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Here's What a Headphone Jack to Lightning Adapter Looks Like
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Considering how many non-Apple users own Beats headphones, there may be Beats models with Lightning connectors, but I am positive there will be many more models that continue to use the 3.5mm jack.
As for the thickness arguments, the iPod Nano and iPod Touch are both thinner than the iPhone so the diameter of the jack is certainly not a primary reason Apple is rumored to be ditching it.
A) It would have been a micro USB 3 connector on the phone and micro USB sucks. I for one hate it, micro USB always becomes loose over time.
B) Phil Schiller came out and said they could make lightning USB 3 but the memory in the phone could not handle USB 3 write speeds.
C) Apples first gen lightning cables were poorly made at the sleeve to plug area - I agree. They seemed to have improved them since then.
When I first read that Apple was thinking of ditching the 3.5mm jack on the iPhone 7, I was against the idea. Then I started to think about how often I actually listened to the music on my phone via that jack, and the honest answers is that I can't remember! I'm an audiophile, so BlueTooth headphones are out of the question, but there are plenty of portable DACs (many of which are better than the iPhone's one), and I can plug my headphones into that.
Granted that's not ideal for a truly portable solution, but with something like the AudioQuest Dragonfly, it's not THAT onerous--and you get better sound quality too (admittedly, this is kind of a moot point if all you listen to is audio that uses lossy compression like MP3 or AAC)!
Granted that's not ideal for a truly portable solution, but with something like the AudioQuest Dragonfly, it's not THAT onerous--and you get better sound quality too (admittedly, this is kind of a moot point if all you listen to is audio that uses lossy compression like MP3 or AAC)!
Heck my little square 6th gen nano had a 30 pin connector and headphone jack. lol
I just want people to really think about this.
the 3.5MM headphone jack has been aroudn for decades. Is probably the most used audio accessory port in the world. Is found on virtually every single audio devices, portable and static as the primary personal listening method. There have been hundreds of billions of 3.5mm headphones sold over the years.
The 3.5mm headphone jack has won because of its ridiculous simplicity. the port is ridiculously easy and cheap to make and include in any device. Overall it also takes up very little space, can be waterproofed, and has been used in devices as thin as 5mm! (see the iPods that are super thin, but manage to have the jack as well.
Not to even further showcase that the iPhone would be the only Apple device without it. Their laptops, computers and tablets all still have 3.5mm jack for audio too. And the Computers themselves don't even have lightning ports to be able to also take advantage of lightning headsets
So at the end of the day, users of the new iphone without headphone jack will need to either buy new headsets that are lightning MFI compatible (so apple gets license fees, or direct revenues from selling beats), or they benefit from you buying adapters.
At the end of the day, this is costly for the consumer and unless Apple has a tricke up their sleeve that absolutely requires removal of the 3.5mm just to work. It's purely user hostile and is an attempt to sell more lightning headphones to users who likely already have their own headphones.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Are you kidding? I suspect about 80% of this decision is about the profitability in proprietary (the same game that Sony played over and over and look at them now), 20% is about "thinner," leaving 0% being something addressing a big customer want or need from a new iDevice.
Dude, it is nothing similar to the 30-pin to Lightning connection. The only thing that used a 30-pin adapter was for the phone. Headphones are universal and everywhere.
Try again.
The fact that people still buy stuff doesn't mean that they're happy about it. Removing optical drives is an inconvenience to many people...just not as bad as running Windows with all its issues. Removing ports and having just the USB-C is a big reason for the lousy reviews and underwhelming sales for that device -- I know that my daughter has asked for a MacBook Air instead of a MacBook purely because of that issue. Actually, she prefers the 3-year-old 13" MacBook Pro to either one because of the optical drive issue, so that is likely what we will get her as she goes to college this year.
Removing headphone jacks is not an advance in any way, shape or form -- but I really don't care to make the leap to Android. Instead I will simply put off upgrading my phone until my current one doesn't work, because upgrading my phone will cost me an extra $50+ in headphones.
So no, Apple (and apologists for Apple), the outrage over these changes is not comical, and the changes are not somehow better. It's just that in a world of limited choices, Apple's continuing obsolescence of perfectly good technology is something we have come to expect and deal with. Like political candidates, we hold our nose and pick the least offensive. But gosh it would be nice to be excited about a product again, and that hasn't happened in a couple of years now.
Removing headphone jacks is not an advance in any way, shape or form -- but I really don't care to make the leap to Android. Instead I will simply put off upgrading my phone until my current one doesn't work, because upgrading my phone will cost me an extra $50+ in headphones.
So no, Apple (and apologists for Apple), the outrage over these changes is not comical, and the changes are not somehow better. It's just that in a world of limited choices, Apple's continuing obsolescence of perfectly good technology is something we have come to expect and deal with. Like political candidates, we hold our nose and pick the least offensive. But gosh it would be nice to be excited about a product again, and that hasn't happened in a couple of years now.
this wouldn't exactly be a bad thing. But it's not likely true, (unless they're going to completely redesign the internal layout)
the battery and headphone jacks aren't right next to eachother. Currently the haptics engine is. Apple would have to find a new place for this if they wish to extend the battery down to wear the jack currently is. And thats not going to add very much, considering right next to that is the lightning connector, which isnt' going anywhere and stick into the bottom of the phone in similar size to the headphone port.
now, if they do remove the jack because they've got some other tech that they really want that they think will shatter our fragile little minds, ok, thtas one thing
But to remove it because they desire to sell more accessories and Beats headphones? pathetic
Well it's a rumor and we don't know if they will include an adapter or not, but it's been recently rumored they would. And if they did it would make sense, since it will most likely bring a lot of backlash to the people who have expensive headphones. I hope the next iphone has bluetooth 5.0, then they can also market more stable and reliable bluetooth headphones.
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Dont need to remove the 3.5mm jack to do that.
Lightning currently already supports digital audio output similar enough to USB that there's no reason you can't already add external DAC's and just use that. REmovign the port and using an external dac are not mutually exclusive
I was planning on a new iPhone this year (currently have a 5s), but this no headphone jack deal sucks. My car only has 1/8" Aux input to the receiver (no BT). I had to wire in the Aux connection myself, so I just have a cable hanging from underneath the dash. Now I am going to have to put an adapter somewhere in the chain. Maybe I can jam one up underneath and run the lightning cable from that. Oh wait, what do I do about power then? I guess I will need something that has both power and a headphone jack adapter.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
It can't move "the industry" forward. Why? Because it is proprietary. If this was about moving the industry forward, Apple should have dumped Lightning and embraced USB3 on this phone. If there is going to be a new industry standard jack for wired audio connections it will be USB3, not Lightning.
Where Lightning will work is for the niche that pretty much only uses wired headphones with ONLY Apple products (and perhaps only Apple MOBILE products, as I'm having a hard time seeing Apple put a Lightning jack on Macs for headphone use when those Macs are more likely to be for the much more versatile- and industry standard- USB3).
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If the future catches up with the present, then I'd be for it. Until then, I won't be relying on cloud services when I drive through vast deserts where my data coverage isn't always there, or slow to boot for one.
It's not even remotely the same thing. The 30-pin connector is a proprietary Apple connector. The headphone jack is a universally used port that works with billions and billions of devices. Why some of you can't discern this difference is truly astonishing.
That is false equivalence.
There's a difference between replacing one proprietary connection with an objectively superior one and completely removing a universal standard without obvious improvements in the experience.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Step over to
TV threads. There you'll find passionate arguments against 4K, against audio codecs newer than 1992's Dolby Digital, etc. Apparently "people" argue hardest for whatever Apple has for sale now or is likely to roll out soon. Yes, Apple themselves spin "think different" but that apparently means "when it aligns with what Apple has for sale now or soon", not when people convey their aggravation at what can only appear to be a move in the name of proprietary-driven profit and/or "thinner."All other arguments & spin in favor of this change can be had now and/or realized without 3.5mm having to be jettisoned. In other words, there's ALREADY Lightning-terminated and Bluetooth headphones for those who are spinning the superiority of either option. There's ALREADY products out there with 3.5mm jacks that are waterproof. Apple themselves sell an iPhone-like product that is "thinner" and has a 3.5mm jack in it. Etc.
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Perhaps that was way back in the day but Apple has had fantastic flash storage performance for awhile now. IIRC the 6S and it's family utilize NVMe and are very fast.
And even then, the 30-pin connector wasn't THAT universal across their own products either.
As for lightning, given how tiny the iPhones and IpT's are, I'm surprised they didn't do so sooner, as they were running out of space.
Funny thing is... a couple years ago I was in Japan and bought a bluetooth adapter for my iPhone. All I had to do is plug my headphones into it and clip it onto my pants/belt, and sync with my phone via bluetooth. It was only around $15 and has the same options this thing does.... except wirelessly.... I never used it, but not if I update I guess I will... Glad I got it...
