Apple To Abandon Headphone Jack? New Leak Reveals Massive Gamble

[gotbeer]

Apple To Abandon Headphone Jack? New Leak Reveals Massive Gamble

 

 

This rumor keeps coming up ever since they patented a design and bought beats.  

 

It's like Apple wants to jump the shark, but know people will be sheep and spend hundreds on proprietary headphones instead of reusing the cheapies they have had forever.

[Ray McKigney]

I think it's a bad idea.

[Tank]

"Picked up by the ever reliable 9to5Mac, it reports that “Apple plans to remove the 3.5mm headphone port from the upcoming iPhone 7, helping to achieve a ‘more than 1mm’ reduction in thickness compared to the iPhone 6S.” This would create the thinnest iPhone ever made. 

It also states that Apple will bundle EarPods which use the Lightning connector with the next iPhone and that they will incorporate a small digital to analog converter into the connector. From that point onwards Apple would also require third-party wired headphone makers to bundle Lightning adaptors with its 3.5mm headphones or make them Lightning port only to gain Apple MFi certification."

 

listening while charging becomes an issue, but the article stated this might be a way for apple to bring on wireless charging.

 

if it means i have to buy a new pair of headphones, i'm against it.

[Guest]

It's a great idea. The headphone jack really does limit a thinner device from being made. 

Edited November 30, 2015 by failos

[mp170.6]

Why the obsession with thinner devices?  The lighter and thinner you make them, the easier they are to lose or drop on the floor. 

[nate]

I have never held my iphone and thought "you know what would make this better?  being 1mm thinner!"

 

The adapter they give you will be such a hassle because it will get lost or just need to accompany the device everywhere you go.  I rarely use headphones with my phone unless I am traveling, I just know when it came time to travel I would be looking all over in my backpack trying to find the stupid adapter.

[Jay]

I can see the mechanical issue but I don't understand why they want to move the headphone amp off of the phone and into the headphone connector. I imagine it would allow them to shave a bit of cost off of the phone. Maybe they're thinking a digital connection to an off-board DAC is more reliable than a speaker-level output through the Lightning connector.

There are ways to work around this but it will cost some money. For example for $18 you can buy a cheap Bluetooth converter:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MJMV0GU?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s01

It's always good to have one of those around anyway. I'm not a big headphone user so it wouldn't be a huge inconvenience for me.

[nate]

I think they are banking on people using wireless headphones in the future.  I am not a fan of headphones I have to charge.

[red321]

It's a way to increase licensing fees.

[gotbeer]

It's a way to increase licensing fees.

 

In other words.  A way to push overpriced Beats down your throat.

[Adam]

Apple is gay

[Make Angels Great Again]

Thinner phones is just marketing bullshit.

 

I like thicker phones. The thin trend is so dumb.

[TobiasFunke]

I like my phones like I like my women, white and skinny

[Jay]

I suspect the thing that keeps most people from buying their first iPhone is the Galaxy S.

[nate]

Since Apple sells about 20% more iPhones in the US than Samsung sells Galaxy phones I suspect you are wrong.

 

I would think the thing that keeps most people from buying them is the cost of the service.  Same goes with the Galaxy phones.

[Jay]

Since Apple sells about 20% more iPhones in the US than Samsung sells Galaxy phones I suspect you are wrong.

All this means is 20% more of the phone buyers in the U.S. are women.

[Schildog]

if this goes ahead, flying is going to be even more miserable. 

[mp170.6]

if this goes ahead, flying is going to be even more miserable. 

 

Funny you mention this.  I had a flight delayed because somebody's iPhone got stuck between the window panel and the seat.  Mechanical had to unbolt the seat at LAX to get it out.

 

That's something about Steve Jobs' legacy I've never understood...his hyper focus on aesthetics and making things smaller and lighter.  I prefer heavier and bulkier (within reason) to avoid these types of problems. 

 

I guess Apple's long term goal is to make iPhone's and iPad's paper thin? 

[mrwicked]

INNOVATION.

[nate]

Funny you mention this.  I had a flight delayed because somebody's iPhone got stuck between the window panel and the seat.  Mechanical had to unbolt the seat at LAX to get it out.

 

That's something about Steve Jobs' legacy I've never understood...his hyper focus on aesthetics and making things smaller and lighter.  I prefer heavier and bulkier (within reason) to avoid these types of problems. 

 

I guess Apple's long term goal is to make iPhone's and iPad's paper thin? 

 

All smartphone manufacturers are focused on just a few things, each has their own hyper focus but they are: battery life, power, screen size, thin design.

[mp170.6]

All smartphone manufacturers are focused on just a few things, each has their own hyper focus but they are: battery life, power, screen size, thin design.

 

True, but I think that's where the disconnect lies. 

 

Don't most users value battery life over smaller size?  If Apple wasn't obsessed with the latter, they could use larger batteries for less cost which would also last longer between charges. 

[nate]

That goes with all phone manufacturers.  My Galaxy S5 was thinner than my iphone actually.

 

Nokia is the only one I have noticed makes thicker phones.

 

I agree though, at some point the thickness is not an issue.  My last couple phones have been thin enough.

 

iPhone actually weigh more than the android phones out there because of the use of metal over plastic.

[Adam]

I just got the 6S. Seems like ever other iphone I've ever had. But its 128G

[gotbeer]

All smartphone manufacturers are focused on just a few things, each has their own hyper focus but they are: battery life, power, screen size, thin design.

 

I think people want phones for different things.  Biggest disconnect I think is manufacturers aren't distinguishing themselves from one another anymore. 

 

Heck, the biggest reason I chose LG over everything else, was the camera, removable battery, and sd capability.  Everything else, IMO, is pretty much the same among them all. 

 

Apple and Samsung seem to be chasing each others tails so much, that their phones are looking the same with very little innovation.