Removing the 3.5mm headphone socket

iOS
#1

So there’s a rumour floating around that the next iphone will do away with the 3.5mm headphone socket and you will use the lightning port to plug in included lightning earbuds, and presumably all third party headphones will need to be lightning compatible, or you will need to use an adapter (and knowing Apple the adapter won’t be included).

So what do we think of this rumour? Do you think Apple would actually do this? Will it make you think twice about buying the next iphone when any 3rd party headphones you use will require an adapter of some sort? Naturally all 3rd party accessories will be extra expensive because they have to be licensed to work with Lightning.

I personally hope the rumour isn’t true but then Apple did give us a laptop with a single USB port, so it really wouldn’t surprise me if they did this.

Turning on existing technologies
#2

I posted this in yesterday’s daily news thread but, this rumour was around September last year as well, most of the reputable apple sites were posting it was nonsense, but this year the tone seems to be “where there’s smoke there’s fire”. I made the switch to Bluetooth headphones earlier this year so I’m sorted. My general thought with the adapter is, it’s inconvenient, but if forking out an extra $20-$30 when purchasing a $1000 phone is your biggest worry then you’ve got it pretty good.

#3

When someone posts about Apple placing form over function yet again, I will grab my popcorn.

3 Likes
#4

They’ll release a 3.5mm adaptor for $29 because that’s how they roll

3 Likes
#5

$29USD, meaning it’ll be $54AUD.

2 Likes
#6

A $54 AUD adaptor that won’t be compatible with any of the existing cases which means that on top of the $54 AUD us case users will need to spend approximately another $75 AUD.

Yeah I know it’ll be a new phone but I’m betting that only expensive Apple cases will be available when it arrives, not cheaper 3rd party ones.

3 Likes
#7

All I can say if it’s true in two words!

“It sucks”

1 Like
#8

USB-C port instead of lightning?

1 Like
#9

Imagine a USB-C … or better yet, Thunderbolt 3 socket instead of Lightning. If they do that, adapters will be forgiven! :wink:

But seriously - I reckon they invented Lightning because USB wasn’t reversible. Even just USB-C has Display Port, Power & USB available already. Make it Thunderbolt 3 instead (it uses USB-C as the connector with backwards compatibility) and now we’re really talking! Imagine being able to have that kind of connectivity on an iPad Pro or iPhone!

#10

Want to bet that they gimp the functionality?

Like they did with the USB photo adaptor for the existing iPads?

1 Like
#11

On one hand I dismiss it as nothing more than a ludicrous rumour but I can also see Apple being arrogant enough to actually do this.

2 Likes
#12

This would be a horrible move. The iPhone is already thin enough and yes it would be form over function - slimming the phone slightly at the cost of functionality. It truly would.

Yet another bloody adaptor would be plain annoying. Especially a small easily loosable one.

It would be typical arrogant Apple though, moving away from a truely industry standsrd connector to an expensive proprietary one to shave a mm or two off the iPhone’s ‘thickness’. It would also be a terrible idea for the environment. The mass production of a new adaptor + dumping of old earphones is not exactly environmentally friendly.

I’d like to be able to charge AND listen to music.

I’m already thinking of not buying a new iPhone due to the lack a 4 inch phone, so removing the headphone jack would push me right off the cliff. Listening to music should be easy as plugging in headphones. I’m not interested in stuffing around with recharging batteries, turning bluetooth on and off (the iPhone’s battery is already poorly enough without bluetooth on all the time), when a 3.5 mm cable is a simple plug in thing. No adaptors to carry around, no adaptors to loose and nothing to worry about.

Apple can go ahead an introduce wireless headphones or lightning ones

3 Likes
#13

If the (eventual) iPhone 7 doesn’t have a 3.5mm jack then I’ll probably update my 6 to a 6S+ rather than a 7, but I will have to look at the Android options available as well.

Android isn’t my favourite phone OS but I could get a phone with a 3.5mm headphone jack that way.

The question would be which is the lesser inconvenience, stick with previous generation tech and don’t update or swap across to Android.

Not sure…

1 Like
#14

Wireless headphones? Analogous to when laptops lost their LAN ports?

#15

I could totally see them doing it just so they can slim things down. I’m also in the bluetooth camp these days so it’s not a problem for me, in fact I can’t think of the last time I plugged anything into that socket at all. Still it seems a little early to call the headphone jack dead… Especially when it’s not moving towards an industry standard alternative. IE phasing out com ports for USB.

…but then that’s the way Apple Roll.

#16

They are not available in heavy duty waterproof, custom fitted, noise reducing motorbike type heaphones.

The closest type is the rider to rider intercom devices which can also accept a bluetooth phone link, but they require modifying a helmet which (in Victoria at least) is still against the law.

#17

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/digital-life/mobiles/rumour-apples-iphone-7-to-ditch-35mm-headphone-jack-20151130-glc2cd.html

haha

#18

I don’t understand.

First of all, the case situation for the iPhone 7 won’t be any different to any previous new iPhone release (ie Apple cases on day one, third party devices as time goes on).
Secondly, plenty of third party cases currently allow a lightning cable to be attached while the phone’s in the case. Why would this rumoured lightning cabled accessory be any different?

#19

Firstly I don’t see how one is going to water proof a case with an Apple supplied digital to analog adaptor sticking out of the case. Even if the case is water proof and the earphones are water proof I can’t see an Apple adaptor standing up to 110kph heavy rain very well.

And even if there are an increased range of lightning earphones no one (let alone Earmold who’s the only Australian manufacturer) is likely to make lightning connector water proof custom fitted ear phones any time soon and non water proof ones wouldn’t last any time at all.

In order for the earphones to be usable on a motorbike in the rain the whole system from phone to ear needs to be water proofed and in order to listen to music the custom fitted molded ear plugs are needed to keep the wind noise out.

#20

If they were going to do that any time soon, then why release the new keyboard, mouse, trackpad, watch dock, iPad Pro and Pencil with lightning?

Lightning’s here to stay, like it or not.