No headphone jack on the iPhone 7... really?

You’re surprised about a board called “design discussions” discussing design decisions?

In contrary to the examples of technology they’ve removed from their devices, the 3.5 jack is one of the most commonly used parts of the iPhone.
The floppy, cd-drive, ethernet-cable, was not.

In the long term I think it is the correct move, but the solution they’ve presented feels rushed and not as well executed/thought through as I expect it to be.

Dude that’s a pretty uncharitable interpretation of my posts.

What I am surprised at is that so many people here really don’t seem to like Apple’s decision. Apple is a business, did they do what is best for their business? I think yes and tried to address peoples concerns which I think are being over stated. I am totally happy for you and anyone else to disagree me whenever you are ready to join in the discussion .

Cheers
MAS

Functionally/technically I just don’t see the pro/con being in any way pro removing the aux.

pro:
more place (or they could make the phone thicker)
waterproofing (obviously also possible with the aux port)
wireless is the future (there being an aux port in no way prevents people from using wireless)
better sound quality using digital signal over the lightning connector so as to let headphones use their own DAC (there being an aux port in no way prevents people from using lightning)

con:
can’t use 99% of already existing headphones without a dongle
can’t charge phone while using the lighnting port for audio
making a big deal about usb c in the macbook and then forcing the lightning port on the iphone seems weird

from a business POV: I’m sure they crunched numbers but I’m not convinced the extra sales from dongles and headphones will be worth it

I don’t think this is a cash grab in anyway. I think Apple has done the most important 95% of phone innovation and is now running low on ideas.

As for being disappointed from a design perspective, I find it unsettling that they are milling so much aluminum off the back of the phone just to have that little camera pimple.

I do like how (it seems from photos) that they have improved the antenna integration. The iPhone 6 was a step back from the 4+5 aesthetically with the antennas. I feel this is a step forward.

User observation: I have had Nokia/MS Lumias for some time now. The speakerphone speaker and mic is located on the back of the phone requiring it to be placed face down to use. Whenever I’ve seen other people use speakerphone (iPhones or Galaxies) they always place the phone screen side up and keep tapping the screen as though they think the call dropped. Also, people seem confused where the mic is. Is it using the normal phone mic or the speakerphone? Why couldn’t they work on making speakerphone experience better?

For the people who are singing the benefits of wireless headphones and the push for “innovation” - I get that.

The problem is you can use wireless headphones on any cellphone today.

I appreciate that the 3.5mm adapter they built is only $9 (you know they wanted to charge $39.99 for it) - which is probably the only way they’ll quell the initial outrage.

In the meantime, I look at the $600 worth of headphones I have sitting on my desk and think “Time to get some adapters”.

The real question I would ask is “if Apple launched the Airpods without any other motivating factors, would people buy them?” - I suspect that answer is no given the already available plethora of well designed BT headphones on the market.

Conveniently Apple owns Beats - the market leader in BT Headphones.

Be prepared for latency.

So, Belkin will offer this adapter for charging and listening. Why not include a round headphone jack?

The only thing better than this is if there was another dongle for a cassette tape adapter to go into an 8 track adapter so I can play music in my classic automobile.

:laughing: :laughing: :laughing:
+1

I like thinking about the affordances that people have listed as part of the wired headphone experience. Circumstances that are more ‘real world use’ than idealized CE user flows include dangling the cords around your neck while taking out the earbuds to talk to a real person, knowing there is a left earbud connected to the right, having the subtle visual cue of the white cord saying “don’t bother me now”, being able to use the same headphones on the airplane entertainment system, having an emergency lifeline to try and arrest the fall of your iPhone onto concrete when you drop it.

On the other hand the phenomenon of being on the treadmill and catching your hand on the swinging wire thus launching your phone backwards across the gym floor will be impossible with wireless earbuds.

That image Sain put up is a nightmare. Daisy chained adapters should please no one.

I want a set of Jaybirds.

BT headphone battery life is better, but it won’t last for a 13 hour plane ride. Beats won’t play passively but I’m sure the next gen of Beats headphones will ship with a cable that is direct to lightning. Other makers will be able to do the same which will effectively be a hug BOM increase, now they will have to ship the headphone with 2 cables AND have to pay a fee to Apple for use of the proprietary connector. It will be interesting. With this amount of market share you can do these things.

Having lived through this a bit with the 30pin switch over (we were fortunate to dodge a few expensive bullets there) and then again with headphones (even without lightening, connection options at the high end are more complicated, for e.x. we ship with the ability to go straight to 3.5, but also support a fully digital connection via USC for higher DAC quality … AND BT… the BOM cost just goes up and up! Dong get me started on the amount of cables we ship for gaming headsets!)

The intermediate definitely means more complication for the user and the manufacturer… but I think it is going somewhere. The journey is always a bit messy.

Just thinking: currently the best non chest-strap method of collecting HR is through ear buds. Could there be some advantage to these wireless ear buds that unlocks different/better training methods and apps, perhaps using just the Watch? The Air buds include the optical sensors and accelerometers found in HR measuring 'buds like Bragi and Samsung.

A little of a tangent, but I’ll try to get it to atleast G2

One thing that doesn’t make a ton of sense to me, and why I was not jumping for joy when the 6’s came out is why is the lens still sticking out?

Why isn’t it flush? Oh right, got to keep the “thinnest i-Phone ever” as thin as it is now. Going flush should theoretically give them a little over 6% more space to work with inside the phone, while increasing it’s stiffness in it’s weakest dimension, this might even allow them to further optimize the case and thin out other areas allowing for more space. If removing the earbuds was even partially about more space for tech, increasing the thickness that 0.5mm (making the camera flush) theoretically nets you over 8 times as much space as removing the audio jack.

You are Apple, be brave, make the phone / lens flush, don’t get caught up in thickness claims when that thickness is past the point of user benefit.


I like the argument that this is 1 step closer to a wireless future, BUT why have they not brought done wireless charging yet? Wanna get seamless? Wireless charging, BT audio… done… as I typed that, the case for selling more proprietary lightning connectors and licensing fees starts to feel a little stronger…

ALSO … when I saw this image (first image I saw related to the AirPods) it reinforced the fact that I might
have problems keeping them together, and oh yeah… one more thing to keep track of and carry around

The Bragi version. You get a couple more charges out of putting the buds in the case. They already sell tethers to connect the pair…

Did you know that every 3 button microphone on a headphone pays them not only a royalty but there isa tiny proprietary chip in there to make it work with Apple products. Unlike the 1 button for Android which is open of course… but doesn’t always work. Trade offs.

but still doesn’t solve the problem of the buds ding when cranked up on a long plane flight which is why I think in the end this will be less about going to BT and more about transmitting analog audio via lightning until there is a breakthrough in battery size.