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[Vire]

People went nuts about the switch to Lightning, but all that seems like a pretty distant memory now. Some people harped, some people bought adapters, but by and large the world moved on.

I suspect this change will be pretty much the same. Most people will get over it.

Apple ought to include an adapter/dongle in the box, though I doubt they will.

It's not really remotely the same. The power adapter that was previously used was a proprietary device exclusive to Apple products. Fine, you want to change your own proprietary format, not a big deal.

3.5 mm on the other hand is already universal standard used across all electronics, meaning I can take my M50 headphones and plug it into any device that I want to have sound on.

 

[jwick]

At this point, given how saturated mobile is from a feature and design standpoint -- personally all I want is a bigger battery / better battery life. Apple continues to ignore that and do questionable things with the design (such as removing the headphone jack with no perceivable benefit).

I do like the extra polish of iOS apps vs. their Android counterparts but this may be the time to jump off the train.

 

[Sky Interloper]

Aren't Bluetooth headphones shitty as a rule? Of course I expect Apple to use a propietary wireless format, but it seems like a bad idea for the sake of reducing milimeters from the iPhone body. I hate this obsession with thinness they have.

I find it funny that people actually think removing the headphone jack is some kind of leading by example from Apple. The jack is never going to vanish from any kind of audio equipment.

Oh, and it's not like this is something new. The first phones (sans the smart) which could play MP3s did exactly the same. It didn't quite catch on.

Yep, good old Sony.

 

[SuperEpicMan]

If this turns out to be just another S iteration, I think they will end up calling it the 6SE then you have:

iPhone SE
iPhone 6SE
iPhone 6SE Pro

Then I think next year they will update the SE at the same time as the larger models and in the same style (matching the rumoured anniversary design). Then they will have:

iPhone Mini
iPhone
iPhone Pro

Hopefully anyway. They seem to be all over the place with their product names.

 

[Tadale]

Honestly, I'm not that beaten up over no headphone jack. I only ever listen to podcasts on my iPhone and only ever using the headphones that came with it. I just thought there would be a practical reason for getting rid of the jack.

 

[Macho Madness]

Not defending this decision at all but given the choice of more battery or a headphone jack, I'd take the battery. I know not everyone agrees but I don't use the jack that often. I also don't think the two need to mutually exclusive.

There's got to be more than meets the eye with the 7 because otherwise this is going to be a major problem for them.

 

[Anion]

The biggest offense is that lightning cable is here to stay...cause wtf. Its been the worse cable I have used since none of the cables I have last for more than 5 months...

Just put in USB C you hipsters

 

[4444244]

A couple of thoughts on this;

Will Macbooks and desktop computers have a headphone jack?

Will headphone cables feature extra functions - an LED display etc?

 

[Fudgepuppy]

People went nuts about the switch to Lightning, but all that seems like a pretty distant memory now. Some people harped, some people bought adapters, but by and large the world moved on.

I suspect this change will be pretty much the same. Most people will get over it.

Apple ought to include an adapter/dongle in the box, though I doubt they will.

People did? That made some sense at least as it was smaller and felt a lot more intuitive and "sci-fi". No one I know complained as the benefits seemed to outweigh the cons.

 

[Jill Sandwich]

The biggest offense is that lightning cable is here to stay...cause wtf. Its been the worse cable I have used since none of the cables I have last for more than 5 months...

Been using my Amazon Basics ones since the 5. They're solid.

 

[riotous]

People went nuts about the switch to Lightning, but all that seems like a pretty distant memory now. Some people harped, some people bought adapters, but by and large the world moved on.

I suspect this change will be pretty much the same. Most people will get over it.

Apple ought to include an adapter/dongle in the box, though I doubt they will.

As someone who thought the switch to lightning was great; I disagree.

There's a fundamental difference between removing a port that is standard across just about every device that's ever supported headphones and changing your proprietary port.

I don't gain any advantages with the removal of a standard port since I can already buy lightning based headphones if I feel like it.

Lightning was better in every way than the old huge Apple port design, and I welcomed the change as replacing a few cables wasn't a big deal.

I don't want to use a dongle to use my headphones. Especially since it sounds like that dongle will need a DAC; so it will be expensive and not that small.

 

[Baron Doggystyle von Woof]

Headphone jack aside, it looks like the bezels are still huge.

 

[dallow_bg]

People did? That made some sense at least as it was smaller and felt a lot more intuitive and "sci-fi". No one I know complained as the benefits seemed to outweigh the cons.

Hell yeah they did.
Same old complaints. Now lightning cables are ubiquitous just as 30-pin cables were before that.

3.5mm will be forgotten in a few years.
I see more and more headphones coming with lightning/USB cables in addition to 3.5mm. It'll be the norm all over soon.

 

[border]

People did? That made some sense at least as it was smaller and felt a lot more intuitive and "sci-fi". No one I know complained as the benefits seemed to outweigh the cons.

It's not really remotely the same. The power adapter that was previously used was a proprietary device exclusive to Apple products.

Functionally it's the same issue faced by the average consumer. "I have xx devices that support an old input that the new phone will no longer use". Keep in mind that the old 30-pin cable was not just a power cable, but the main way the phone interfaced with every accessory from speakers to car stereos to charging stations to alarm clocks. It was not a universal standard, but by no means was it a proprietary hookup only utilized by Apple products.

Maybe it will go over much worse than the Lightning change did, but it seems that when people are faced with the decision of using a dongle or switching to Android, most Apple users will just pick up a dongle.

 

[Crazymoogle]

Bluetooth is the one area where I rely on Beats. It works great and rarely has any kind of communication problems. Can't say if that's the build or simply how Bluetooth 4.2 rolls, but things have improved tremendously since the days of Bluetooth 2.1 EDR.

So yeah, I think it's a viable path for casual use. But I would still agree that Lightning + Adapter sucks for anybody with traditional headphones. It was a terrible solution on the Game Boy Advance SP and the only thing different here is the other port.

Whether I need an iPhone to have a 3.5mm jack is of course another question altogether. I'd say it passes the "95% test", but there are definitely times where it seems necessary, like on an airplane.

Will Macbooks and desktop computers have a headphone jack?

Until the USB-C audio path is approved, yes. If it's approved I could see Apple drop the 3.5mm jack from the MacBook and put that much needed second USB-C plug in, though...

Will headphone cables feature extra functions - an LED display etc?

Nothing to stop it, but since it's something you put on your head, that's not very useful. I'd expect changes to be more along the line of amps and DAC stuff.

 

[FantasticMrFoxdie]

man this is heartbreaking


I guess I have to jump from my 6+ to just 6S+ then

As a fan of iOS and user since iPhone3, I hope this backfires on Apple hard

 

[Mortemis]

I have jump on demand in which I can upgrade at any point, but I don't see myself upgrading any time soon. Looks like hopping on the cheap 6S+ deal back when it launched was the best idea. This phone should last me years.

Still don't get why they're getting rid of the headphone jack, but I hope in a few years when I'm ready to upgrade there will be a decent replacement, maybe wireless cans that aren't shit and can last a long time.

 

[border]

Who wants to listen to music on Apple's tinny ass headphones? Or even having playback in a car without having to buy Apple's overpriced ad-dons

Buy a car stereo that supports BlueTooth. They're like $70-80.

Life is sooooo much better when you start your car and your music just begins to play automatically......no fucking around to hook your phone up with a cable.

 

[Vire]

Functionally it's the same issue faced by the average consumer. "I have xx devices that support an old input that the new phone will no longer use". Keep in mind that the old 30-pin cable was not just a power cable, but the main way the phone interfaced with every accessory from speakers to car stereos to charging stations to alarm clocks. It was not a universal standard, but by no means was it a proprietary hookup only utilized by Apple products.

Maybe it will go over much worse than the Lightning change did, but it seems that when people are faced with the decision of using a dongle or switching to Android, most Apple users will just pick up a dongle.

Replacing a power adapter cord is a lot more reasonable (and cheaper) than me going out to replace a 200 dollar set of headphones that are suddenly not compatible and now I gotta use a technology that doesn't even work especially well with Bluetooth.

Just don't get it. For what its worth, I don't get the Macbook's lack of ports either.

 

[Jill Sandwich]

Buy a car stereo that supports BlueTooth. They're like $70-80.

Life is sooooo much better when you start your car and your music just begins to play automatically......no fucking around to hook your phone up with a cable.

What system have you got? I was looking at a cheap Pioneer one, I don't need anything fancy.

 

[riotous]

Functionally it's the same issue faced by the average consumer.

Every single iPhone owner has at least one pair of headphones; only a fraction of them use the other port for anything but power.

Especially for their main device, their phone. I've owned stereos with docks, I'd never plug my phone into them because I need my phone on me while i"m listening to music.. I plug my iPod into the stereo dock.

My low-tech friends are the same way; they have iPods for docking, and don't use their phone with anything but a power cable and headphones.

It's functionally similar, but the impact is different. And functionally there's a difference as well; it removes a standard highly flexible port that allowed you to interact with non-Apple certified devices.. anyone can plug any iDevice into just about any stereo as they all have aux ports. Every car, every pair of headphones, etc. So that's a functional difference; removing a standard and replacing it with proprietary. Not the same as replacing proprietary with new proprietary.

And they (most likely) can't just release a simple dongle; it will need a DAC. That will make it more expensive and larger; 2 things you don't want for a dongle/adapter.

 

[btrboyev]

Same design = downright lazy. Come on Apple, you could at least change the screen or sharpen the edges a bit.

 

[Vire]

Same design = downright lazy. Come on Apple, you could at least change the screen or sharpen the edges a bit.

No reduction in bezel? No waterproof? No wireless charging?

There's gotta be at least some new feature/design change... Still holding out that this is fake.

 

[border]

What system have you got? I was looking at a cheap Pioneer one, I don't need anything fancy.

I have a Pioneer MVHX360-BT and have no significant complaints. It has a USB hookup in case you want to charge the phone while listening, which is awesome for anyone tired of using a shitty lighter-adapter charging solution.

Best Buy has a similar model for $78.

 

[mrkgoo]

I use the jack a lot, but I assume there will be an adaptor.

It will suck to not be able to charge and use the jack if the adaptor doesn't allow it, but well, I'll live.

That said I don't like the 6 design and if it's the same then bleh.

That said I was more likely in the market for an SE if I were to upgrade from my iPhone 5, but that largely does for me what I need now anyway.

 

[Aurongel]

My god, imagine the terrible design of the lightning cable applied to a pair of high-end headphones that can only connect using the port. The Lightning cable spec has long been criticzised by product engineers because it lacks any sort of tension release near the base of the cable which is why they tend to fray like so:

If the relaunch of Apple Beats headphones comes with the cliche Apple explanation of "WE ARE NOW DELIVERING AN AUDIO FIDELITY EXPERIENCE THAT ONLY LIGHTNING CAN PROVIDE, PRAISE BE TO LIGHTNING" then I can easily foresee a future where people are pissed that their $500 pair of cans are getting frayed.

If anyone can tell me how this incentivizes the customer in a meaningful way then please let me know.

Removing the optical drive? I get it.
Removing the ethernet jack? Kinda get it, most people didn't use it.
Only including one USB-C on the new Macbook when there's space on the opposite side for a second? Maybe, maybe not.

I just don't see how this benefits anyone of us at this point, it's not like axing the jack will remove the screen bezel or make it paper thin.

 

[Jill Sandwich]

I have a Pioneer MVHX360-BT and have no significant complaints. It has a USB hookup in case you want to charge the phone while listening, which is awesome for anyone tired of using a shitty lighter-adapter charging solution.

Best Buy has a similar model for $78.

Aha, It was the 370BT in my Wish List, looks like the 380BT has replaced it. It'll have to wait until Summer as there's other things eating my cash. How's the performance?

 

[PandaShake]

The adapter is going to look real stupid since it will need to protrude out as long as the jack itself.

 

[border]

Aha, It was the 370BT in my Wish List, looks like the 380BT has replaced it. It'll have to wait until Summer as there's other things eating my cash. How's the performance?

I almost exclusively listen to podcasts and have factoryspeakers, so I can't comment at all on audio quality. My only complaint is that maybe 1 out of 100 times the BT connection gets fucked up and can't be re-established unless you turn the car off and then on again. Though at that point you can just plug it in with USB or Aux if you aren't in a position to shut the car off.

 

[samn]

Nope, it demonstrates that the standard headphone jack does not add bulk to the phone. Bigger battery or water resistance is not a reason either, as other phones manage all that and still remain as thin as the current iPhone 6+.

By removing the jack, Apple has more space to spread out the battery lengthways, meaning it can make the battery longer and thinner.

 

[border]

Especially for their main device, their phone. I've owned stereos with docks, I'd never plug my phone into them because I need my phone on me while i"m listening to music.. I plug my iPod into the stereo dock.

My low-tech friends are the same way; they have iPods for docking, and don't use their phone with anything but a power cable and headphones.

Someone that purchased an entirely separate $200+ device purely for the purpose of docking with a stereo might not exactly be the average user.

I can't say much other than that Apple has more than likely researched this extensively, and probably doesn't feel it will be too much of a disruption for their normal customers. Maybe it's a huge miscalculation on their part, but until the product line is properly unveiled we really don't have much room to judge. Price/convenience of the convertor/dongle remains to be seen, but will figure heavily into consumer acceptance or rejection.

 

[Aurongel]

By removing the jack, Apple has more space to spread out the battery lengthways, meaning it can make the battery longer and thinner.

You sure about that?

 

[Travo]

There's no reason for me to upgrade. I love my 6 plus.

 

[samn]

You sure about that?

Yes, and I'm not sure how that picture is a rebuttal?

 

[jelly]

Unapologetically shit.

 

[esmith08734]

I'm so looking forward to all the iPhone-addicts I know to be upset over this.

I had a friend a couple of weeks ago, say that she loved the iPhone and refuses to get an Android. I asked "Why don't you like Android?", she responded "Because I like iPhone". "Have you ever tried an Android?", "Noooo! Have you tried an iPhone", "Yes, for two years".

"...Oh"

Well I guess it wont be that big of a deal if the included headphones are lightning-cable.

It's perfectly fine to know what you like. Some people only look for a product they understand and enjoy to use and once they find it, that's enough. They don't need to keep looking.

 

[johnnywheels]

Yes, and I'm not sure how that picture is a rebuttal?

Are you saying they would make half of the battery longer than the other where the lightning port is?

 

[badcrumble]

I'm not particularly upset about the headphone jack thing, but I'm curious to know what (other than the usual camera and processor improvements we get every single year) will be sufficiently compelling about this one to get people to want to upgrade, because so far I'm not seeing it. ESPECIALLY with the rumors of the 2017 iPhone having an all-new design and an AMOLED display.

At the very least, I strongly suspect that 2016's going to need to be a year for iOS to shine on the software side of things.

 

[civilstrife]

The S upgraders win again!

But seriously, if Apple doesn't reverse the headphone decision with the 7S, I may be out.
I guess we'll see how it plays out.

 

[johnnywheels]

Would it be possible to have a setting on the phone that when powered headphones are plugged in through the lightning port (say Dre's beats), that they would be able to charge the headphones at the cost of some battery life? Worst thing is when I'm out and about with my headphones and they die on me...

 

[Zeyphersan]

I'm not particularly upset about the headphone jack thing, but I'm curious to know what (other than the usual camera and processor improvements we get every single year) will be sufficiently compelling about this one to get people to want to upgrade, because so far I'm not seeing it. ESPECIALLY with the rumors of the 2017 iPhone having an all-new design and an AMOLED display.

At the very least, I strongly suspect that 2016's going to need to be a year for iOS to shine on the software side of things.

If it is the year of a very minor hardware bump but a great software bump, that's still not gonna help their iPhone sales. I suspect iOS 10 will only run on 64-bit processors, but that means everything from a 5S and up

They gotta convince people to upgrade the hardware, just having them stay in the ecosystem and not go to Android is a nice base but not what investors (and probably Tim Cook himself) are looking for

 

[Aurongel]

Yes, and I'm not sure how that picture is a rebuttal?

There's a lightning port in the way and I doubt they're going to apply Tetris engineering logic to their battery design and give it a non-rectangular shape. I'm more eager for the device teardown than I am for the device itself. I bet the added space gets put towards a matching speaker. People keep repeating "more battery! more battery! MORE BATTERY!" with regards to this change and I'm just not seeing the engineering logic behind any of it.

My degree is in CS, not CE so what do I know...

 

[| Praxis |]

My god, imagine the terrible design of the lightning cable applied to a pair of high-end headphones that can only connect using the port. The Lightning cable spec has long been criticzised by product engineers because it lacks any sort of tension release near the base of the cable which is why they tend to fray like so:

If the relaunch of Apple Beats headphones comes with the cliche Apple explanation of "WE ARE NOW DELIVERING AN AUDIO FIDELITY EXPERIENCE THAT ONLY LIGHTNING CAN PROVIDE, PRAISE BE TO LIGHTNING" then I can easily foresee a future where people are pissed that their $500 pair of cans are getting frayed.

If anyone can tell me how this incentivizes the customer in a meaningful way then please let me know.

Removing the optical drive? I get it.
Removing the ethernet jack? Kinda get it, most people didn't use it.
Only including one USB-C on the new Macbook when there's space on the opposite side for a second? Maybe, maybe not.

I just don't see how this benefits anyone of us at this point, it's not like axing the jack will remove the screen bezel or make it paper thin.

I work in a Mac Suite with 64 iMacs, dozens of Mac books and ipads and this problem is so common it's unbelievable. I also work with the biggest Apple sycophants around, and it's like they are blind to the problems and can't accept their beloved Apple would be guilty of such shitty quality products, even though they are using an overpriced mouse that has the charging port on the bottom.

A lot of their products are sound with great engineering, but personally I hate their whole closed philosophy, their need to only do things their way when better is already available and decisions like removing the headphone jack.

 

[TheChewyWaffles]

I think I'll keep this 6S+ for a long time.

 

[icespide]

There's a lightning port in the way and I doubt they're going to apply Tetris engineering logic to their battery design and give it a non-rectangular shape. I'm more eager for the device teardown than I am for the device itself. I bet the added space gets put towards a matching speaker. People keep repeating "more battery! more battery! MORE BATTERY!" with regards to this change and I'm just not seeing the engineering logic behind any of it.

My degree is in CS, not CE so what do I know...

all of the non-user replaceable batteries in the latest macbooks have non-uniform odd shapes, they fill up as much empty space for battery as they can

 

[RichiRamjag]

Welcome to Android, Apple fans.

Looks like they're getting rid of the headphone jack because "design". If it doesn't actually make the phone thinner then what's the bloody point.

I'd stick with my 6S before I go anywhere near that path. I don't hate android, I've tried it multiple times and it personally isn't for me. Headphones or not.

 

[Aurongel]

all of the non-user replaceable batteries in the latest macbooks have non-uniform odd shapes, they fill up as much empty space for battery as they can

Not even the same animal, current MBA's and MB's use multiple batteries to contort to the odd internal structure they have to fit in. In the picture I posted of the iphone 6 teardown, that's one single battery unit.

 

[GameAddict411]

I love how some people are comparing the removal of the headphone jack to the replacement of the old Apple port lol. It's not even remotely the same. The lightining port replaced an old port. It did not remove without an alternative. There is no benefit whatsoever to removing the port considering its the exact same form factor. Apple doesn't have an excuse as to why they removed it, but expect a huge backlash when the average joe discovers that his/her fancy beats headphones don't work with their new iPhone.

 

[Zantetsuken]

I know they won't, but Apple should include an adapter of some sort. I will keep this 6s Plus as long as I can.

 

[Hasney]

I find it funny that people actually think removing the headphone jack is some kind of leading by example from Apple. The jack is never going to vanish from any kind of audio equipment.

Oh, and it's not like this is something new. The first phones (sans the smart) which could play MP3s did exactly the same. It didn't quite catch on.

The first phone that could play MP3's did have a headphone jack though... And a whopping 64MB of storage.