9 ms·

You're talking about the company that publicly extolled their own "courage" when they removed the headphone jack from their phones.

loudtieblahblah 5y ago
- falcolas 5y ago
  > Boycott slavery? I'd expect that of any company operating today, frankly. But what's that got to do with their marketing speech?
  - krageon 5y ago
    > I'd expect that of any company operating today, frankly. Almost every company actively uses slave labour and can therefore be assumed to be entirely okay with it.
HWR_14 5y ago
Which was sad. If they had said "this makes your phone last 5 minutes longer when it gets wet" even I would have been cautiously optimistic. But "courage" is a stupid argument. That said, the real reason is they decided bluetooth headphones were finally reliable enough
- gibolt 5y ago
  Reliable enough AND that they were going to sell them.
  - HWR_14 5y ago
    That's true. But they were going to sell them because they were reliable enough. For a while there, bluetooth headphones were a nightmare.
    - exikyut 5y ago
      (Because *they'd made the things reliable enough, themselves. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29465668 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29465668)
    - goldfeld 5y ago
      Bluetooth is a nightmare. My jbl little box won't catch my phone's awesome vibes unless they touch, otherwise audio gets chopped. I'm still trying to find my simple in-in jack which has much better range than "touching" and will make the setup give me less cancer. Also to hell with cordless peripherals, my so called keyboards and pointers are all catching dust because there's an inexorable demand for these little toxic disgusting things called batteries, and don't you dare go a year or two without using your computers and thus managing their little chernobyls! technology from Apple and the modern crowd can be trusted alone as much as a newborn and a rattlesnake.
      - breakfastduck 5y ago
        This is a very, very personal and subjective take. I've literally countless bluetooth audio and non audio devices and I don't have issues with any of them.
        bmitc 5y ago
        Apple is notorious for having terrible Bluetooth on their devices.
        breakfastduck 5y ago
        Ironically the bluetooth on my AirPods, Macbook and iPhone are miles better than any other device I used in terms of bluetooth.
        cronix 5y ago
        My MBP disconnects from BT speakers several times a day. It's 2 feet away, both are stationary.
- bartread 5y ago
  > reliable enough Reliable enough for what? Uninterrupted playback (barring from drained batteries)? Nope.
- Doxin 5y ago
  Waterproof jack connectors do exist.
raytube 5y ago
Jack removal makes sense, if going for a dust and waterproof soap bar. My Samsung is supposedly waterproof, but moans if I do much as breathe in the charge hole.
- oblio 5y ago
  No, it doesn't. It's bullshit. There's stuff like the Ulefone Armor 9 FLIP rugged smartphone which has the headphone jack and has even better ingress protection than the iPhone: > the extra padding and protection that comes with an IP68/IP69K-rated, MIL-STD-810G certified outdoor smartphone https://www.techradar.com/reviews/ulefone-armor-9-flir-rugged-smartphone https://www.techradar.com/reviews/ulefone-armor-9-flir-rugge... Apple removed the headphone jack for Airbuds and to get extra money. Their accessory division would be a Fortune 500 company, on its own. You don't get to be a billionaire by giving money away (or not picking it up when users throw it at you).
  - stevewodil 5y ago
    > A 3.5mm audio connector hidden behind a flap I’m not saying your argument is invalid but…sure the iPhone could also have a waterproof headphone jack if we wanted port covers on it too. The phone you linked looks nothing like something I want in my pocket all day
    - lliamander 5y ago
      > The phone you linked looks nothing like something I want in my pocket all day I rather doubt most people would really be able to tell the difference.
      - deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
    - Godel_unicode 5y ago
      The Pixel 5a has a headphone jack, is waterproof, and has no port covers. It has an actual IP rating, with all the added expense that comes with, and still is shockingly cheap. It has a great looking design and is very close in size to a contemporary iphone. It can be done, Apple didn't do it because they didn't want to.
itronitron 5y ago
Sounds like a great children's book, "The Incredible Journey of Headphone Jack "
bcrosby95 5y ago
Even more ridiculous, on their first iphone they spun not having video support as a positive.
scarface74 5y ago
And most other high end phones followed suit. I can’t understand why people are so attached to cords. They tangle, get caught into stuff and are plain inconvenient.
- Anechoic 5y ago
  I can’t understand why people are so attached to cords In my case: - one less battery to charge (on work trips in particular, I have a lot of devices/equipment that need daily charging) - no worries about bluetooth synching or wireless interference - less likely to lose - better sound quality To each their own.
  - scarface74 5y ago
    Bluetooth syncing issues? I put my AirPods in my ear and my phone immediately switched to them. I put my phone in my pocket and switch to my iPad and the audio switches. I get a phone call and answer it and my phone switches back. If my wife wants to listen to the same thing I’m listening to, we can share the audio.
    - heleninboodler 5y ago
      ...and I tell my iphone to stop sending audio to the bluetooth speaker and it disconnects, then immediately reconnects, until I un-pair it. And when my wife pulls into the driveway my phone call unexpectedly switches to her car. Or my headset just announces "disconnected" in my ear in the middle of a zoom occasionally. It's positively weird how infrequently these type of things happen when you just ... plug or unplug a wire.
      - heleninboodler 5y ago
        and today while I was making dinner and listening to music on the bluetooth speaker in the kitchen, it suddenly disconnected from my phone and connected to my daughter's laptop where she was playing minecraft with her friends and everyone started screaming "what's going on?!" at me at a volume loud enough for the neighbors to hear.

loudtieblahblah 5y ago

falcolas 5y ago
> Boycott slavery? I'd expect that of any company operating today, frankly. But what's that got to do with their marketing speech?
- krageon 5y ago
  > I'd expect that of any company operating today, frankly. Almost every company actively uses slave labour and can therefore be assumed to be entirely okay with it.

HWR_14 5y ago

Which was sad. If they had said "this makes your phone last 5 minutes longer when it gets wet" even I would have been cautiously optimistic. But "courage" is a stupid argument. That said, the real reason is they decided bluetooth headphones were finally reliable enough

gibolt 5y ago
Reliable enough AND that they were going to sell them.
- HWR_14 5y ago
  That's true. But they were going to sell them because they were reliable enough. For a while there, bluetooth headphones were a nightmare.
  - exikyut 5y ago
    (Because *they'd made the things reliable enough, themselves. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29465668 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29465668)
  - goldfeld 5y ago
    Bluetooth is a nightmare. My jbl little box won't catch my phone's awesome vibes unless they touch, otherwise audio gets chopped. I'm still trying to find my simple in-in jack which has much better range than "touching" and will make the setup give me less cancer. Also to hell with cordless peripherals, my so called keyboards and pointers are all catching dust because there's an inexorable demand for these little toxic disgusting things called batteries, and don't you dare go a year or two without using your computers and thus managing their little chernobyls! technology from Apple and the modern crowd can be trusted alone as much as a newborn and a rattlesnake.
    - breakfastduck 5y ago
      This is a very, very personal and subjective take. I've literally countless bluetooth audio and non audio devices and I don't have issues with any of them.
      - bmitc 5y ago
        Apple is notorious for having terrible Bluetooth on their devices.
        breakfastduck 5y ago
        Ironically the bluetooth on my AirPods, Macbook and iPhone are miles better than any other device I used in terms of bluetooth.
      - cronix 5y ago
        My MBP disconnects from BT speakers several times a day. It's 2 feet away, both are stationary.
bartread 5y ago
> reliable enough Reliable enough for what? Uninterrupted playback (barring from drained batteries)? Nope.
Doxin 5y ago
Waterproof jack connectors do exist.

raytube 5y ago

Jack removal makes sense, if going for a dust and waterproof soap bar. My Samsung is supposedly waterproof, but moans if I do much as breathe in the charge hole.

oblio 5y ago
No, it doesn't. It's bullshit. There's stuff like the Ulefone Armor 9 FLIP rugged smartphone which has the headphone jack and has even better ingress protection than the iPhone: > the extra padding and protection that comes with an IP68/IP69K-rated, MIL-STD-810G certified outdoor smartphone https://www.techradar.com/reviews/ulefone-armor-9-flir-rugged-smartphone https://www.techradar.com/reviews/ulefone-armor-9-flir-rugge... Apple removed the headphone jack for Airbuds and to get extra money. Their accessory division would be a Fortune 500 company, on its own. You don't get to be a billionaire by giving money away (or not picking it up when users throw it at you).
- stevewodil 5y ago
  > A 3.5mm audio connector hidden behind a flap I’m not saying your argument is invalid but…sure the iPhone could also have a waterproof headphone jack if we wanted port covers on it too. The phone you linked looks nothing like something I want in my pocket all day
  - lliamander 5y ago
    > The phone you linked looks nothing like something I want in my pocket all day I rather doubt most people would really be able to tell the difference.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
  - Godel_unicode 5y ago
    The Pixel 5a has a headphone jack, is waterproof, and has no port covers. It has an actual IP rating, with all the added expense that comes with, and still is shockingly cheap. It has a great looking design and is very close in size to a contemporary iphone. It can be done, Apple didn't do it because they didn't want to.

itronitron 5y ago

Sounds like a great children's book, "The Incredible Journey of Headphone Jack "

bcrosby95 5y ago

Even more ridiculous, on their first iphone they spun not having video support as a positive.

scarface74 5y ago

And most other high end phones followed suit. I can’t understand why people are so attached to cords. They tangle, get caught into stuff and are plain inconvenient.

Anechoic 5y ago
I can’t understand why people are so attached to cords In my case: - one less battery to charge (on work trips in particular, I have a lot of devices/equipment that need daily charging) - no worries about bluetooth synching or wireless interference - less likely to lose - better sound quality To each their own.
- scarface74 5y ago
  Bluetooth syncing issues? I put my AirPods in my ear and my phone immediately switched to them. I put my phone in my pocket and switch to my iPad and the audio switches. I get a phone call and answer it and my phone switches back. If my wife wants to listen to the same thing I’m listening to, we can share the audio.
  - heleninboodler 5y ago
    ...and I tell my iphone to stop sending audio to the bluetooth speaker and it disconnects, then immediately reconnects, until I un-pair it. And when my wife pulls into the driveway my phone call unexpectedly switches to her car. Or my headset just announces "disconnected" in my ear in the middle of a zoom occasionally. It's positively weird how infrequently these type of things happen when you just ... plug or unplug a wire.
    - heleninboodler 5y ago
      and today while I was making dinner and listening to music on the bluetooth speaker in the kitchen, it suddenly disconnected from my phone and connected to my daughter's laptop where she was playing minecraft with her friends and everyone started screaming "what's going on?!" at me at a volume loud enough for the neighbors to hear.