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Buzzfeed: Inside iPhone 7: Why Apple Killed The Headphone Jack

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necrosis

Member
weve courageously removed the screen from the iphone 8

why distract yourself with ancillary features when your focus should instead be on giving us money
 

blackseedboy

Neo Member
My Sony Xperia Z3C is already smaller, have two days worth of battery life, is water resistant, all while having a headphone jack. And came out years ago.

I don't understand his points.

I will NEVER understand why Xperia phones receive so small love around the world :(
 
Hmm, I see how the Z3C/S7 do it. They use a rubber gasket over the connector. Makes it a fair bit bigger unfortunately, but it does work. I guess IP68 is the best possible outcome though as chemicals/heat will ruin the gasket.

I will NEVER understand why Xperia phones receive so small love around the world :(

Some troubled history but they are pretty neat. Even the 4K phone, as unhelpful as it was, was still great to see someone give it a try.
 

Burai

shitonmychest57
I will NEVER understand why Xperia phones receive so small love around the world :(

The back glass cracked if you so much as sneezed at it and Sony would always promise an upgrade to the latest version of Android and would then backtrack six months later.

They were good phones otherwise.
 
I look forward to the backtracking they will be doing in the iphone 8 when they reintroduce the headphone jack after they released how stupid of a move taking it out was.

And I look forward to you ignoring this comment you just made, when they predictably don't do something as ludicrous and asinine as that.

But yeah, I remember all those times Apple brought back optical drives, serial ports, firewire, removable batteries, the volume switcher on the iPad, etc after the initial outrage. Yep. And how all those products containing those items all failed epically after removal, prompting Apple to reverse their massive mistakes. Yep. And, I remember that these mistakes were so massive, that no other companies followed suit and did the exact same thing. Yep.

I'm not sure in what kind of weird bubble you live in, if you even think there's a 1% chance Apple might bring back the headphone jack next year. The mere thought is insane. This is not something they randomly decided to do a month ago. It's been their vision for a while, and one that's been common knowledge for a while. The iPhone 7 will be the best selling phone on the planet, like every iPhone before it, shockingly enough, headphone jack or not. You can spend your energy being outraged and whining on internet forums, but keep in mind that most of the world will move on.

It's sad that so many of you who pretend to want progress and technological improvement go nuts every time a 100 yr old port is removed.
 
Because God forbid they could have made the phone just a smidgen thicker and still included all those features.

Sorry, what are "all those features" that the iPhone 7 is missing?

And just a smidgeon thicker and they could have included an SD slot. A bit more, and a removal battery. And hey, why not make it a SLIGHTLY thicker to add in some USB ports.

Cause, you know, this is what consumers are all clamoring for. A thick, heavy phone with a gazillion ports and slots. It's honestly terrifying how the success of the iPhone/iPad has taught you, and people like you, literally nothing.
 

Dude Abides

Banned
Sorry, what are "all those features" that the iPhone 7 is missing?

And just a smidgeon thicker and they could have included an SD slot. A bit more, and a removal battery. And hey, why not make it a SLIGHTLY thicker to add in some USB ports.

Cause, you know, this is what consumers are all clamoring for. A thick, heavy phone with a gazillion ports and slots. It's honestly terrifying how the success of the iPhone/iPad has taught you, and people like you, literally nothing.

He's saying they could have made it a bit thicker and included all the features that were purportedly the reason for removing it.

Will the 7 come with a built-in app to help people understand the written word?
 

Toki767

Member
Sorry, what are "all those features" that the iPhone 7 is missing?

And just a smidgeon thicker and they could have included an SD slot. A bit more, and a removal battery. And hey, why not make it a SLIGHTLY thicker to add in some USB ports.

Cause, you know, this is what consumers are all clamoring for. A thick, heavy phone with a gazillion ports and slots. It's honestly terrifying how the success of the iPhone/iPad has taught you, and people like you, literally nothing.

I will be very curious to see how removing headphone jacks from iPads and Macbooks go over.
 

Jeffrey

Member
Sorry, what are "all those features" that the iPhone 7 is missing?

And just a smidgeon thicker and they could have included an SD slot. A bit more, and a removal battery. And hey, why not make it a SLIGHTLY thicker to add in some USB ports.

Cause, you know, this is what consumers are all clamoring for. A thick, heavy phone with a gazillion ports and slots. It's honestly terrifying how the success of the iPhone/iPad has taught you, and people like you, literally nothing.

well to be fair, I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one that found the 6 family to be quite uneasy to hold naked. The thinnest combined with the curved edges always made me feel like im gonna drop it. I put a case on mine ASAP, where I was bared for basically every previous iphone.

At some point you sacrifice usability in the pursue for more sexiness.


I feel like the ultimate goal of a smartphone is to be sleek, sexy, yet sturdy enough (frame and screen) and easy enough to hold in which cases aren't a thing anymore. Also enough battery that 'power users' can last a whole day without charging.
 

RoadHazard

Gold Member
Those of you saying this is progress... How? How is removing a port used by just about 100% of all non-wireless headphones that exist progress? BT headphones already exist, USB (not that Apple would even lower themselves to using such an established standard) headsets already exist. What didn't exist before (to my knowledge) is Lightning headphones, and those that will now be made will be utterly useless for every device that isn't an iPhone. Who would buy that shit (yeah, I know who)? That's not progress, that's bullshit. Yeah, there's an adapter, but that's also bullshit. As is Apple's talk about digital audio. Lol, you'd have to be a real ignoramus to buy that. All audio is digital inside any phone, and all audio is analog once it reaches the headphone speakers. The only difference is where the digital-to-analog conversion happens, and doing it in the headphones instead of in the phone isn't gonna give you better audio quality or anything silly like that. All Apple's solution does is make a hassle out of things.

But maybe you guys are talking about wireless being the future. And again, nope, not for a long time. Not when you can get better wired headphones for half the cost.

Granted, I wasn't about to switch from Android to iPhone anyway, but this development has greatly cemented that conviction.
 
On the subject of products/devices that aren't headphones but use the 3.5mm jack, I'm sure Square sees this as a direct attack to push independent business owners to ApplePay vs. their little card swiping device.

square-reader.png
 

necrosis

Member
No, Apple deserves my gratitude for this. Wireless audio is going to see a huge boom, and make everything better, including all the technologies involved.

that remains to be seen

is it going to increase wireless audio sales? almost assuredly. does this intrinsically mean the technology will be made better (or more affordable) than existing alternatives? no

at face value, apple is just creating artificial demand for wireless audio in an attempt to cut costs and maximize profits. which i mean, whatever; they're entitled to do so as a business and it's certainly nothing out of the norm for them. it is weird to be "grateful" to them for that, though
 
But guys, it's OLD. Surely it can't work as well as this shiny new standard! But if you MUST (*exasperated sigh + eyeroll), you can use our sleek and affordable (because who doesn't have $10 for a 2" piece of wire?) adapter so you can take as long as you need to transition into the future.
 
No, Apple deserves my gratitude for this. Wireless audio is going to see a huge boom, and make everything better, including all the technologies involved.

I don't see why this would lead to a boom. Most iPhone users just use the packed in earbuds (this was true of the iPod as well). So I expect most users to switch to using the packed in lightning earpods or their existing headphones with the adapter, instead of spending a minimum additional $159 for matching wireless earbuds*.

When you add in the fact that Airpods are still using Bluetooth at their core which has well known limitations, and are still heavily constrained by the limits of battery tech which are mature and well understood and not likely to improve in the near future, absent some massive revolution in materials tech, I don't see this move being the catalyst that ushers in an era of massively improved wireless tech.

* Of course standard BT headsets are way cheaper but those have been available for years. If the iPhone 7 prompts any notable uptick in interest in wireless headsets, it will likely be for headsets that take advantage of whatever secret sauce Apple added for the AirPods and Beats lineup -- which of course carry a large price premium. I think that's a pretty large hurdle to overcome when there are two alternatives packed right in.
 
Preordering my iPhone 7+ tonight. I don't plan to ever use the dongle and I expect some people to be turned off by lack of audio jack.

Airpods look terrible. And will be lost immediately. Good luck when one slips out while jogging. Or commuting. I'd love to go finding that on a busy subway floor.
 
I doubt there will be a rush to make lighting enabled wired headphones except for Apple and maybe Beats. The use case is so slight as to make it pretty irrelevant. It is all about cutting the cable and going totally wireless. The only thing I don't like about my wireless headphones is that they require charging pretty often.

As soon as there is an actually decent chip and memory inside of a set of wireless headphones I can see them effectively streaming the song ahead of playback and therefor getting higher quality audio and never skipping. There might be as much as a two second delay to initial playback though.
 

therapist

Member
the reasoning is hilarious

cant wait for the morning commutes filled with morons listening to their music full blast on speaker because they "forgot" their dongle at home.
 

Majine

Banned
The people who thinks this will kill the sales of this iPhone has no clue what made the iPhone the best-selling phone in the first place. This is so classic Apple I'm actually surprised they didn't do it sooner.
 

MThanded

I Was There! Official L Receiver 2/12/2016
is apple licensing out the 'magic' chip in the airpods?
The chip isn't magic. It's still using something that's in the old phones because it works with a 5. So probably just more power efficient.
I hope someone bumps this thread when they use it for DRM at some point.
You should bump it when your next phone has no headphone jack.
 

manngc

Member
the reasoning is hilarious

cant wait for the morning commutes filled with morons listening to their music full blast on speaker because they "forgot" their dongle at home.

I'd imagine that most people would just leave the dongle that is used for their favorite headphone on the headphone. With the inclusion of the dongle and including lightning earpods, Apple has significantly decreased the pain of removing the headphone jack. I'd imagine most people either only use the included headphones or only have 1 good headphone that is used primarily on the iPhone. This dongle was basically reside with the headphone permanently.

My main concern with this is the extra wear and tear on the lightning port that could shorten the life of a critical port. Especially if the lightning headphones are used when working out...which is a use case I have and I see a lot of people have.
 

KingV

Member
well to be fair, I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one that found the 6 family to be quite uneasy to hold naked. The thinnest combined with the curved edges always made me feel like im gonna drop it. I put a case on mine ASAP, where I was bared for basically every previous iphone.

At some point you sacrifice usability in the pursue for more sexiness.


I feel like the ultimate goal of a smartphone is to be sleek, sexy, yet sturdy enough (frame and screen) and easy enough to hold in which cases aren't a thing anymore. Also enough battery that 'power users' can last a whole day without charging.

I wish the 6S was thicker, even if they added nothing. First phone to give me hand cramps from using it.

I actually really liked the ergonomics of the original Moto X. The curved back and 4.2" screen size were perfect, IMO.
 

DOWN

Banned
On the subject of products/devices that aren't headphones but use the 3.5mm jack, I'm sure Square sees this as a direct attack to push independent business owners to ApplePay vs. their little card swiping device.
Doesn't Square make an NFC pad? And thy said their reader works with the included adapter so
 

border

Member
On the subject of products/devices that aren't headphones but use the 3.5mm jack, I'm sure Square sees this as a direct attack to push independent business owners to ApplePay vs. their little card swiping device.
If only small business owners could use a device besides the as yet unreleased iPhone 7....
 

DOWN

Banned
I'm actually surprised at how many people think Apple will be hurt by not using or have standard ports. They've been ditching standard ports their whole lives and have only gone up.
 
Doesn't Square make an NFC pad? And thy said their reader works with the included adapter so

Different options are good, but obviously all the users who have the pronged device will either need to buy an NFC pad (if they don't already have one) or switch to Android (when they go to upgrade/switch phones). Just thought I'd point out that while headphones are used by every single person in the world (and most of them wired), the jack isn't ONLY used for headphones.

If only small business owners could use a device besides the as yet unreleased iPhone 7....

True.
 

Jeffrey

Member
I'm actually surprised at how many people think Apple will be hurt by not using or have standard ports. They've been ditching standard ports their whole lives and have only gone up.

well the iphone is there main bread earner device. This really is the ultimate test though, to see how much clout apple got atm.


Would love to fast forward 1 year from now, see people getting beaten on the streets if wearing wired stuff. chaos everywhere.
 

ikkemenx

Member
And I look forward to you ignoring this comment you just made, when they predictably don't do something as ludicrous and asinine as that.

But yeah, I remember all those times Apple brought back optical drives, serial ports, firewire, removable batteries, the volume switcher on the iPad, etc after the initial outrage. Yep. And how all those products containing those items all failed epically after removal, prompting Apple to reverse their massive mistakes. Yep. And, I remember that these mistakes were so massive, that no other companies followed suit and did the exact same thing. Yep.

I'm not sure in what kind of weird bubble you live in, if you even think there's a 1% chance Apple might bring back the headphone jack next year. The mere thought is insane. This is not something they randomly decided to do a month ago. It's been their vision for a while, and one that's been common knowledge for a while. The iPhone 7 will be the best selling phone on the planet, like every iPhone before it, shockingly enough, headphone jack or not. You can spend your energy being outraged and whining on internet forums, but keep in mind that most of the world will move on.

It's sad that so many of you who pretend to want progress and technological improvement go nuts every time a 100 yr old port is removed.

Found Tim

Also, I love how people keep bringing up how old the port is as though it was removed in the place of a superior standard that doesn't interrupt the user experience and cost everyone a lot more.
 

Mr. Hyde

Member
I keep wanting the iphone 7+ but the lack of an audio jack is kind of irritating. I'd rather see technology improve and get smaller instead of having to remove functionality to improve battery life. Hopefully, other companies continue advancing their internal specs without having to follow that line of thinking. I'm one who always loves the changes that Apple brings to their devices but they didn't justify this to me. Oh well, I still applaud them for trying something new.
 

Audioboxer

Member
I will NEVER understand why Xperia phones receive so small love around the world :(

Usual trait of an Android phone, especially from Samsung, but Sony and others too

RELEASE 500 DIFFERENT FUCKING VARIABLES OF THE SAME GENERATION OF PHONE.

The big one, the small one, the slightly bigger smaller one. The premium, the non premium, the premium non-premium kind of premium but somehow not as premium. The outdoors one, the indoors one, the one that can go deep sea diving or be boiled in a volcano. The curved edge one, the pen supported one and a random flip phone because why the fuck not?

Then we'll give them all random alphabet letter codenames but also some generational brand, and make it hard to tell what is premium and what isn't. Z1, Z8, Z5862, ZzZ, Z6x5+11-2.

And then we'll promise 2 years of Android updates across the 500 different variants and for no fucking good reason we'll update the budget one first instead of the most expensive flagship, and usually give up 7 months into updates because it's hard and you should enjoy being stuck on a version of Android google surpassed 6 years ago.

That ladies and gentleman is Android fragmentation and complete insanity from the usual big players in the Android scene, which puts off people and pisses of buyers alike.
 

Kinyou

Member
Preordering my iPhone 7+ tonight. I don't plan to ever use the dongle and I expect some people to be turned off by lack of audio jack.

Airpods look terrible. And will be lost immediately. Good luck when one slips out while jogging. Or commuting. I'd love to go finding that on a busy subway floor.
That was my first thought. They look so easy to lose.
 
Usual trait of an Android phone, especially from Samsung, but Sony and others too

RELEASE 500 DIFFERENT FUCKING VARIABLES OF THE SAME GENERATION OF PHONE.

The big one, the small one, the slightly bigger smaller one. The premium, the non premium, the premium non-premium kind of premium but somehow not as premium. The outdoors one, the indoors one, the one that can go deep sea diving or be boiled in a volcano. The curved edge one, the pen supported one and a random flip phone because why the fuck not?

Then we'll give them all random alphabet letter codenames but also some generational brand, and make it hard to tell what is premium and what isn't. Z1, Z8, Z5862, ZzZ.

And then we'll promise 2 years of Android updates across the 500 different variants and for no fucking good reason we'll update the budget one first instead of the most expensive flagship, and usually give up 7 months into updates because it's hard and you should enjoy being stuck on a version of Android google surpassed 6 years ago.

That ladies and gentleman is Android fragmentation and complete insanity from the usual big players in the Android scene, which puts off people and pisses of buyers alike.

But they each have a headphone jack
 
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