5 ms·

hmm, maybe if there was some kind of way to just directly connect earphones with some kind of new fangled direct analogue technology, then "wired bluetooth" wou

by tomxor 2y ago

hmm, maybe if there was some kind of way to just directly connect earphones with some kind of new fangled direct analogue technology, then "wired bluetooth" wouldn't be the most economical way to get wired earphones. It would only require a port supporting 3 wires and a miniscule onboard amplifier. I'm sure Apple have the courage to invent a new port for the good of humanity, maybe they can even pave the way for a new standard. hides

lxgr 2y ago
I know this is a popular opinion and I might or might not be in the minority here, but I don't miss the headphone jack on my phone at all, and every gram of battery or other functionality that has taken its place is worth it for me. Water proofing one connector (USB-C) is probably also easier than two. For the increasingly unlikely case in which I really do need wired headphones, I just carry them with an adapter permanently plugged into them. > a miniscule onboard amplifier That amplifier would be dead weight for me! (To be fair, it would be in good company with all the power amplifiers for 5G bands not available in my country, but I get the point of unifying SKUs globally and I can hardly plug one of these in with an adapter when traveling.)
- Control8894 2y ago
  Nothing has taken its place, and you didn't even get anything cheaper. The only one who won was Apple.
  - School-Cotton 2y ago
    Do you honestly think they removed the headphone jack for no reason?
    - Control8894 2y ago
      Of course not. They removed it because it saves them money, thus increasing their profit margins.
      - lxgr 2y ago
        Why should any manufacturer include components in a device that customers clearly don’t value enough for it to make a difference to them? I get the objection to Apple artificially creating demand for proprietary adapters; I dislike that too. But what good would it do me if they make me pay for a component I don’t need? I don’t get gratification out of reducing (nor increasing) their bottom line.
        brokenmachine 2y ago
        >Why should any manufacturer include components in a device that customers clearly don’t value enough for it to make a difference to them? If Apple sold a model with a headphone jack and a model without, then we could compare sales numbers between the two models and you could make that claim. Of course, Apple doesn't sell a model with a headphone jack. What they do sell however, coincidentally enough, is $300 wireless headphones.
        microtonal 2y ago
        They also sell $19 lightning and USB-C EarPods, which were/are exactly the same price as the mini-jack EarPods. Or if you want to use different headphones, a $10 lightning/USB-C to jack adapter. They must be getting rich of those $19 headphones :p. People in tech circles also lambasted Apple for removing DVD drives and a lot of other things. Yet a lot of non-tech people prefer Bluetooth ANC buds or headphones. Also, if they were so intent on killing the jack for money, why do they still have it on MacBooks and even upgraded it with an amplifier that supports high-impedance headphones? Better waterproofing and re-using the space sound like perfectly valid reasons.
        brokenmachine 2y ago
        >They must be getting rich of those $19 headphones :p. Artificially limiting the available options coincidentally encourages some to buy the $300 headphones. Selling some $300 headphones is better than none. >Also, if they were so intent on killing the jack for money, why do they still have it on MacBooks and even upgraded it with an amplifier that supports high-impedance headphones? They will remove it when they can. The laptop frog is not yet boiled enough. >Better waterproofing and re-using the space sound like perfectly valid reasons. Phones haven't gotten thinner or more waterproof despite removing the headphone jack. My Samsung S10 5G from 2019 is the same thickness and has IP68 waterproofing just like the iPhone 15, but does have a headphone jack. Coincidentally, it's the last flagship Samsung with a headphone jack. Phone companies are just regurgitating the same shit year over year. The SOCs take up the same space and batteries should be improving, so I don't accept space saving as a valid reason, especially when they haven't become slimmer. I wish all the companies would just make the best phone they could instead of nickel and diming their customers. But Apple is definitely the worst offender, and does their best to normalize so much anti-consumer stuff.
  - lxgr 2y ago
    Have you looked at an x-ray or disassembly video of an iPhone? There isn't a lot of empty space in there. And what have Google and Samsung won by people having to buy a USB-C adapter, most likely for them? They also removed the headphone jack, and have never had a proprietary adapter standard to replace them.
    - Control8894 2y ago
      [flagged]
      - lxgr 2y ago
        Seems like there was even room for some ad hominem attacks!
    - TimeBearingDown 2y ago
      Google, Samsung, and Apple all have lucrative wireless earphone businesses, or would like to. Simpler design with less components is also a win for them. Didn’t someone add a jack to an iPhone 7? Difficult for DIY, but not impossible. I saw a similar mod for an iPhone 13 as well. https://www.strangeparts.com/bringing-back-the-iphone-headphone-jack-in-china/ https://www.strangeparts.com/bringing-back-the-iphone-headph... I’d pay quite a sum for such a service. The value of a lossless, universally compatible port is hard to overstate. At the very least they could give us a second USB-C port on top-end phones.
- meatmanek 2y ago
  This is becoming less and less common for me as phone battery life gets better, but on long flights it's annoying to have to choose between charging your phone and using your headphones.
  - lxgr 2y ago
    There are USB-C-to-3.5mm adapters that have an additional USB-C power input! They are a bit more clunky obviously, but if that's a common problem for you, that might be a solution.
    - TimeBearingDown 2y ago
      I have two of these for that reason, in addition to my three USB-C dongles and three Lightning dongles. The dongle life is so much fun, especially when packing for a flight!

by tomxor 2y ago

lxgr 2y ago

I know this is a popular opinion and I might or might not be in the minority here, but I don't miss the headphone jack on my phone at all, and every gram of battery or other functionality that has taken its place is worth it for me. Water proofing one connector (USB-C) is probably also easier than two. For the increasingly unlikely case in which I really do need wired headphones, I just carry them with an adapter permanently plugged into them. > a miniscule onboard amplifier That amplifier would be dead weight for me! (To be fair, it would be in good company with all the power amplifiers for 5G bands not available in my country, but I get the point of unifying SKUs globally and I can hardly plug one of these in with an adapter when traveling.)

Control8894 2y ago
Nothing has taken its place, and you didn't even get anything cheaper. The only one who won was Apple.
- School-Cotton 2y ago
  Do you honestly think they removed the headphone jack for no reason?
  - Control8894 2y ago
    Of course not. They removed it because it saves them money, thus increasing their profit margins.
    - lxgr 2y ago
      Why should any manufacturer include components in a device that customers clearly don’t value enough for it to make a difference to them? I get the objection to Apple artificially creating demand for proprietary adapters; I dislike that too. But what good would it do me if they make me pay for a component I don’t need? I don’t get gratification out of reducing (nor increasing) their bottom line.
      - brokenmachine 2y ago
        >Why should any manufacturer include components in a device that customers clearly don’t value enough for it to make a difference to them? If Apple sold a model with a headphone jack and a model without, then we could compare sales numbers between the two models and you could make that claim. Of course, Apple doesn't sell a model with a headphone jack. What they do sell however, coincidentally enough, is $300 wireless headphones.
        microtonal 2y ago
        They also sell $19 lightning and USB-C EarPods, which were/are exactly the same price as the mini-jack EarPods. Or if you want to use different headphones, a $10 lightning/USB-C to jack adapter. They must be getting rich of those $19 headphones :p. People in tech circles also lambasted Apple for removing DVD drives and a lot of other things. Yet a lot of non-tech people prefer Bluetooth ANC buds or headphones. Also, if they were so intent on killing the jack for money, why do they still have it on MacBooks and even upgraded it with an amplifier that supports high-impedance headphones? Better waterproofing and re-using the space sound like perfectly valid reasons.
        brokenmachine 2y ago
        >They must be getting rich of those $19 headphones :p. Artificially limiting the available options coincidentally encourages some to buy the $300 headphones. Selling some $300 headphones is better than none. >Also, if they were so intent on killing the jack for money, why do they still have it on MacBooks and even upgraded it with an amplifier that supports high-impedance headphones? They will remove it when they can. The laptop frog is not yet boiled enough. >Better waterproofing and re-using the space sound like perfectly valid reasons. Phones haven't gotten thinner or more waterproof despite removing the headphone jack. My Samsung S10 5G from 2019 is the same thickness and has IP68 waterproofing just like the iPhone 15, but does have a headphone jack. Coincidentally, it's the last flagship Samsung with a headphone jack. Phone companies are just regurgitating the same shit year over year. The SOCs take up the same space and batteries should be improving, so I don't accept space saving as a valid reason, especially when they haven't become slimmer. I wish all the companies would just make the best phone they could instead of nickel and diming their customers. But Apple is definitely the worst offender, and does their best to normalize so much anti-consumer stuff.
- lxgr 2y ago
  Have you looked at an x-ray or disassembly video of an iPhone? There isn't a lot of empty space in there. And what have Google and Samsung won by people having to buy a USB-C adapter, most likely for them? They also removed the headphone jack, and have never had a proprietary adapter standard to replace them.
  - Control8894 2y ago
    [flagged]
    - lxgr 2y ago
      Seems like there was even room for some ad hominem attacks!
  - TimeBearingDown 2y ago
    Google, Samsung, and Apple all have lucrative wireless earphone businesses, or would like to. Simpler design with less components is also a win for them. Didn’t someone add a jack to an iPhone 7? Difficult for DIY, but not impossible. I saw a similar mod for an iPhone 13 as well. https://www.strangeparts.com/bringing-back-the-iphone-headphone-jack-in-china/ https://www.strangeparts.com/bringing-back-the-iphone-headph... I’d pay quite a sum for such a service. The value of a lossless, universally compatible port is hard to overstate. At the very least they could give us a second USB-C port on top-end phones.
meatmanek 2y ago
This is becoming less and less common for me as phone battery life gets better, but on long flights it's annoying to have to choose between charging your phone and using your headphones.
- lxgr 2y ago
  There are USB-C-to-3.5mm adapters that have an additional USB-C power input! They are a bit more clunky obviously, but if that's a common problem for you, that might be a solution.
  - TimeBearingDown 2y ago
    I have two of these for that reason, in addition to my three USB-C dongles and three Lightning dongles. The dongle life is so much fun, especially when packing for a flight!