3 ms·

I don't see much of an upside doing this. Better audio? Not anything that will be discernible to the regular user. More controls on the headphone wire? This rem

I don't see much of an upside doing this. Better audio? Not anything that will be discernible to the regular user. More controls on the headphone wire? This reminds me of the remotes that came paired with a lot of minidisc players; there is no need for a second screen if it's wired. This seems like a step in the wrong direction with the push for wearables that could communicate wirelessly.

nwh 12y ago
> I don't see much of an upside doing this. Well you ditch the huge, thick lightning connector for starters. That's why the MacBook Pro doesn't have ethernet anymore, it's just too thick for the case.
- jws 12y ago
  Assuming you mean "ditch the huge, thick coax connector", yes. That make's some sense. Looking at the end of an iPhone the audio jack is the largest element by some margin. One wonders about a "watch". Would you want to plug headphones into it? The thickness would be significant there. (I view the "watch" as a notification and acknowledgement interface as an adjunct to a mobile device. I think it makes more sense to plug the headphone/microphone into the larger device from a battery standpoint. Headphone cables down a long sleeved shirt make some sense though.) Orthogonally, Apple just sprouted a bunch of ways to interact between devices at the WWDC. Maybe a person that would wear gigantic headphones would not wear a "watch", but would handle their acknowledgment functions through some interface on their head ornaments.
  - nwh 12y ago
    > Assuming you mean "ditch the huge, thick coax connector", yes. Whoops, lost a bit of meaning when I revised that sentence and didn't look over it. I'm not really sure what to think of the whole "watch" thing, even if it is a real thing that going to happen I can't see it being anything like people expect it to be. Having headphones plugged in would be a little weird, I just tried it then by taping my headphones plug to my wrist and found it got tangled in almost everything I tried to do.
forgottenpass 12y ago
Putting aside my doubt that there is quality lost by the standard connector, there is miles and miles and miles of improvement that could be made to the terrible Apple earbuds. They're uncomfortable and sound bad, even in comparison to a $15-20 set of earbuds. I'm always confused when I see people that like music use them. Besides, ditching the 1/8th inch just because their headphones use lightning accomplishes nothing but vendor lock in. I changed my mind, they'll probably going do it. I'd be too expensive to include nice headphones with every iphone and without eliminating the port everyone will keep using their terrible old earbuds.

nwh 12y ago

> I don't see much of an upside doing this. Well you ditch the huge, thick lightning connector for starters. That's why the MacBook Pro doesn't have ethernet anymore, it's just too thick for the case.

jws 12y ago
Assuming you mean "ditch the huge, thick coax connector", yes. That make's some sense. Looking at the end of an iPhone the audio jack is the largest element by some margin. One wonders about a "watch". Would you want to plug headphones into it? The thickness would be significant there. (I view the "watch" as a notification and acknowledgement interface as an adjunct to a mobile device. I think it makes more sense to plug the headphone/microphone into the larger device from a battery standpoint. Headphone cables down a long sleeved shirt make some sense though.) Orthogonally, Apple just sprouted a bunch of ways to interact between devices at the WWDC. Maybe a person that would wear gigantic headphones would not wear a "watch", but would handle their acknowledgment functions through some interface on their head ornaments.
- nwh 12y ago
  > Assuming you mean "ditch the huge, thick coax connector", yes. Whoops, lost a bit of meaning when I revised that sentence and didn't look over it. I'm not really sure what to think of the whole "watch" thing, even if it is a real thing that going to happen I can't see it being anything like people expect it to be. Having headphones plugged in would be a little weird, I just tried it then by taping my headphones plug to my wrist and found it got tangled in almost everything I tried to do.

forgottenpass 12y ago

Putting aside my doubt that there is quality lost by the standard connector, there is miles and miles and miles of improvement that could be made to the terrible Apple earbuds. They're uncomfortable and sound bad, even in comparison to a $15-20 set of earbuds. I'm always confused when I see people that like music use them. Besides, ditching the 1/8th inch just because their headphones use lightning accomplishes nothing but vendor lock in. I changed my mind, they'll probably going do it. I'd be too expensive to include nice headphones with every iphone and without eliminating the port everyone will keep using their terrible old earbuds.