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svendobbelaere

macrumors regular
Jul 27, 2012
114
55
Belgium
Thank you for all your replies!

I haven't posted in this thread because I've been doing my own research.

Only question I have now is:
I use the headphone jack all the time so I was just looking at the options for which dongle I'd need to buy. What happens when I need to use the headphone jack dongle and charge the iPad at the same time?

It depends on which iPad you're getting:

1. if it's an iPad with a Lightning port and a headphone jack (like you current iPad, and the current iPad 10.2), you don't need a dongle.

2. Should a new iPad with Lightning be released that does not have a headphone jack (which is unlikely in my humble opinion), then it's like it's an iPhone with only a lightning port and no headphone jack, you have 2 options:

2.a: lightning to headphone jack (10 USD) --> this takes up the port, and won't allow you to charge at the same time

2.b: something like the Belkin Rockstar, which has a headphone jack AND a lightning port ("pass-through" for power) so you can use headphones and charge: link to apple store (sorry, set for Belgium for me): https://www.apple.com/be-nl/shop/pr...828e8fd7d46298910523cc12dcb5f2c0ec89b7519f047

3. If it's an iPad with USB-C (like the most recent iPad Air 4 and the iPad Pros), then they only have a USB-C port, no headphone jack. If you want to charge and use headphones:

3.a get the Magic Keyboard for iPad, which allows pass-through charging (expensive!) and also a simple USB-C to headphone adapter that you plug into the USB- port.

3.b get one of the various USB-C adapters like Shirakasi linked that have a headphone jack and an USB-C port with pass-through charging.

Akash.nu has the 'simple' adapters linked in his / her / their post:


Shirasaki has the USB-C adapters linked in his / her / theirpost:

 
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BeautifulWoman_1984

Contributor
Original poster
Sep 5, 2016
536
70
(This one is more multipurpose rather than just offering headphone jack)
You can take a look at those.
Also you can take a look at this article.
Despite being a dongle, I think most of those have a relatively small profile and can easily be carried around for various wired entertainment purposes. Just don't lose them.
Thank you for your research Shirasaki!

I'm looking at the current iPad Mini and iPad 8th Generation that are for sale and they both have the 3.5mm headphone jack, but I'm guessing the 3.5mm headphone jack will be removed as soon as the newer models come out for the iPad Mini and iPad 8th Generation right??? ? ? ?
 

Shirasaki

macrumors P6
May 16, 2015
16,263
11,764
Thank you for your research Shirasaki!

I'm looking at the current iPad Mini and iPad 8th Generation that are for sale and they both have the 3.5mm headphone jack, but I'm guessing the 3.5mm headphone jack will be removed as soon as the newer models come out for the iPad Mini and iPad 8th Generation right??? ? ? ?
The port removal is tied to form factor update. Unless iPad 8 and iPad mini receives the newest form factor you can see on iPad Pro and iPad Air, the headphone jack will remain. iPad 8 in particular will most likely not receive any form factor upgrade for a few more years unless that form factor manufacturer cost goes way down. iPad mini might be in the near future but everything is still based around rumours right now.
 

sracer

macrumors G4
Apr 9, 2010
10,405
13,290
where hip is spoken
Thank you for your research Shirasaki!

I'm looking at the current iPad Mini and iPad 8th Generation that are for sale and they both have the 3.5mm headphone jack, but I'm guessing the 3.5mm headphone jack will be removed as soon as the newer models come out for the iPad Mini and iPad 8th Generation right??? ? ? ?
I'm a die-hard 3.5mm headphone jack user. I refuse to buy an iPad that doesn't have one. My current iPad is a 256GB Mini 5 and that will most likely be the last one with a headphone jack. FYI, Best Buy has all Mini 5's on sale for $100 off.... ;)
 
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imnotthewalrus

macrumors 6502a
Nov 20, 2015
923
2,061
earth
I just wanted to update the thread and say that I bought an iPad 9th gen and it's worked flawlessly for me.
Congrats. IMHO it's a much better value than the 10th Gen, and you get to keep the headphone jack for a few more years. The "entry" iPad has generally been one of the better values from Apple - you should get 5 years (or more) from it. Enjoy!
 

Isamilis

macrumors 68020
Apr 3, 2012
2,191
1,074
I'm a die-hard 3.5mm headphone jack user. I refuse to buy an iPad that doesn't have one. My current iPad is a 256GB Mini 5 and that will most likely be the last one with a headphone jack. FYI, Best Buy has all Mini 5's on sale for $100 off.... ;)
I think, it’s very understandable, base iPad adopted some “features” from iPad Pro. Eliminate audio jack, usb C, thin border. Even it’s camera location is better than iPad Pro.
 
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