headphone jacks. (do you also realise that it is still possible to use 3.5mm headphones with all Apple phones? So how much harm can be done even if people do want to use such headphones?)
- hpbd 8y agoYour comment is a great "think about the children".
- topmonk 8y agoMaking fast cars, downhill racing bikes and hang gliders all hurt the elderly, disabled, and poor, too, by that logic.
- dang 8y agoThis comment broke the site guidelines by being an uncivil personal attack, and by not doing this: "Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith." We ban accounts that don't follow the guidelines, so please review https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and do so from now on.
- buboard 8y agoWhy not instead use the 3.5mm standard for serial port and charging capability as well? now that would make a lot of people happy
- yk 8y agoClearly the solution is not going back to a 3.5 mm audio jack, but to invent a new standard that everybody will support. We could alsa call it pulse jack and audio will be fixed forever.
- easytiger 8y agoNot going to happen until Apple stop being ridiculous
- murraybhenson 8y agoThis hasn't bothered me in the least and I was fine with the change. Before I bought an iPhone without the headphone jack I bought a SoundBlaster bluetooth adapter for my wired headphones - which I'm quite fond of - and so continued to use my wired headphones. I've only got the one set of headphones, so they stay permanently plugged into the Sound Blaster device. I'll keep it until my wired headphones die or until there are a set of bluetooth headphones with a good fit and good battery life. https://us.creative.com/p/sound-blaster/sound-blaster-e3 https://us.creative.com/p/sound-blaster/sound-blaster-e3
- hacalox 8y agoIf you miss the headphone jack don't buy an Iphone. When buying a product you are actually validating its design with your purchase. Every dollar is a vote and money is the only language companies talk.
- ayoisaiah 8y agoThe problem is many Android manufacturers are also following suit for no apparent reason.
- tokyodude 8y agoI used to always carry a Y adapter so I could share my music with whoever I'm traveling with. No more of that :( If any of you know Asian style box karaoke (small private rooms for 4 to 16 people) some places let you plug in external input... but of course they only have headphone cables so none of that anymore. I suppose they're supposed to some how setup Apple TV/Chromecast in every room? Here in Tokyo anytime I enter a crowded train station or a crowded intersection my Airpods basically cease to function cutting in and out, mostly out, for the until I get out of the crowded area. Didn't have that issue with my wired headphones. I actually mostly like my Airpods but I do wish my phone kept the headphone jack.
- dmode 8y agoMore than the lack of headphone jack, I actually hate the lightning / usb-c / 3.5 mm inconsistency between the iPhone and Macbook. I mean, I usually would keep the dongle on my headset. But when I need to get on a Webex call or listen to music from you computer, I have to remove the dongle. I have misplaced them a few times because of this reason. Although, I would say that the one upside of removing the headphone jack has been the release of Airpods. One you use them, there is no going back to wired headphones.
- apricot13 8y agoThe headphone jack is still also the main way to guarantee your laptop wont make a sound when someone sends you a youtube video in a deathly quiet office!
- Animats 8y agoNext, get rid of the USB jack and get 100% hermetically sealed units? Apple already has Qi charging.
- bkjones 8y agoThey could get rid of the screen, too, and call it iBrick. The iBrick can still run truly side-effect free programs.
- wetpaws 8y agoThere is an easy solution to this problem. Not bying smartphones without a 3.5mm jack. So simple, so straightforward, and yet people complaining but still pretty much voting for being abused with their wallet.
- svantana 8y ago> Apple ditched the 3.5 mm headphone jack in the iPhone 7 for a Lightning connector If this had only been the case, I would have been happy. Then we would have had two lightning ports on the phone, which would have been nice. No, all they did was take away a port, similarly to the 15" macbook pro, where they went from 8 ports to 5. A very sad trend IMO.
- jacobush 8y agoBut why can't Bluetooth be fixed? Imagine a protocol, where the phone broadcasts a low power wireless signal, encrypted, for anyone to listen to. The headphones decode this signal and plays the sound. No synchronizing, no fuzz. The Bluetooth protocol does something royally error prone. My Windows computer will only connect to my headphones if and only if I tell Windows to connect and then very quickly turn the headphones on.
- brianmcc 8y agoRather than getting into the ins and outs of why they did it, who misses the jack, who doesn't, why can't we just agree based on the wealth of commentary here and elsewhere that for a significant minority - possibly even a very large minority - this removal represents a disproportionately high impact change? It's like admitting that people are entitled to mourn the removal of the jack is part of a slippery slope toward admitting that Apple - gasp - made a mistake, and that's just untenable. Apple makes a ton of money from this - they're one of the main BT headphone vendors - so I actually don't consider it a mistake on their part (they know exactly what they are doing) but for other manufacturers it makes no sense. No-one buys a phone because it has no jack. Some people though will rule phones out for dispensing with the jack. So why do they do it?! For me for example, it's literally the first thing I now consider: I will not buy a jack-less phone while alternatives are available. Don't care about camera, brand, etc - any mid range Android with a jack will pretty much suit me.
- slig 8y agoAs a owner of a mid range Android phone with a phone jack, I had the same opinion. But now I see there's more to it, the quality of the DAC makes a huge difference.
- brianmcc 8y agoInteresting - which devices have you found to be good and bad, and how does the difference manifest? I tend to notice drop offs for sampling bit rate, and can hear the difference with Bluetooth, but I've personally never connected to any device playing decent quality streams/downloads and noticed a difference. Not saying no-one can notice it, just find it interesting I've never done so! FWIW I listen through some AKG 550s, which I can highly recommend.
- slig 8y agoI currently have a Motorola Z2 Play, and before that had a iPhone 6. Even using a pair of Apple's earpods I can tell the difference. Will take a look at the AKG 550s, thanks for the recommendation.
- mangecoeur 8y agoWhile we're whinging about loss of headphone jacks, lets add latency! Apple have always pushed their kit as being friendly for musicians and such. Now try playing an iOS MIDI instrument over bluetooth - with ~200ms delay between you hitting a key and hearing it. Useless and infuriating. So back to the dongle it is. Except of course if you want to charge and listen at the same time (which, you know, tends to happen when you are running a few power-hungry audio apps).
- sneak 8y agoThe Y-cable that allows charging+headphone simultaneously is widely available for $13 or so. I simply don’t understand why everyone in this narrow use case finds this to be such a monumental hassle.
- mangecoeur 8y agoIt is a hassle to add yet another dongle, but more that it's just annoying that we have a perfectly good solution and it got removed, its a step backwards with few clear benefits. It's doubly annoying that Apple is heavily promoting its wireless headphones as the solution, while simultaneously promoting its 'Creatives' cred, and in no way acknowledging that their favored solution just doesn't work for the use case they are promoting.
- sneak 8y agoIt is not universally agreed that an analog, unbalanced headphone jack is a "perfectly good solution".
- justtopost 8y agoIt really is. The only people arguing are contrarians, fanboys, and companies out to sell digital media (see closing the analog hole), or wireless devices.
- faceplanted 8y agoOne of the reasons people buy expensive tech is that it comes "batteries included" so to speak, the idea that to do something as simple as use headphones requires making another purchase after you've just spent $1000 is pretty antithetical to that.
- andrewaylett 8y agoI have a lovely pair of Bluetooth headphones, yet when I bought a new phone the other month I deliberately went for one that still has a headphone jack. Why? Because much as I love Bluetooth, I still use the jack. Maybe not every day, but if I want to plug into pretty much anything that's not my headphones or my car then I need a jack. Apple make a lot of money from phones. They also make a lot of money from Bluetooth headphones. It makes a lot of sense for them, from an ecosystem building perspective, to push people from cheap wired headphones to expensive Apple headphones. I'm less certain what non-Apple manufacturers expect to gain.
- me551ah 8y agoI am an audiophile and I don't miss the headphone jack at all. I've always hated the headphone jack on most phones since most of them are inherently low quality. If you have a high end headphone then the weakest link usually is the DAC ( Digital to Analog ) chip on your device. While there are some devices which are made with high fidelity audio in mind ( LG V30 which does come with a headphone jack ), most of the devices in the market aren't. Also good high fidelity headphones usually have higher resistance ( I use DT770 Pro regularly with is rated at 250 ohms ) and almost none of the phones in market today can drive them to the best of their ability. Historically I've always carried a mini amp(Fiio A3) to use my headphones with headphone jacks in my phone to be able to get good audio quality from headphones. Mobile devices just don't have enough juice to give you good sound quality and drive high end headphones to the best of their ability. Even headphones rated at 32 ohms can benefit hugely from a higher audio output. So for me, audio from a mobile device comes down to 2 use cases: 1. Calling and other low-fidelity tasks I have a sennheiser bluetooth headphones which supports AptX for these purposes. Bluetooth is lossy and AptX gives you much better audio quality. They are rated at 10+ hours and usually work pretty well for calling and other light uses. 2. Listening to audio I carry a portable DAC ( Fiio X3) but there are many portable ones available in the market. If you have an iPhone you can get the Fiio i1 which is based on apple's lightning. A portable DAC will usually come with it's own Amp and the audio output will be far better than what a standard phone is capable of. If you have high end headphones you'll be pleasantly surprised at how much difference a good DAC+Amp combo can make. I exclusively use TIDAL for audio streaming since their lossless audio has much higher fidelity compared to other streaming providers.
- rkangel 8y agoUsing phone audio in a way that benefits from that extra increase in audio quality is the minority case (based on my observations). Most people listen on the their phone when they are 'out and about', walking in town with car noise in the background, on the subway etc.. In those environments, the returns diminish quite quickly past a decent pair of noise isolating in ear headphones. This is the case for which the new situation is the unarguable improvement, but I think it's rare enough that consumers as a group have lost more than they gain.
- seanhunter 8y agoPeople just love to find things to complain about. There are a number of great options: 1)Get a different phone or keep your old phone. Noone's forcing you to use one without a headphone jack. You could even use an older iPhone if innovation frightens you in general and you're happy with your old setup 2)Get/use an adapter. THey're not expensive and sometimes come with the phone 3)Get/use headphones with the new style of plug. You could probably use some new headphones as they get pretty janky over time 4)Use wireless. In lots of ways it's objectively better. Yeah you may need to get used to a new thing, but being good at adapting to change is an important muscle to exercise. Honestly every time there's innovation there are all kinds of complaints, especially on here. "Why do I have to change to USB-C? I'm fine with my old peripherals" (well your old computer still works with your old peripherals and if you want to use a new computer there are adapters). "Why do I have to change to wireless headphones?" (you don't. Your old phone still works with old headphone jacks and there are adapters) The idea that older people are completely unable to handle plugging a headphone adapter in but are somehow able to plug a headphone jack in is just bizarre. You can just pretend that the adapter is part of the cable with the headphones and always keep them together.
- einr 8y agoYou could even use an older iPhone if innovation frightens you in general Putting aside your unnecessarily snarky tone, it is not innovation to remove something from a phone. It's just not. Get/use headphones with the new style of plug. What, with the proprietary Lightning connector that works with nothing else but an iPad or iPhone? (Not even a Mac! Oh, but there's another dongle for that...) What if I also have an Android USB-C device that needs another connector, and then since I'm interested in music I also have amps or other portable players that take the standard 3,5 mm plug? I now need buy three pairs of headphones instead of one that works with everything from the past forty years? Is this innovation or is it just marketing garbage to sell people more shit they don't need that will end up in landfills in three years? In lots of ways it's objectively better. In lots of ways it's objectively worse. Bluetooth audio is compressed and objectively worse than uncompressed audio over an analog cable. Wireless headphones require batteries, which means less flexibility and more mental overhead. The batteries age and are generally not easily replacable, which contributes to waste. We don't need to make more disposable electronics with lithium batteries that end up in landfills. Bluetooth introduces latency which makes it entirely unsuitable for musicians. Also, Bluetooth in 2018 is still janky as hell (susceptible to interference, forgets pairings, etc.) and not nearly as reliable as just plugging a cable into a thing and having it work always and forever. It also drains a non-trivial amount of battery. I usually have Bluetooth switched off because I never use it, and enjoy better battery life as a result.
- timvisee 8y agoThe primary reason I want it back, is because audio though the jack of has usually been of better quality than audio though Bluetooth with another DAC. The difference can be enormous. Therefore it feels as a big downgrade to me. And don't forget that all these USB C and wireless options are possible without removing the jack at all.
- pranav7 8y agoWhat a well-articulated piece!
- mackrevinack 8y agoim nowhere near elderly and have been using bluetooth in my car and with headphones for years and I still run into trouble a lot of the time. its just not ready yet
- d--b 8y agoiPhone SE: - It’s got the jack plug - I can type with one thumb - it doesn’t bend in my pocket - it’s way cheaper I can’t think of anything the X has I am missing on the SE.
- paveln 8y agoAm I the only one that had issues with headphone jacks on multiple devices, from multiple headphones, with audio either not working at all or working on one channel only until I rotate the jack for awhile?
- vkoskiv 8y agoI cannot use wireless headphones. The battery on them dies within 15-20 minutes in sub-zero temperatures.
- KevanM 8y agoI bought a new TV recently and it still has a headphone socket and no option for bluetooth. I would find it more useful to have a Bluetooth headset for my TV than I would for my phone.
- arvinsim 8y agoThe irony in all of this is that while trying to push for a wireless and one universal port(USB-C), we ended up with more cables, dongles and adapters than before.
- whizzkid 8y agoI would definitely understand if we were at a stage where AirPods battery would last half a year but we are not. Battery-less cable beats wireless 2 hours of talk time quiet easily. Wireless is the correct path but it was too early to get rid of the working standard without having a better alternative in my opinon.
- dalf 8y agohttps://youtu.be/utfbE3_uAMA https://youtu.be/utfbE3_uAMA video from "Strange Parts", which after multiple tries brought back a headphone jack on a iPhone 7. It is described as not ready for prime time (see at the end https://youtu.be/utfbE3_uAMA?t=1872 https://youtu.be/utfbE3_uAMA?t=1872 )
- caberus 8y agoi love "my not so expensive and average quality" earphones. i simply plug it my iphone 6s, then my work laptop and when i'm home i use it while gaming with my MBP 2015. i sometimes forgot them in my pocket and find them while ironing my pants; they smell good, look very clean and work like a charm when i plug in to my phone. if i lose them or somehow they don't work, i can buy the same for a few bucks. if i want i can use a cool bluetooth earphones but i really don't want, and moreover i really don't want to be force to do so
- rovek 8y agoIt feels to me like Bluetooth consumer products are a lot like consumer printers; for 90+% of users they will be obsolete before they "just work" to any layperson's definition. Every Christmas, you will have to fix your parents printer/wireless home device which hasn't worked for months and won't work in 2 months.
- consultSKI 8y agoAnswer: Samsung Galaxy phones with better waterproofing IP68 vs. IP67 and they did it WITH a headphone jack. I expect S10 will also have 5G NR plus OS 9
- gsich 8y agoI find all reasons for ditching it excuses. "Water proof" - no, there are devices that can do both. I would have been fine with this, if we would get 2 USB-C connectors then.
- capedape 8y agoI’ve tried AirPods, which sounded ok, but they fall out. The included headphones don’t sound good (and also fall out) compared to any of the headphones I already own. I’ve been to the Apple store four times in the last year and had to sit and wait to get a dongle replaced. Once, while in another country the adaptor just quit working. They had a certified Apple store, but the dongle was out of stock so I had to wait four days for one. The second day of waiting was in a motorcycle accident which left me in a hospital bed with no headphones. I start a lot of audio/visual sketches on iPad I can’t use Bluetooth headphones because of the quality and latency... Get it together Apple, I’m really tired of this dongle adaptor’s poor quality and the kludgy nature of Bluetooth.
- cm2187 8y agoOne thing I don't understand is that if the port size is really a problem, why don't the big tech companies agree on a smaller format? The same applies to ethernet. Pretty much all laptops have dropped the ethernet port, mostly because it too bulky for modern formats. Why can't they simply agree on another socket?
- TeMPOraL 8y agoAgreeing on a standard is hard. Meanwhile, while no agreement exists, there's plenty of space for people to make money on incompatible standards, each trying to become the dominant solution. Frankly, I'm sometimes surprised by the amount of things that _are_ standardized between platforms, especially when that standardization isn't forced by regulation.
- kazen44 8y agoin ethernet's case, having another connector would be useless because all the other devices still use good old rj45. RJ45 connectors are in terms of their size, already not that large considering the size of the cable they deal with. (CAT cable is far larger then a 3.5mm headphone cable).
- cm2187 8y agoIt doesn't matter what the other device uses, all you need is cables terminating with the new socket. Like mini and micro usb cables. A typical RJ45 female socket is more than the height of a modern laptop.
- baldfat 8y agoThis isn't important to most people and it is just an annoyance. All of my devices have a headphone jack, BECAUSE I buy my devices with a headphone jack. I have a LG V20 which had the best headphone jack on the market. People didn't buy it. People don't care about headphone jacks enough to buy headphone jacks in devices.
- kozak 8y agoWe need a powerbank with a built-in Bluetooth to 3.5 mm audio interface. People tend to carry a powerbank around anyway, and having the Bluetooth thing built into it will ensure that this device will never run out of battery. Yes it's going to be a niche product, but some people will love it a lot.
- jason46 8y agoI don't miss the stereo jack on my motorola, I have wireless headphones, a car with BT and a jeep without BT. Walmart has these at the check out line, I use it in my jeep. https://www.walmart.com/ip/EliteMailers-Bluetooth-Receiver-Transmitters-With-Hands-free-calling-AUX-cable-Radio-Stereo-Adapter-Car-Charger-for-All-Smartphones/525557240 https://www.walmart.com/ip/EliteMailers-Bluetooth-Receiver-T...
- imtemplain 8y agoBlatant Trump hatred in the first sentence, sorry but no thanks.
- exodust 8y agoI like headphone jacks. They're small, harmless, useful, and work easily. A good idea would be to put them in a phone for customer and listener convenience.
- brennankreiman 8y agoHeadphone jack, water resistance, pick one.
- Noxmiles 8y agoJust buy a phone with a headphone jack.
- grpsisgood 8y agoWhy bother? I won't buy iphone anymore
- yoz-y 8y agoA heretical idea would be to actually have two lightning or USB-C ports on the device. No ports is a more probable future for the phones but I could see something like this on an iPad.
- Chris_Chambers 8y agoWho should we blame when the pair of headphones we buy off Amazon winds up being a counterfeit with some sort of zero day exploit and malware payload that gets injected into our phones because the headphones have a full USB connection instead of a simple implicitly sandboxed audio stream?
- nathan_long 8y agoMy questions are: 1. What's the value of a wireless connection to a device you'll be touching when you use it anyway? 2. Assuming you value "no cord tangles" so highly that you're willing to put up with Bluetooth, charging your headphones, risking dropping your AirPods down a storm drain, etc, why can't the rest of us just have the jack as an option? Nobody's saying "remove Bluetooth." 3. What about the value of loose coupling and backward and forward compatibility? Given a couple adapters, I can plug my current iPod into a 1970s stereo, or plug a record player into my car stereo, and instantly have them working. Brand and device age are irrelevant. BlueTooth compatibility isn't guaranteed between two devices made today.
- maerF0x0 8y agoAt the end of the article I find it amusing that the author states > I won’t start about how many times I’ve tried to use wireless headphones only to find them dead, because anything wireless is just another battery to worry about. The same logic points that his _phone_ is also wireless. Maybe we should add a cord to that? The responsibility to have the foresight to charge a device has, in my life, proven to be a small and reasonable request. In many android cases (unsure about apple) you can even charge your head phones using your phone as a battery.
- psteinweber 8y agoI don't agree. Just because a phone needs foresight and charging, doesn't mean that it's not a massive disadvantage if other accessory also require the same effort. It's just an additional hassle and more things to charge. That logic doesn't scale.
- KuhlMensch 8y agoHaha, I literally just got Amazoned this £130.00 order to enable me to use headphones with HQ sound AND mic WHILE charging my new iPad Pro 11", which only has USB-C: - http://amzn.eu/d/dm8vC88 - http://amzn.eu/d/0o5f4JK And I KNOW I'm going to have a 50% chance this works, and 0% chance this works without either software or hardware problems. I'm psychologically for the random audio drop-outs and glitches when I slightly reposition the orgy-of-dongles (that is the collective noun right?) I'm all over wireless as a concept, but BlueTooth can't seem to handle High quality sound & mic so, I consider removing the audio jack on the iPad pro to be a mistake. I don't hate Apple, I don't think they are offending me, I don't bother trying to guess at why. I just plain think they have made a mistake. And god damn, when I plug my headphones into an old iPad and ... "it just works" ... god damn. EDIT: The above config of hardware works for sound! Yay! Not tried mic yet.
- SonicSoul 8y agohmm my 65 year old dad figured out bluetooth pairing with his car, and a JBL speaker i got him, BUT takes 10 minutes of fiddling around with car menus to pair my phone when im borrowing the car, AND when you pair more than one device to the speaker, there's no easy way to switch other than going to bluetooth menu and finding the device (re-pairing each time). i wish it was proximity aware and just chose the nearest device instead of trying to connect to most recent or nothing at all.
- Wowfunhappy 8y agoI flat out will not buy a phone without a headphone jack, and I cannot see this changing in the forseeable future. Anything that could be added to a new phone model—a better screen, a faster processor, a better camera, etc—will not be enough to offset the inconvenience of being unable to listen to an audiobook on the subway because I inevitably forgot the damn adapter. As long as there is one phone with a headphone jack, that is the one I will buy. If the only options are older devices, I will buy the least-old one.
- randyrand 8y agoI still use an iphone with a headphone jack, but when the time comes I think the solution is to buy a bunch of dongles that dangle (hah) from every headphone cord I have.
- danmg 8y agoSomeone should make a high end smart phone geared toward audiophiles that has a 1/2" jack and an interface to plug in a tube amp.
- acd 8y ago3.5 Audio jacks are standard, just like the USB charging cable is a standard. Not using 3.5 audio jacks, leads to tremendous amounts of industrial waste in the form of old head phones with proprietary connectors. I think it would be better if cellphones had both 3.5mm jacks and Bluetooth.
- tomlum 8y agoRight now if you buy a macbook and an iPhone, you will get: An iPhone with no headphone jack, a pair of lightning headphones, a lightning to usb charging cable A macbook with a headphone jack and no usb ports. Out of the box you cannot charge your phone with your laptop, or use either headphones for either. They could very well be made by separate companies. They have Zero out of the box connectivity with each other. I don't care what anyone has to say about usb-c and the future: this is a step backwards for those of us in the present.
- stcredzero 8y agoApple's removal of the headphone jack wasn't "courage." Courage was Steve Jobs determining that pen tablets weren't viable back in 2000 and knowing later just when touch tablets were ready for the public. What Apple did was fail to realize that Bluetooth headphones are still a bit awkward and not quite ready for mainstream ubiquity. Instead, they took away something that just works and replaced it with something a bit over-complicated that is nifty in a propeller-head way. It was the opposite of what Apple is supposed to do.
- rs23296008n1 8y agoBluetooth is great until it isn't. Settings get lost. Drivers need updating. Pairing gets confused. Congested environments can lock you out. You need to power cycle the device. All solved with a cable.