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Impacts of removing the headphone jack [MERGED]

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_Refurbished_

_Refurbished_

macrumors 68020
Mar 23, 2007
2,344
3,066
xofruitcake said:
I am not even sure why removing the headphone jack is a problem at all. The adapter that come with the phone is perfect adequate for someone who insist of using head phone jack. Apple's version of blue tooth headphone cost $160 but you can get one from Amazon for $24. This one has 300+ reviews and 4 stars average. It should be better than the headphone that come with the 6S.. I think for the majority of the average joe like me, it is a non-issue.


https://www.amazon.com/Ansion-Bluet...3576080&sr=8-3&keywords=blue+tooth+headphones
Click to expand...

Picked these up for $10 this morning:

https://slickdeals.net/coupons/amazon/

If you're willing to spend a little more, you can get something like this:

https://slickdeals.net/coupons/amazon/
 
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B

bigpoppamac31

macrumors 68020
Aug 16, 2007
2,454
439
Canada
Goratrix said:
There are no "digital" headphones or speakers. For an actual sound to be able to reach your ears, it must be an analog sound wave. The only difference is where in the chain you put the DAC (digital -> analog converter). It can be in the phone, in an adapter, or in the speakers/headphones. Being in the phone is of course the best solution, as the DAC needs power input and the phone has a built-in battery. The DAC being in the adapter is stupid, due to the small size and the need to draw power from the phone anyway. The DAC in the headphones is again costrained by size, and the need for a battery and charging. That's why the 3.5mm jack makes perfect sense and is in no way "obsolete". Because you need the analog wave anyway to be able to hear anything, and the most logical and practical place to generate that sound wave is within the phone itself.
Click to expand...

Well there's a chip in the EarPods but that is quite small. So audio probably would not be very good. They could have easily had "HD" audio with the 3.5mm jack.
 
ideal.dreams

ideal.dreams

macrumors 68020
Jul 19, 2010
2,385
1,158
I probably used mine 1-2 times per month in the last year. I don't use them enough to care that there's no jack, or that I now have to use an adapter when I want to use my "old" headphones. Bring on the change!
 
applesith

applesith

macrumors 68030
Jun 11, 2007
2,810
1,622
Manhattan
I'm happy they removed it bc I've been wanting to go to Bluetooth but haven't made the jump yet. I'm waiting for some of the new Beats to come out with the cable behind the head supporting Apple W chip before getting the 7 and moving to wireless headphones.
 
G

geoff5093

macrumors 68020
Sep 16, 2014
2,251
2,564
I can't remember the last time I used it. 99% of my music streaming is in my car via bluetooth. I listen to music at home and work, but I use my computer for that.
 
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paulkaliciak

paulkaliciak

macrumors newbie
Apr 20, 2015
28
17
Toronto, ON
california_kid said:
How about an anti, anti-no headphone jack thread?

Honestly, I probably used the headphone jack like 4 times in the past year. I'm usually on BT or for real audio, use an external DAC/amp with a balanced output.
Click to expand...

I've had iPhones since the first generation and never once plugged anything into the headphone jack. I suspect there are a lot of us out there, and probably why Apple didn't think it was that big a deal to get rid of it.
 
phobic99

phobic99

macrumors 6502a
Mar 3, 2008
710
37
I mostly used headphones at the gym and wires there are pretty annoying. I have some really expensive IEMs but I've used my wireless jaybirds exclusively since the 6 came out.

In the car, bluetooth connection to the car.

At home, I use wired studio headphones with an amp/dac setup.

I doubt I'll miss the jack on the phone much personally but I can see why people dislike the removal. I have yet to see anyone else using wireless headphones in the gym when I go.
 
D

drumstr

macrumors newbie
Sep 13, 2016
24
12
All I hear and read is the same regurgitated pissy comments about the lack of headphone jack...I have several solutions to this mindless complaining that's taking the world it seems...

-Attach the adapter to your good headphones that you prefer to use. Yes this simple...Leave the adapter connected to the 3.5mm headphones (it won't just fall off if you handle them by the headphone cord)

-Use included lightning headphones
-purchase dock or another adapter if you need to charge at same time(ps... There's better battery life now so not as much of need to do this)

This is the direction technology is going and for me the benefits of the new iPhone 7 outweigh this issue. As an audiophile I agree Bluetooth sound quality isn't as good....yet....but just use adapter or get a pair of good lightning headphones for ease of use. You don't have to only use older iphones or switch to android...you will cope I promise.
 
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Fried_Gold

Fried_Gold

macrumors 68040
Feb 6, 2013
3,832
3,711
United Kingdom
This would only be a problem with my iPad as I don't use headphones with any phone I have but I do watch a lot of Netflix on my iPad Pro so sometimes need to plug in while watching.. No idea if they will ever remove the 3.5mm jack from iPads but if they did I'd just buy some bluetooth earbuds and call it a day.
 
C

Canadia69

macrumors regular
Sep 11, 2016
214
90
I'm sure we're all gonna laugh about this in a few years...just like when the MacBook Air came out with no optical drive..."are they crazy?"

I use CarPlay in the car (use lightning), Bluetooth Jaybirds for when I run, I have a UE megaboom speaker for home and I usually just use my EarPods at school...glad apple is giving us lightning earpods...
 
decafjava

decafjava

macrumors 603
Feb 7, 2011
5,530
8,049
Geneva
I'm quite sure we'll see loads of high quality third party lighting AND bluetooth headphones, earbuds and in-ear monitors coming out soon. My next upgrade I'll use the adaptor with my RHA buds until they (or another company I like) comes out with lightning buds - I'll leave BT until there are big improvements in battery and audio quality.
 
Mac 128

Mac 128

macrumors 603
Apr 16, 2015
5,360
2,930
drumstr said:
All I hear and read is the same regurgitated pissy comments about the lack of headphone jack...I have several solutions to this mindless complaining that's taking the world it seems...

-Attach the adapter to your good headphones that you prefer to use. Yes this simple...Leave the adapter connected to the 3.5mm headphones (it won't just fall off if you handle them by the headphone cord)

-Use included lightning headphones
-purchase dock or another adapter if you need to charge at same time(ps... There's better battery life now so not as much of need to do this)

This is the direction technology is going and for me the benefits of the new iPhone 7 outweigh this issue. As an audiophile I agree Bluetooth sound quality isn't as good....yet....but just use adapter or get a pair of good lightning headphones for ease of use. You don't have to only use older iphones or switch to android...you will cope I promise.
Click to expand...

1) As you say, BT technology isn't good enough to replace wired headphones yet, so that's out for some, and the W1 chipped earbuds won't be available until almost November for those who were relying on them as a wired headphone replacement, so that's out for everyone. That leaves only the same low quality, hard to pair, BT headphones that have been on the market for years for those who don't care about quality. So P eople who already have them are set, those that don't aren't likely to invest in something lesser, so that leaves ...

2) Lightning EarPods should offer the same quality experience the current EarPods do, but they offer the potential to provide much higher quality headphones than was possible before. Unfortunately, out of the box on Friday, they won't be compatible with much more than the iPhone 7 and some newer iOS devices, including Macs, as there aren't any adapters for anything else, not even USB-C, much less 3.5mm. And if they want to charge and listen at the same time, they'll need a $40+ adapter. So, Lightning is anything but more convenient, or easy to use at this point. But I'm sure that will change, eventually. Maybe by November? Until then ...

3) Old 3.5mm headphones can be used out of the box with the free adapter, and can be used on any other device with a 3.5mm Jack (which is pretty much everything) in every way they could use them before, and hopefully the adapter will provide at least the same quality as the 6s internal DAC and amp, since it's only $9. Unfortunately, customers will still need a $40+ adapter if they want to charge and listen at the same time on the iPhone 7. So as long as they don't lose their adapter while using their headphones on another device, then it will be as if nothing ever changed, except it's less convenient to use with their primary device now.

So the first day out of the box at least, it looks like the best solution for most is to keep using their old 3.5mm headphone jack, which has now become more complicated and frustrating. Now that's real innovation! Or courage?
 
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odoy

odoy

macrumors regular
Aug 4, 2015
124
45
Germany
Just don't buy it and Apple will give us 2017 the headphone jack back.

9K6RuXI.jpg
 
VSMacOne

VSMacOne

macrumors 603
Oct 18, 2008
5,939
2,897
If you haven't figured it out yet, we're never going to see another headphone jack on an iPhone again. Not unless sales lag horribly or bluetooth dies all of a sudden. Apple doesn't make these decisions lightly, and has never gone back on any port changes in the past (FireWire, 30-pin, floppy, CD-Drive).
Wireless is the future. This is just the beginning.
 
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