Getting rid of the headphone jack

[klp11]

This will solve the problem of losing the dongle! Such a clever idea!

https://www.kickstarter.com/project...one-7-headphone-dongle-adapter?ref=nav_search

 

[zocster]

This will solve the problem of losing the dongle! Such a clever idea!

https://www.kickstarter.com/project...one-7-headphone-dongle-adapter?ref=nav_search

Good luck with hubby's kickstarter

 

[dejanh]

Man, I wish I could down-vote replies.

It is not effective when somebody argues "it works for me, I don't know what you're talking about". There are well documented problems with Bluetooth and wireless technology in general when employed in audio, and in this particular case with headphones/mics. Apple has done nothing to address those. Heck, they can't even get their own "wireless" product out into the market. At this point the AirPods are borderline vaporware. The whole removal of the jack is an outright fiasco and the sales will show that, though sadly we will never know exactly how many sales were lost due to the removal of the jack vs. just general slowdown in smartphone sales, and particularly iPhone sales. What is even more depressing to see is all of the copycat manufacturers that now feel that somehow Apple's "courageous" (read dumb) move to remove the jack signals to all others that it is okay to do so as well. Watch Samsung take off the jack in the next series of phones. Then again, maybe it will come back with the S9 series, much like the SD card did after serious backlash.

I'm sticking with my 6s Plus and will see whether Apple is going to continue to get my business with the next iPhone. 7 is a no go, nearly zero improvement over the 6s series. I am not going to be a beta tester for Apple's transitional hardware. Even their dual-camera solution is half-baked and remains so (beta DoF anyone?).

 

[lusid1]

I'm not sure how much simpler I could put this but:
I'm really not that concerned with how music sounds over bluetooth, I'm concerned about how I sound.

That seems to be a hard point to get across with all the focus on listening to itunes over bt. I fully expect music playback on Airpods to rival the mediocrity of earpods, if they ever figure out how to manufacture them. I'm just not sure what to expect from the mic.

My remediation plan was going to involve 3 docks, and possibly hacking a 4th for mobile use, but now that I see these are $100 each that plan isn't looking so good.

 

[jj2339]

So for those who think removing the headjack was a good thing, that it was courageous and about time, how does the fact that Apple's solution for the removal, is still not ready for primetime? To me, if this was a long overdue change that the world was ready for, than Apple's solution should have been ready at least in concert with the removal of the jack.

http://fortune.com/2016/12/09/apple-airpods-delay-technical/

 

[imwjl]

This has not been much of our any problem in our family. My wife got 7 plus early. I'm wrapping up week two.

So far the dual cameras and better speaker are worth any adjustments. That said, I'm sure if still be happy with my 6s plus but getting 2 new phones for mom and dad was a good solution for kids who needed phones.

I use head phones a lot for support and conference calls. I'm sure speaker will be fine if I reach a moment needing a battery charge. I have considered a battery case before no jack and the 7 plus.

Overall this loss of jack hasn't been the crisis many have cried about. Especially considering the way my work requires smart phone use. I'm the sr IT admin in an enterprise with 650 employees, so this is more tool than toy. It works.

That said, I have bookmarked some Lightening splitters but not bought.

 

[jj2339]

To be honest, I'm annoyed by the removal but still got the iphone 7 plus anyway. I don't use my phone for work purposes nor do I watch video on it with my BT headphones. I use my iPad which has a headphone jack for video. When I travel and get a rental car, I just have to make sure I get a Bt enabled car, so I can GPS and charge at same time. So it's not critical for me, but I still find the decision anti consumer and not a win in any way.

I just find the defense of this move as somehow 'needed' or 'courageous' as baffling given the very real issues that the lack of a jack has for some people and how they use their phones. If the 'solution' to removal is so difficult for apple to implement, it was hardly about time for this move.

 

[jpxyz]

It doesn't affect me at all to be honest.. I always carry my bluetooth headphones around.

 

[nthknd]

Good point, your logic is impeccable. Driverless cars are also be future, I'm going to run to the store and let my car drive itself.

Technology isn't ready for pure wireless for every situation. That 'rip the bandaid' logic is really silly, for people who have real needs that can't be met by removing a jack, which didn't seem completely necessary or courageous.

But if you have a real need why buy the phone? I say this with all due respect but we all knew the headphone jack was removed so why buy the phone? I have a sports car with a very limited back seat, it make no sense to buy the car then complain that I don't have a backseat, I knew this going in.

 

[Tech_User16]

Yeah it sucks

 

[nthknd]

Maybe something like this may help some of you.....https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/istand7-super-all-in-one-case-for-iphone-6-7#9934539

 

[lusid1]

That looks like one to keep an eye on. So far there have been tons of cheap splitter cables from China available online, but they only support audio playback and charging. They aren't supporting headsets, voice calls, the mic, or the control buttons.

The Belkin unit does at least support full headset operation, but does not support data transfer of any kind. The only device I've found that appears to do that is the official lightning dock, which Apple sells in parts. I am planning to pick up a base to see if it really works before buying the rest of it.

In the mean time, I'm trying to use webex audio for conferences with a wired headset on my laptop whenever I have that option. Trying to get by on BT has embarrassed me on calls twice this week, once on a jabra, once on a plantronics. Not cheap devices, just a lousy protocol stack.

 

[jj2339]

But if you have a real need why buy the phone? I say this with all due respect but we all knew the headphone jack was removed so why buy the phone? I have a sports car with a very limited back seat, it make no sense to buy the car then complain that I don't have a backseat, I knew this going in.

Like I said above, I am not impacted by the limitations as I don't use my cell for conference calls, and I have BT in my car so I can charge as j drive if needed. Now I do watch a ton of video on my iPad so I would never buy one sans Jack, as that would render it useless. I had a note 7 and loved the big screen, so buying a 6s plus seemed dumb vs the latest, financially, even though I disagreed with the change apple made.

So I can deal with it, but it does mean when travelling I have to get only vehicles with BT so I can gps without fear of losing charge, and I have to bring two sets of headphones when I travel now (one for iPad with Jack, one for iPhone without a jack).

Does it impact me alot? No. Does it impact some people, yes. Was it necessary and are we ready for the transition? No. And apple has proven the point since their grand solution to this isn't ready for primetime.

 

[mogelijk]

So for those who think removing the headjack was a good thing, that it was courageous and about time, how does the fact that Apple's solution for the removal, is still not ready for primetime? To me, if this was a long overdue change that the world was ready for, than Apple's solution should have been ready at least in concert with the removal of the jack.

Apple AirPods Are Still Delayed Because Of Technical Problems

While I wish Apple would have left the headphone jack in, I feel your post is unfair. You could just as easily claim that "Apple's solution" was the Earbuds with a Lightning connector they included with the phone, as well as including the dongle. There are also the wireless Beats headphones, again an Apple product, that work just fine and should give better sound quality than the AirPods are designed to.

I find your post to be as convincing as those who claim that we should be grateful the headphone jack is gone because that is how Apple was able to make the phone waterproof. Both arguments are flawed.

 

[lusid1]

When you're listening to music over BT, you're getting MP3-like audio compression over A2DP. Thats good enough for most peoples ear's, and Apple's AAC over BT should improve upon that.

When you're talking, audio doesn't fare so well. Your voice gets processed by the headset's DSP, and downsampled to either 16khz or 8khz mono, passed through a lossy encoder, and then on to your phone. Thats before it even gets to the phone, which then has to re-encode your voice with a different lossy codec, generally at 8khz, before passing it on to your carrier.

Sometimes its the DSP that misbehaves, sometimes its the BT radios, sometimes the second compressor chokes on artifacts from the first compressor. Sometimes though it works just fine.

See, its the future.

 

[nthknd]

Like I said above, I am not impacted by the limitations as I don't use my cell for conference calls, and I have BT in my car so I can charge as j drive if needed. Now I do watch a ton of video on my iPad so I would never buy one sans Jack, as that would render it useless. I had a note 7 and loved the big screen, so buying a 6s plus seemed dumb vs the latest, financially, even though I disagreed with the change apple made.

So I can deal with it, but it does mean when travelling I have to get only vehicles with BT so I can gps without fear of losing charge, and I have to bring two sets of headphones when I travel now (one for iPad with Jack, one for iPhone without a jack).

Does it impact me alot? No. Does it impact some people, yes. Was it necessary and are we ready for the transition? No. And apple has proven the point since their grand solution to this isn't ready for primetime.

I'm in the same boat as you, I'm not overly affected by the change, I was just wondering about people views who are. I guess I'm just kinda old school and figure just don't buy the damn phone if it presents so many problems for you and let your dollars speak. I'm at a lost as to why people bought the phone then go in on it like it was a surprise. I get some people may have to use it for work or whatever but it seems kinda strange to buy something that doesn't fit your case use then complain like it was forced on ya. You as in generally not you specifically.

 

[LDYNREDD]

As someon who has spoken to people using BT on a cell on a conference call, it may work for you, but I assure you it doesn't always work for the audience.

I use power beats 2 for my BT headphones, you tell me if they are a cheap *** solution. People I speak to often ask me to get off the headset and speak on the phone directly.

It's not about the amount of money spent on a Bluetooth headset, I have been using them for about 10+ years now and have had several.

Before I got my truck with integrated Bluetooth, the most recent ear piece I had was the Senheiser Presence and I was happy with it. Nobody ever complained about having difficulty hearing me and I was never asked to get off the Bluetooth while on calls. I tried the Bose headset before the Senheiser and figured it should be the best on the market (especially at $150) but it was terrible and I had to return it.

I'm not sure but maybe the issue is trying to use "headphones" instead of a dedicated Bluetooth "headset". Perhaps using the headset that is meant expressly for phone conversations results in better call quality. I have never tried Bluetooth headphones though so this is just speculation.

 

[Just_Me_D]

I'm in the same boat as you, I'm not overly affected by the change, I was just wondering about people views who are. I guess I'm just kinda old school and figure just don't buy the damn phone if it presents so many problems for you and let your dollars speak. I'm at a lost as to why people bought the phone then go in on it like it was a surprise. I get some people may have to use it for work or whatever but it seems kinda strange to buy something that doesn't fit your case use then complain like it was forced on ya. You as in generally not you specifically.

'Nuf said...

 

[rdubmu]

'Nuf said...

Most people were upgrading two to three year old phones, honestly the only upgrade path was the iPhone 7.

 

[Just_Me_D]

Most people were upgrading two to three year old phones, honestly the only upgrade path was the iPhone 7.

Maybe. Maybe not. If they wanted the latest "iPhone" then yes, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus were the only options. Still, it doesn't negate the fact that they knew prior to purchasing that the device no longer had the typical earphone jack. Furthermore, to blatantly ignore the supplied adapter is straight up selfish, in my opinion. Then again, I'm from a generation that will simply make use of what I have.