Impacts of removing the headphone jack [MERGED]

[5105973]

I actually appreciate your input. I'm aware of the dangers-- however sometimes hearing people re-iterate how dangerous it is can be jarring. I'll try and be more careful. Especially now that I have a son on the way, the last thing I need is a phone blowing my face off in the middle of the night.

Yeah I wasn't sure if you knew or not. I didn't know it myself until my Note7 got recalled. My friend's 11 year old kid had this busted up old hand me down iPhone 5c she uses not too gently herself, and none of us knew how dangerous that was and were appalled when we found out. I know a LOT of families with kids using busted up old iPhones and iPads. The knowledge people take for granted on the forums just isn't widespread out among the public at large.

Congratulations and best wishes on your new son!

 

[mikezmac]

Negative impacts for Apple:

• A recent YouTube video showed how the lack of headphone jack could reduce music listening either due to having to use an adapter for certain situations or having to charge the headphones which discourages listening. That could decrease Apple Music usage.
• The existence of better alternatives with a headphone jack could encourage people to switch, decreasing sales of the iPhone 7. Although this could be counteracted by people opting for the SE/6S instead, no headphone jack and a similar design makes it likely to see a dip in sales compared to other iPhone releases.

Positive impacts for consumers:

• Better wireless and more lightning options will hit the market.
• The advantages that come with lightning headphones.

Other impacts:

• Phone manufactures will think it's acceptable, as they did with camera bumps, and may remove the headphone jack on their phones, as we can already see by phones like the Moto Z.
• More USB-C headphones will be available.

Any possible impacts I haven't mentioned?

*** HOGWASH ***

If you don't like it don't buy it.

Charge while listening? Did you see how many hours of playtime you have on an iphone for music? Maybe on the rare occasion when your battery is under 20% this may be an issue. As an audiophile batteries seldom get that los.

Noticed 99% of the noise stopped now that it's out? Because most people realized it's a non-issue. Or are enjoying better quality audio

Remember when Apple remove the CD/DVD and everyone freeked and now they see it was no big deal. SAME THING

I'd be more worried about the plans to make all music streamed with no more downloads.
THAT will suck.

 

[Anandc]

It doesn't affect me at all having no Headphone Jack.

I listen to music while travelling and in the Gym. Yes, I use to listen music via wired headphones but it wasn't sweet enough to use in the Gym. So I bought Sony MDR BT600 Bluetooth Earphones and I'm very happy with it.

--

Oh BTW, I know lot of Android users and people who have a love affair with headphone jack (I don't know why) have claimed that now they cannot listen to music while charging. Well it was never meant to do that.

Man electrocuted from mobile’s headphone while listening music

The above article is a clear example that it's dangerous to talk on the phone or listen to music while the phone is charging. Please avoid, even if you have headphone jack.

 

[0x100]

You realize that after 5 hours of continuous use when the AirPods die, a 15 minute re-charge in the storage case is all it takes to get another 3 hours.

15 minutes.

So that's up to 24 hours with only 90 minutes of downtime in one 24 hour period. Meaning, you can re-charge your case once a day, and it will be good to go all day with only 15 minutes of downtime between each 3 hour boost. So unless you wear them into the toilet, and when you shower, and when you sleep, etc. then there's going to be very little inconvenience with them. Ever.

And yes, at least once a day you need to plug in all of your electronic gadgets that you've bought (more with some if you use them above average). If you don't want the freedom of wireless earbuds, then don't buy them. Use the Lightning EarPods, or the included adapter with any wired headphones you want, and deal with cable management throughout your day instead. Again, you made the choices to buy all of those gadgets that require charging to use them portably. If you didn't want to add the burden of charging them to your life, then you shouldn't have bought them. For that matter, you actually don't need to charge any of those devices. Simply power them down between use, and only use them when you have a power outlet available to you. Problem solved.

I shouldn't have to wait 15 minutes.

 

[Gathomblipoob]

I shouldn't have to wait 15 minutes.

 

[0x100]

One of the biggest selling points for the original iPod was that transfer times were a lot faster than the competitors.

 

[mikezmac]

I shouldn't have to wait 15 minutes.

Aww muffin.

 

[Mac 128]

*** HOGWASH ***

If you don't like it don't buy it.

Charge while listening? Did you see how many hours of playtime you have on an iphone for music? Maybe on the rare occasion when your battery is under 20% this may be an issue. As an audiophile batteries seldom get that los.

Noticed 99% of the noise stopped now that it's out? Because most people realized it's a non-issue. Or are enjoying better quality audio

Remember when Apple remove the CD/DVD and everyone freeked and now they see it was no big deal. SAME THING

I'd be more worried about the plans to make all music streamed with no more downloads.
THAT will suck.

There's only one response necessary to this -- Apple went out of its way to work closely with Belkin in advance of the iPhone 7 release to ensure an adapter was available upon launch, to provide mobile, simultaneous listening and charging capability. It's unlikely Apple would have pulled any focus away from the launch of the iPhone 7 in order to make sure such a product was ready if there was no need for it. Therefore, Apple was well aware of the common need for this practice, and set about ensuring customers would have a solution to address it on the iPhone 7.
[doublepost=1476212086][/doublepost]

I shouldn't have to wait 15 minutes.

One solution would be to charge them one at a time, first Left for 15 min, then Right for 15 minutes. It would be mono sound for 30 minutes, but you'd have uninterrupted audio.

However, if you can't be without audio for 15 minutes, or stereo sound for 30 minutes, in exchange for complete wireless freedom then these aren't for you. There are many other options available.

Personally, I can't imagine a situation I'd ever be in where I needed to listen to audio for more than 5 hours uninterrupted, at least during which I couldn't take one 15 minute break. So these are going to work great for me, depending on how they sound.

 

[Thor_1]

There's only one response necessary to this -- Apple went out of its way to work closely with Belkin in advance of the iPhone 7 release to ensure an adapter was available upon launch, to provide mobile, simultaneous listening and charging capability. It's unlikely Apple would have pulled any focus away from the launch of the iPhone 7 in order to make sure such a product was ready if there was no need for it. Therefore, Apple was well aware of the common need for this practice, and set about ensuring customers would have a solution to address it on the iPhone 7.
[doublepost=1476212086][/doublepost]


One solution would be to charge them one at a time, first Left for 15 min, then Right for 15 minutes. It would be mono sound for 30 minutes, but you'd have uninterrupted audio.

However, if you can't be without audio for 15 minutes, or stereo sound for 30 minutes, in exchange for complete wireless freedom then these aren't for you. There are many other options available.

Personally, I can't imagine a situation I'd ever be in where I needed to listen to audio for more than 5 hours uninterrupted, at least during which I couldn't take one 15 minute break. So these are going to work great for me, depending on how they sound.

30 hours of travel with limited access to power.

 

[Gathomblipoob]

30 hours of travel with limited access to power.

Whenever I travel I always carry an external charger with me.

 

[Thor_1]

Whenever I travel I always carry an external charger with me.

I do too. But not everyone does and at times recharging an external charger can be difficult.

 

[Mac 128]

I do too. But not everyone does and at times recharging an external charger can be difficult.

Not only that, but you still need a way to charge and listen even if you're using an external charger. Maybe an external charger with a Lightning passthrough port built-in, like the Apple external battery case.

It's truly unfortunate that Apple knew this was an issue, yet they chose the bulky and expensive Belkin route, rather than something far more simple like the Lightning pass through port on their external battery case, and instead included something like this in the box in place of the current Lightning charging cable:

 

[BigBoyBmw760li]

Hopefully the 7s has a jack. I wonder why Apple hasn't released the first week sales? Something is up...

 

[0x100]

Hopefully the 7s has a jack. I wonder why Apple hasn't released the first week sales? Something is up...

Something is
…jacked up!

 

[stevemiller]

My MacBook Pro had its Bluetooth completely flake out (the system info actually reported no Bluetooth radio). Had to follow some non-obvious online instructions to get it back.

My iPhone 6 frequently has issues pairing as well. It's often a game of power toggling the phone/headphones several times before "it just works".

Same deal with phone connecting with my car.

Overall, it just feels like Bluetooth is a technology that is still far from seamless and makes the simple task of listening to music involve frequent troubleshooting.

I'm all for getting to a wireless future, but they've really got to push for a bit more reliability. Wifi still has plenty of issues, but connectivity problems are still a fraction of the rate I experience with Bluetooth.

 

[KillaMac]

So, what happens with all the Credit Card Scan devices that use to work through the headphone jack? lol

 

[Mac 128]

So, what happens with all the Credit Card Scan devices that use to work through the headphone jack? lol

They still work through the adapter.

 

[Defender2010]

Hopefully the 7s has a jack. I wonder why Apple hasn't released the first week sales? Something is up...

Of course it won't. Get real - there is no going back now.

 

[Appleaker]

*** HOGWASH ***

If you don't like it don't buy it.

Charge while listening? Did you see how many hours of playtime you have on an iphone for music? Maybe on the rare occasion when your battery is under 20% this may be an issue. As an audiophile batteries seldom get that los.

Noticed 99% of the noise stopped now that it's out? Because most people realized it's a non-issue. Or are enjoying better quality audio

Remember when Apple remove the CD/DVD and everyone freeked and now they see it was no big deal. SAME THING

I'd be more worried about the plans to make all music streamed with no more downloads.
THAT will suck.

I do like it (I have one), I was simply listing possible impacts.
The noise has stopped because it's old news. People have been complaining for the whole year. Just because people aren't talking about it doesn't mean its not annoying. Some people don't care, some people use wireless, and some people still find it a hassle when they want to have headphones. Each one of those groups it bigger than people think. You still find complaints in reviews unless they have gotten used to it or use wireless.

When they removed the CD/DVD drive, it wasn't the same thing at all. It is a storage medium, and those discs could be ripped to a digital format, not to mention their use was already decreasing. Especially for desktops, it didn't matter because an external one could be used and it is a stationary device. Also, they didn't have anywhere near the same number of people buying Macs.
Just like they're going to remove USB A ports from Macs - it won't be such a big deal because people can use USB C memory sticks and adapters for

Charging while listening obviously doesn't mean listening to music - There is plenty of battery life for that and that's not the point of charging and listening. The issue is for something like gaming or watching videos.

 

[ultra7k]

There was one time I wanted to listen to music while charging, but in the end I just unplugged the headphones and charged for a bit while listening to music on the speakers.

No big deal. Plus, apple gave us the adapter in case we want to use older headphones. All good.

 

[timeconsumer]

When I first got the iPhone 7, it was kind of like: hey if Apple includes an adapter, how bad can it be? For the first week or so, it wasn't bad. Now I've had my 7 for over a month and I've noticed the amount of music I listen to on my phone has significantly decreased. I no longer use headphones (or take my phone for that matter) when I work out or run because I've gone to the gym a few times and forgot the adapter; granted that is my fault, but it's still annoying. I've tried wireless headphones which I ended up returning as I did not like them, I didn't feel the quality was very good in comparison to the wired headphones that I have. Also, really disliked the fact that I would've had yet another device to charge.

I upgraded mostly for the iPhone 7 water resistance and the overall speed benefits, plus I wanted to downsize from a 6s plus to a 7. But the headphone jack is more of a compromise than the other stuff. I'm still extremely careful with my device around water or while outside in the rain and the overall speed benefits I can't really notice a difference. In the end, the only thing that worked out well for me was the downsize.

The iPhone 7 for me is now about a compromise that I never felt I had to do before with iPhones. If I want the things I like on the iPhone 7 (screen, stereo speakers, home button, water resistance peace of mind), I have to learn to use the adapter, get a pair of wireless headphones further compromising as it's another device I have to remember to charge, or just not listen to music through headphones on the iPhone 7.

As I've said throughout my post, it's just a huge compromise now I feel, I guess living with whatever I feel is the least compromise. I'm still undecided as to what I will do.

 

[3pp]

When I first got the iPhone 7, it was kind of like: hey if Apple includes an adapter, how bad can it be? For the first week or so, it wasn't bad. Now I've had my 7 for over a month and I've noticed the amount of music I listen to on my phone has significantly decreased. I no longer use headphones (or take my phone for that matter) when I work out or run because I've gone to the gym a few times and forgot the adapter; granted that is my fault, but it's still annoying. I've tried wireless headphones which I ended up returning as I did not like them, I didn't feel the quality was very good in comparison to the wired headphones that I have. Also, really disliked the fact that I would've had yet another device to charge.

I upgraded mostly for the iPhone 7 water resistance and the overall speed benefits, plus I wanted to downsize from a 6s plus to a 7. But the headphone jack is more of a compromise than the other stuff. I'm still extremely careful with my device around water or while outside in the rain and the overall speed benefits I can't really notice a difference. In the end, the only thing that worked out well for me was the downsize.

The iPhone 7 for me is now about a compromise that I never felt I had to do before with iPhones. If I want the things I like on the iPhone 7 (screen, stereo speakers, home button, water resistance peace of mind), I have to learn to use the adapter, get a pair of wireless headphones further compromising as it's another device I have to remember to charge, or just not listen to music through headphones on the iPhone 7.

As I've said throughout my post, it's just a huge compromise now I feel, I guess living with whatever I feel is the least compromise. I'm still undecided as to what I will do.

I just keep the adaptor on the end of my headphones, so I never ever ever forget it. Just like when I had a Mophie case, you get an auxiliary adaptor to fit in the headphone hole - it was always attached to my headphones so I never lost or forgot it. What's the problem with that?

 

[timeconsumer]

I just keep the adaptor on the end of my headphones, so I never ever ever forget it. Just like when I had a Mophie case, you get an auxiliary adaptor to fit in the headphone hole - it was always attached to my headphones so I never lost or forgot it. What's the problem with that?

I have three pairs of headphones that I switch between. Over ear for at home, on ear for train/when I'm out and sports style for gym/exercise. I've found that I leave it on the previous pair and forget to switch. I suppose the most reasonable/logical thing to do is pick up additional adapters to leave them on but for some reason I don't like adapters. My headphones have nice cables that feel rugged and the adapter just feels cheap to me.

 

[Gypsy36]

I hate it. It's awful. Trying to find the adaptor. Switching it up. Monitoring battery usage. Ugh.

And the Belkin wasn't available on release at all. Just came available this week.

I like the 7 way more than I thought I would but this is proving to be a huge PITA

 

[3pp]

I have three pairs of headphones that I switch between. Over ear for at home, on ear for train/when I'm out and sports style for gym/exercise. I've found that I leave it on the previous pair and forget to switch. I suppose the most reasonable/logical thing to do is pick up additional adapters to leave them on but for some reason I don't like adapters. My headphones have nice cables that feel rugged and the adapter just feels cheap to me.

Whilst I 'get it', it does just sound like you're making it purposely awkward. It's really not an issue. $9