Yeah I don’t get it either. I moved onto Bluetooth headphones long before the 3.5mm even went away; it’s been a redundant port for a long time.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Other In your view, at what point did the iPhone become “mature”?
- Thread starter Seanm87
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
When I finally pulled my head out of my arse and switched from Android to iPhone about 5 years ago.
The big difference there is that wired headphones are still widely used and available.
Floppy discs were too. It was a very controversial decision at the time as well. But looking back was it the wrong decision?
Not sure if the use of floppy disks at that time let alone some years after that change was anything even close to what wired headphone use was when Apple made the change, and more importantly what wired headphone use is still to this day years after that change was made. Not really commenting it on it being right or wrong per se, more about the difference that was and is still there when it comes to that comparison.
The funny thing is no one is stopping people from using wired headphones. There’s just very little reason to have a dedicated port for that use anymore.
It’s like how laptops no longer come with optical drives but no one is stopping you from plugging in an external drive.
Last edited:
If I recall correctly, the 3GS (which I had) was still missing some pretty basic things, like a camera flash and a front facing camera.
I mostly moved on from the headphone jack when I got my gen 1 AirPods a few years ago. AirPods Pro finished the job for me.
And that's great, for you. We're all different. I want control. I want to be able to turn off 'features'. I want to be able to bake edits into photos in the Photos app without having to dig out the laptop.
iOS is just simply not as feature rich or customizable as macOS (and sadly neither is iPadOS) and until it is, it will never be mature in my eyes.
I think you have the right of it. In my completely impartial opinion and based on more rational research than goes into any government policy decision, literally seconds, the iPhone reached maturity with the X and reached perfection with the XS. OLED screen, face recognition, steel frame, adequate horsepower and better camera than I can take advantage of - what else could sensibly be needed?
I still get annoyed at times with the no headphones. I have long meetings on my MacBook 16in laptop and the fact that my all earphones are all lightning, I can't plug it into my laptop. And my AirPods freaking die during these long sessions. Then I have to switch AirPods, charge the left for 5 mins, then charge the right. Then keep doing this. This is so annoying. Just wished apple would switch to lightning audio inputs lol.
Yes first world problems.
Yes first world problems.
For me it is the 6s. I had recently developed the feeling that iPhones were stable and very reliable at this point. "Always works" scenario. I was enticed by Android hardware as there were some cool things going on back then, but it was already cemented for me.
Design: iPhone 5s
Features: iPhone X
So now that the flat design of 5s is coming back I am looking forward to upgrade from my iPhone 7 to iPhone 12 Pro.
Features: iPhone X
So now that the flat design of 5s is coming back I am looking forward to upgrade from my iPhone 7 to iPhone 12 Pro.
Man! If they ever make a foldable one I hope they go the flip route. Nothing feels more awesome than opening a flip phone and saying "Beam me up, Scotty!"
Why not have a pair of wired headphones with a headphone jack and use the headphone-to-lightning adapter when you want to use them with the iPhone?
Wired headphones will never really go away, sort of like optical drives have never gone away despite the fact you now need the external drive and the adapter to run one (yet Apple sells both). There will be adapters, but I expect them to remain more of a mainstream product than the optical drive, which is much more a niche product anymore. (I have an older program for Windows which requires a CD, so I still use the USB SuperDrive and run it virtually on the Mac; otherwise, I probably would have never bought one).
There are also those who just prefer the wired headphone, and I'm one of them. I'm a runner and have had my wired earbuds come out plenty of times on a windy day, so I don't really want something without a failsafe wire. They're also just easier to keep together, not to mention I've got tons of sets of them from all the iPhones and iPods I've bought over the years (and even an extra pair from the time I forgot them on a trip and bought a set at the Baltimore airport). I also don't want the inconvenience of having to charge one more thing--I have enough adapters between the laptops, iPhone, iPod, iPad, digital camera, camcorder, and a TI-84 calculator I use as a teaching tool (yup, they're rechargeable now too).
Still, don't forget Apple currently has the iPod touch still on the price list. It's a great little music player, perfect for when you need to free up an iPhone for something else or don't want your music rudely interrupted by the automated spam caller trying to sell you an extended car warranty despite being on the "do not call" list; it also (most importantly, to me) saves on the phone battery and makes it easier to use on a run for actually tracking the run.
Floppy disks were made obsolete by their storage limits. Optical drives have largely gone away as well. Headphones will always be around because they can continue to improve, rather than be constrained by the limits of old tech.
Similarly, the iPhone camera hasn't stopped some of us from still using Nikons despite the fact the iPhone camera is fine for a quick snapshot or even a slightly better photo.
There are also those who just prefer the wired headphone, and I'm one of them. I'm a runner and have had my wired earbuds come out plenty of times on a windy day, so I don't really want something without a failsafe wire. They're also just easier to keep together, not to mention I've got tons of sets of them from all the iPhones and iPods I've bought over the years (and even an extra pair from the time I forgot them on a trip and bought a set at the Baltimore airport). I also don't want the inconvenience of having to charge one more thing--I have enough adapters between the laptops, iPhone, iPod, iPad, digital camera, camcorder, and a TI-84 calculator I use as a teaching tool (yup, they're rechargeable now too).
Still, don't forget Apple currently has the iPod touch still on the price list. It's a great little music player, perfect for when you need to free up an iPhone for something else or don't want your music rudely interrupted by the automated spam caller trying to sell you an extended car warranty despite being on the "do not call" list; it also (most importantly, to me) saves on the phone battery and makes it easier to use on a run for actually tracking the run.
Floppy disks were made obsolete by their storage limits. Optical drives have largely gone away as well. Headphones will always be around because they can continue to improve, rather than be constrained by the limits of old tech.
Similarly, the iPhone camera hasn't stopped some of us from still using Nikons despite the fact the iPhone camera is fine for a quick snapshot or even a slightly better photo.
I would say 2015 when figures started coming back that less people were upgrading. Phones got to a point where less significant changes were being marketed and consumers started keeping phones longer than 2 years. That’s a clear sign that new technology is having less of an impact than it had in previous years.
Many people here seem to forget that before the iPhone we didn’t really get a 3.5mm headphone jack on a phone.
If you were really lucky there was a 2.5mm, yet the rest all had proprietary connectors which were designed for the use of their own wired headsets and not for listening to music on your phone. I remember the days of having to use Nokia’s awful pop port headset rather than holding my communicator to my head.
Bluetooth headphones are so much more convenient than wires, especially now we have auto switching with the AirPods.
In response to the original post I think the 6S series is where it really became a mature platform. They were phones that could easily be used for more than 2 years and only needed a battery replacement to keep going. The previous models felt old before the 2 year term of most mobile contracts were finished.
If you were really lucky there was a 2.5mm, yet the rest all had proprietary connectors which were designed for the use of their own wired headsets and not for listening to music on your phone. I remember the days of having to use Nokia’s awful pop port headset rather than holding my communicator to my head.
Bluetooth headphones are so much more convenient than wires, especially now we have auto switching with the AirPods.
In response to the original post I think the 6S series is where it really became a mature platform. They were phones that could easily be used for more than 2 years and only needed a battery replacement to keep going. The previous models felt old before the 2 year term of most mobile contracts were finished.
iPhone 11 Pro series.
At this point, the phones are so powerful and so feature rich that holding onto them for 3-5 years seems reasonable to expect: a key definition. of a mature consumer product.
Compare this with the earlier years of the iPhone where upgrading every 2 years was a must (unless you enjoyed your web pages and apps constantly reloading) and upgrading every year was preferable as the processors and graphics were still on the slow side.
And key here is that the Achilles heel of the iPhone - its battery life - ceased to be a problem for all of the 2019 line up.
My rationale: the X is when the full potential of the touch interface was revealed.
But it still had not so great battery life and the A11 wasn’t quite fast enough for the new UI (and it had Touch ID).
The XS in 2019 was really the X as it should’ve been - with still average battery life (the XR was great though).
Really interesting question!
At this point, the phones are so powerful and so feature rich that holding onto them for 3-5 years seems reasonable to expect: a key definition. of a mature consumer product.
Compare this with the earlier years of the iPhone where upgrading every 2 years was a must (unless you enjoyed your web pages and apps constantly reloading) and upgrading every year was preferable as the processors and graphics were still on the slow side.
And key here is that the Achilles heel of the iPhone - its battery life - ceased to be a problem for all of the 2019 line up.
My rationale: the X is when the full potential of the touch interface was revealed.
But it still had not so great battery life and the A11 wasn’t quite fast enough for the new UI (and it had Touch ID).
The XS in 2019 was really the X as it should’ve been - with still average battery life (the XR was great though).
Really interesting question!
I don’t remember the model but the last few iPhones just have been the same with a couple of added features like a better camera or Face ID
Unfortunately we’ve completed the innovative stage and moved on to the feature stage
Unfortunately we’ve completed the innovative stage and moved on to the feature stage
6s
The performance difference between my previous 5s and the 6s was huge, very noticable
Plus the Touch ID was much much better
I can set the 6s side by side to my SE20 and when performing the exact same tasks, the difference is so slight that if ya blink at wrong time you miss the difference in load times
I traded in my 8+ for the SE was because I thought I wanted a larger screen
Too big & heavy for my tastes so back to the smaller form & only cost $166 after trade in allowance
I also prefer touch vs face ID
The performance difference between my previous 5s and the 6s was huge, very noticable
Plus the Touch ID was much much better
I can set the 6s side by side to my SE20 and when performing the exact same tasks, the difference is so slight that if ya blink at wrong time you miss the difference in load times
I traded in my 8+ for the SE was because I thought I wanted a larger screen
Too big & heavy for my tastes so back to the smaller form & only cost $166 after trade in allowance
I also prefer touch vs face ID
The 4 definitely, then the 5 and the 6 and of course the 7plus and obviously the iPhone X. 😄
its all relevant really, it’s called progress.
its all relevant really, it’s called progress.