Removing the 3.5mm headphone socket

iOS
#42

Crikey, reading the comments on that article is back to the bad old days. Android is just as capable as iOS now, each have their fans and detractors, but if you don’t like iPhone/iOS why take the time to bitch about it in the comments section. Pathetic!

Maybe they’ll stick an audio port in the iPhone 7 version of their new battery pack case!

I don’t mind what connector they have so long as headphones come with the iPhone. I know true audiophiles like to have a choice of better quality headphones, but I’m fine with the standard ones. I’m not keen on bluetooth as I find it an annoyingly unreliable technology. My pebble and my jawbone up frequently lose connection and need to be rebooted/reset to reconnect.

#43

I don’t know, I reckon a lot of people will get the shits on with this as it’s Apple’s proprietary connector and people like normal things.

That being said, this might be the kick in the butt that I need to purchase those bluetooth Parrot’s that I’ve been wanting for a while now.

#44

You don’t want a different headphone connector. I had a Nokia with one and it was awful. Same goes for the Nintendo game boy SP. they never made that blunder again.

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#45

And yet, its what makes sense. I dont care if my phone has to be a bit thicker to make sense. REally.

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#46

Of course. It makes sense, but some of their recent decisions have me believing that making sense from a technical standpoint isn’t exactly a high priority for Apple at the moment.

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#47

IMHO iPhones reached peak thinness with the iPhone 5. That being said, I’d take a 4 thickness again if it meant a significant improvement in battery.

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#48

I’m guessing a lot of people wouldn’t argue with you either. I was listening to an episode of ATP where they were discussing the battery case and battery life. The point they make is that Apple are usually all about form over function… thinness over all else! (Why else would the iMac need to be thin with so many compromises?) But more so that Apple have the stats being reported back through some mechanism. Theoretically they know that xx% of people are only recharging once per day (which is all they want) so all it well. You have to wonder if that if that number dipped below a certain percentage if they would make adjustments or not? (ie add more battery).

I would happily buy a thicker phone if it got a decent bump in battery… of course that was also debated. What is enough? 20%? 50% extra? It’s always going to be a trade off between weight & size vs life.

In case you were wondering how much battery life you’d get if this thing went back to the original iPhone thickness?

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#49

I’d be interested to know. My friendship group is in the 19/20 age range and I don’t think any of them have ever said “I want a thinner iPhone” in years. I remember people saying the iPhone 5 was too thin.

However, I had christmas party, and so many people had to plug in… I hear over and over and over again that they’d like more battery life. Who knows if its representative of the greater population, but iPhone battery life improvements would be very welcome, even if it means a thicker phone. The peak of my battery life was with the 4 on iOS 6.1. The 5 is definitely worse. iPads also seem to have gone backwards with battery life.

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#50

I think a lot of the general public equate thinness with lightness, forgetting that thin form factor devices mean thin internals which lead to reduced battery performance as the most obvious level.

I’m sure if they went backwards to the 4’s thickness they would be able to make a lighter phone with the advancements in composite, lightweight materials that have been made since then.

I still think this thinner but bigger mentality is wrong. The iPhone 6/6s is about as big as I want. Hell, I thought the 5 was pushing it to begin with. I want the power of the 6/6s but not to be crippled by the ‘c’ moniker.

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#51

The latest talk is that the 6C will not be plastic but will be metal with an A9/2GB ram and NFC, but the trade off will be the iPhone 6 camera and no touch ID, which will be something I’m willing to trade off. In all honesty, if it has an A9 processor and 2GB of ram (and its 4 inches of course) I’m in.

#52

I doubt there’s be no Touch ID - it’s needed for Apple Pay and Apple are invested in that.

#53

If it’s going to be metal (and I’ve read that too) then they might wait until after the iPhone 7 is released and just make it a down spec version of the current iPhone 6 (like they’ve replaced the 5C with the 5S as their current budget phone).

8GB iPhone 6 anyone?

#54

I do wonder what the age demographics for iPhone users is?

Does your average 20 year old play with the phone more during the day then go partying at night so is left with a dead phone because they were away from home too long? Do they also miss out on the opportunity to charge during the day because either they are at Uni without facility to charge or work in a junior office role where having a phone on your desk is frowned upon?

vs the average user who might be a business person working 9 to 5 ish doing busnissey things, who can charge the phone at a desk if needed but otherwise goes home after work therefore never runs out of battery…

Huge generalisations… but I hope I’ve made my point. xx% of people are only charging once a day so battery is adequate for the majority of people.

A quick google turns up some info… I’m sure you could find more if you wanted:
http://www.mactech.com/content/study-looks-demographics-iphone-ipod-touch-users

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#55

Oops i meant 3D touch.

#56

3 posts were split to a new topic: Turning on existing technologies

Turning on existing technologies
#57

Looks like this rumour is starting to gain traction.

iPhone 7 May Feature Thinner, Waterproof Body With No Headphone Jack and Wireless Charging

I must say I’m somewhat disheartened by the rumour, not because it’s looking more likely, after all it has been established that this is something Apple would have no issue doing, but because it has the potential to unseat an industry standard, universal, non-proprietary interface in favour of a closed, proprietary solution that only works with a single manufacturers’ device.

Considering Apple is an industry trendsetter it doesn’t bode well for competition and the consumers that would just go elsewhere. I assume other notable vendors would start to follow suit.

But it is what it is.

#58

I’m not a fan of the headphone jack going, but I don’t know what they are planning. This would go well beyond just Apple products if they do it right. Already on planes etc the in flight entertainment is disappearing and cords are a pain when you really think about it. I’m wondering whether a default wireless position will be the plan with an adaptor for users still wanting to use existing ones.

#59

You can already sync wirelessly. Apple could very well go with an iPhone that is one single piece with no open ports that syncs, charges and provide wireless audio that would be truly waterproof.

#60

I’m not convinced that Apple pursues form over function, though it sometimes looks that way. Jobs said “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” And this seems to be a fundamental value of Apple. I’ve been wondering what the upside would be to getting rid of the headphone socket, but I don’t assume that there can’t be one if I can’t see one.

Now I’ve found this article from last June which could actually explain a few things. Basically, 48kHz audio in and out plus the ability to send other info to the device which could control any number of things. So, your Lightning headset could launch apps and do other things I’ve never thought of and probably won’t make use of.

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#61

A phone with no ports — wireless data, inductive charging, wireless headphones — that is also water proof (to whatver degree) is a big improvement. I’ll take that over a legacy analogy port.

A single (lighting) port phone has its won merits. I am yet to see any significant merit in arguments against it (beyind the thinness/battery life discusions).

We choose to buy into the apple ecosystem or we don’t. There are other options out there for those who can’t live without a 3.5mm audio port on their phones, just like there are numerous options for those who want mulitple ports on their laptop…

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