No headphones jack on iPhone 8 potential deal breaker

[farvardinzad]

I have in my opinion the best iPhone yet (6S Plus) and the main reason aside from all the obvious reasons is the 3.5 mm headphone jack. I love my music and spend hours per day enjoying it. I use the Musi app where I keep my Flac-files and use my Sennheiser Momentum headphones for listening. And yes, to me there is a notable difference in sound quality between lossless music and everything else. Now since no Bluetooth technology can manage maintaining the lossless quality or even the mediocre sound quality of MP3 and other codecs alike, Apple's adventure presents a true dilemma for me. Just like the first MacBook Air was groundbreaking and redefined the modern notebook, the iPhone 8 is meant to accomplish the same for the smartphone industry. The big problem is though that in 2008 there were other alternatives provided by Apple, the MacBook and MacBook Pro. Now unless one makes the compromise of going back to older/less powerful iPhone iterations, then there really aren't any alternatives left for people like me. Until the Bluetooth technology is where it needs to be, it seems as if I and others like me should find a separate solution for my music listening needs cause the iPhone doesn't cut it anymore.

 

[SpicyWasabi]

I believe Apple still provides a lighting-to-headphone-jack connector in the box when you buy it, and another earphone that connects to the lightning itself. It's just that, the only problem is you can only do one of these things ? to charge and to play music.

 

[nikkisharif]

I honestly don't see them brining it back. Apple is also not the first company to remove the headphone jack from a device. For me, my BT Bose headphones & speakers work just fine...haven't used a headphone jack in years. The fact of the matter is when things change, some are fine with it & some aren't. There's no such this as everyone being pleased. Since your current device works for you, I'd say keep it. It will be supported for a while. If it doesn't work, then there are alternative devices that have what you're looking for. Good Luck

 

[si001]

There's a lightning to 3.5 in the box yes. And I just bought another one for 9.99 just in case. If this or bluetooth is not good enough for you, I think you will be pretty sad in the near future, because analog technology is going away. Just try to buy a laptop with a VGA connector, or a DVD with a composite output, Its increasingly rare.

 

[Rob Phillips]

I honestly don't see them brining it back. Apple is also not the first company to remove the headphone jack from a device. For me, my BT Bose headphones & speakers work just fine...haven't used a headphone jack in years. The fact of the matter is when things change, some are fine with it & some aren't. There's no such this as everyone being pleased. Since your current device works for you, I'd say keep it. It will be supported for a while. If it doesn't work, then there are alternative devices that have what you're looking for. Good Luck

THIS. I'm not a gambling man but, if I were, I'd bet that we won't be seeing any more headphone jacks on iPhone going forward. I'm guessing the 3.5mm jack's days are numbered on other platforms as well. Apple opened a can of worms.

 

[nikkisharif]

THIS. I'm not a gambling man but, if I were, I'd bet that we won't be seeing any more headphone jacks on iPhone going forward. I'm guessing the 3.5mm jack's days are numbered on other platforms as well. Apple opened a can of worms.

Things are going to get real interesting lol

 

[ianeb]

It's never coming back, not like Apple to make U-turns especially on something like this. Really don't see it as an issue, well not as big an issue as it's made out. There's an adaptor in the box, I plugged it on to the bottom of my spare earphones for work and don't really notice it is there. All other times I have BT Bose headphone which are great.

Some people may not like it but might as well accept it and forget about it, or buy a phone that does have a jack? That will soon be out of date though and like others have said, I think eventually other manufacturers will follow.

 

[Swapnil Vartak]

Yeah, it's not like Apple to make a U turn on something like this...I mean think of the keynote...what would they say " We don't have Courage anymore. We had courage last year but this year we decided we didn't need it" and all of this with a straight face..

 

[TripleOne]

I'm already prepared to get a Bluetooth headphone if I end up getting the next iPhone.

 

[Ziich47]

Bluetooth 5.0 is on the recently launched s8 which provides increased bandwidth speed and range over Bluetooth. I think it is safe to assume that we will also see it in the next iPhone.
Furthermore to get the best quality from your music you should get a DAC which would be a huge improvement over the inbuilt one found on mobile phone

 

[Seattlestandardtime]

I'm all for moving forward with technology, chip readers, cloud computing, etc. My biggest sticking point with losing the headphone jack on my phone is that I lose things! I've literally taken to walking around with the dongle hanging off of my phone all the time because no BT headphones, no matter how great can hold a charge long enough to not be a total hassle. If I forget to charge them overnight, it's not like I can walk into Rite Aid and buy a cheap set of BT headphones for 8 bucks. To me, this has been a blatant ploy for Apple to make us all buy their (super-easy-to-lose) BT earbuds or their $10 dongles that are just as easy to lose. I'm a UX designer by day and I can honestly say, this is bad design, they've needlessly made a common activity several steps harder without clearly communicating a convincing argument or value proposition as to why. If they were out to serve the user, they would have reengineered the 3.5mm port to function as a power/data transfer port (It's Apple, they totally could if they wanted to).

 

[Annie_M]

Hello and welcome to iMore. You might want to take a moment and post an introduction in the thread for new members.

In regards to your post, have to admit that when I first heard about no headphone jack, I wasn’t thrilled. But since this post was started, I’ve gotten an 8 Plus, and have adjusted to using both wired headphones with the dongle, and wireless Bluetooth headphones. I am pleased to say that have not had any issues!

 

[timb9]

NO headphone jack will most likely be a deal breaker for me. Terrible, terrible idea on Apple's part. I bought the Iphone7 a year ago, and wish I would have got an Iphone 6sPlus. Am I supposed to have a dongle available everywhere I bring the phone. I have different speakers and headphones around the house and in my pool house that I may want to plug my phone into, but I need that silly dongle now. I don't listen to music as much as a lot of people, but when I'm traveling, I may want to charge my phone and listen to music or watch videos or a movie at the same time while in the airport or on the flight, but I can't now. Was this really done to make the phones waterproof? That's ridiculous. They couldn't make the port for the 8mm jack waterproof?

 

[Just_Me_D]

NO headphone jack will most likely be a deal breaker for me. Terrible, terrible idea on Apple's part. I bought the iphone 7 a year ago, and wish I would have got an Iphone 6sPlus. Am I supposed to have a dongle available everywhere I bring the phone. I have a different speakers and headphones around the house and in my pool house that I may want to plug my phone into, but I need that silly dongle now. I don't listen to music as much as a lot of people, but when I'm traveling, I may want to charge my phone and listen to music or watch videos or a movie at the same time while in the airport or on the flight, but I can't now. Was this really done to make the phones waterproof? That's ridiculous. They couldn't make the port for the 8mm jack waterproof?

I’ll bite....
1. This topic is dead in the water.
2. Putting a 2 to 3 inch dongle in your backpack, briefcase or pocket should not be that much of an inconvenience.
3. A pair of Bluetooth headsets would be something to invest in.
4. The removal of the audio port is a done deal. Either buy an iPhone that still has one or make the adjustment to carry on without it.
5. This is OLD news.

 

[TekNiKal]

I’ll bite....
1. This topic is dead in the water.
2. Putting a 2 to 3 inch dongle in your backpack, briefcase or pocket should not be that much of an inconvenience.
3. A pair of Bluetooth headsets would be something to invest in.
4. The removal of the audio port is a done deal. Either buy an iPhone that still has one or make the adjustment to carry on without it.
5. This is OLD news.

I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of this subject. Basically, Apple removed a port that a lot of people used, and still use today. The Apple apologists state the removal of the headphone jack was to advance technology. But Apple didn’t replace the port with anything advanced. That was 3 years ago, still nothing.

I own a 7 Plus. I adapted. I use the dongle. I use Bluetooth headphones. I even bought the dongle with a lightning and 3.5 mm jack. But why do I have to do this?

I haven’t noticed a superior sound with my headphones when using the lightning port. This topic is never gonna go away. It’s more like daily news.

 

[MasterDarque]

Meh

 

[Just_Me_D]

I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of this subject. Basically, Apple removed a port that a lot of people used, and still use today. The Apple apologists state the removal of the headphone jack was to advance technology. But Apple didn’t replace the port with anything advanced. That was 3 years ago, still nothing.

I own a 7 Plus. I adapted. I use the dongle. I use Bluetooth headphones. I even bought the dongle with a lightning and 3.5 mm jack. But why do I have to do this?

I haven’t noticed a superior sound with my headphones when using the lightning port. This topic is never gonna go away. It’s more like daily news.

I will agree that a good deal of people are/were upset about the removal of the audio port on the iPhone, yet, many of those who were originally upset have discovered that using the supplied dongle is more than sufficient. Others have simply moved on to using wireless headphones/earphones.

It may not have been a popular move and Apple’s reasoning may not have been sufficient, however, it was their decision to make and it didn’t harm subsequent iPhone sales.

 

[nikkisharif]

I own a 7 Plus. I adapted. I use the dongle. I use Bluetooth headphones. I even bought the dongle with a lightning and 3.5 mm jack. But why do I have to do this?

You don’t have to do this! Everything is a choice. There are plenty of great devices that have a headphone jack. Personally, I haven’t used a a headphone jack since my 5S.

 

[Lee_Bo]

NO headphone jack will most likely be a deal breaker for me. Terrible, terrible idea on Apple's part. I bought the Iphone7 a year ago, and wish I would have got an Iphone 6sPlus.

Well then the best of luck to you in your future purchases. I hope you find something you're happy with.

Am I supposed to have a dongle available everywhere I bring the phone. I have different speakers and headphones around the house and in my pool house that I may want to plug my phone into, but I need that silly dongle now.

Um, yep. They're really inexpensive on Amazon if you need extras.

I don't listen to music as much as a lot of people, but when I'm traveling, I may want to charge my phone and listen to music or watch videos or a movie at the same time while in the airport or on the flight, but I can't now. Was this really done to make the phones waterproof? That's ridiculous. They couldn't make the port for the 8mm jack waterproof?

Come on, make the conversion over to bluetooth. Everyone's doing it. It's not as horrible as you are being led to believe.

1. This topic is dead in the water.
2. Putting a 2 to 3 inch dongle in your backpack, briefcase or pocket should not be that much of an inconvenience.
3. A pair of Bluetooth headsets would be something to invest in.
4. The removal of the audio port is a done deal. Either buy an iPhone that still has one or make the adjustment to carry on without it.
5. This is OLD news.

1.Dead. DEAD!!!
2.Amazon results for iphone lightning to 3.5mm
3. And some are really inexpensive too
4. Ditto
5. old.....Old.....OLD!!!!!

6. Welcome to iMore.

 

[Rob Phillips]

Wait...they removed the headphone jack? My AirPods don’t seem to mind.