Now that Apple has officially angered me ...

[Oyeve]

I would be surprised if the adapter had a built-in DAC. The odds are that the phone has a DAC built-in, and the quality would be the same as if you had a native 3.5mm jack.

No way that they would sound equal to plugged in cans. Bt headphones stink in general wireless. I have a few that work wired or wirelessly and always sound way better wired.

 

[WelshBloke]

No way that they would sound equal to plugged in cans. Bt headphones stink in general wireless. I have a few that work wired or wirelessly and always sound way better wired.

He's talking about wired headphones using a lightning to headphone jack dongle.

I was assuming that the dongle would have to have DAC in it as the lightning connecter is digital and regular headphones work with an analogue signal but this might not be the case apparently.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

I knew this was coming but I'm actually surprised that they're including an adapter cable with the phone instead of charging us $40 for it.

 

[imported_bman]

This would have been easier to swallow had Apple abandoned their Thunderbolt connector and moved to USB-C, maybe then I could have bought into their BS line about courage.

 

[Kazukian]

You know the other manufacturers will follow suit eventually, right?

 

[WelshBloke]

You know the other manufacturers will follow suit eventually, right?

Why? It's up to Apple if they want to do it but I'm still not seeing an upside for anyone else.

 

[MrSquished]

You know the other manufacturers will follow suit eventually, right?

not so sure. other manufacturers have ALREADY created very thin phones and ALREADY created water-resistant phones with headphone jacks. this is more of an opportunity for them to continue to provide a headphone jack while evolving other areas of the phone in order to compete.

 

[pauldun170]

Looking at their adapter reminds me why I only buy headphones with 90 degree angled connectors.

vs
this shit

 

[Kazukian]

No dog in this fight, LOL...

Although, I will for the first time say, " I don't think Jobs would have done it."

He was an audiophile, I can't imagine him signing off on it.

 

[imported_bman]

You know the other manufacturers will follow suit eventually, right?

Except they will be using USB-C...

 

[Fingolfin269]

No dog in this fight, LOL...

Although, I will for the first time say, " I don't think Jobs would have done it."

He was an audiophile, I can't imagine him signing off on it.

I saw a quote from Walt Mossberg during the Verge live stream that was something along the lines of "Jobs told me he was against wireless audio. 'Do you really want something else you have to charge?', he said."

So more of a customer satisfaction/practicality angle but another example of how he would likely be against this.

 

[WelshBloke]

Except they will be using USB-C...

Why is that any better? I'll still have to buy new headphones or use a dongle.

 

[imported_bman]

Why is that any better? I'll still have to buy new headphones or use a dongle.

Avoids having competing standards in the post 3.5mm jack era (only iPads and iPhones use Lightening, not even Macbooks use Lightening), USB-C can do both digital or analogue audio over the same connector, and further cements the USB-C plug as the plug of the future. Needing new headphones or dongles is going to suck either way, but USB-C would have softened the blow.

 

[Zaap]

Dongles, adapters, expensive little goofy headphones that will fall out/get lost, have a goofy charging case...all a bunch of external junk to cart around/keep track of/lose...

...just to get back the same level of function that was removed needlessly is NOT compelling.

Even if were bringing some stellar new level of audio quality to the table it'd be hard to see dealing with all that. Since it isn't... bleh.

I know personally, I just reach for a set of headphones that are handy, and expect them to work with *any* device I'm using. Having a seperate setup for one device (need of dongle, whatever) is counter-intuitive.

Another thing that strikes me- for most people I know, using headphones with their phone is an afterthought.... it's not a main purpose of the device. All this hoop-jumping and need of more junk just to get back a basic level of function that many consider a secondary need... it's just sorta weird. It does lend credence to this being just a cash grab.

 

[Eug]

The loss of the headphone jack isn't a huge deal for me. A bit annoying but not a deal killer, esp. since they provide Lightning earpods AND a headphone jack adapter in the box. The bigger deal is the haptic home button. I was fine with it, but I'm seeing the reviews now saying that it isn't very good. If that holds true, that's a real downer.

As for Android, given my post above, not surprisingly I prefer phones with real home buttons. And I prefer the flagship ones with high volume sales, since the developers develop with those in mind. So basically, Samsung Galaxy S series.

 

[sweenish]

Dongles, adapters, expensive little goofy headphones that will fall out/get lost, have a goofy charging case...all a bunch of external junk to cart around/keep track of/lose...

Kinda funny coming from the person vehemently defending carrying around spare batteries as the best way to go for a mobile device. But this is different, I'm sure.

 

[zerogear]

HTC 10 is a stellar phone -- albeit kind of boring.

 

[master_shake_]

It's not much of a cash grab if the adapter is included in the box. The AirPods are definitely meant as an upsell (hey, you can keep listening while you charge!), but Apple isn't forcing you to get Lightning or Bluetooth headphones.

remember the old days when you could listen to music with a 3.5mm jack and charge at the same time?

pepperidge farm remembers.

instead fancy 200 dollar earphones wooooooo!

does the istoppedcaring (current version) have wireless charging?

 

[poofyhairguy]

I also wouldn't be terribly surprised if someone has already made a $10 adapter that does exactly this which will be going on sale very soon.

That is the thing about the Lightening Port: Apple owns it, so every pair of compatible headphones and dongles will have to pay a fee to guarantee work. That means a dongle you can trust won't be cheap for a while, neither will any compatible headphones. It's like a vacation trap for technology, and this new wireless Apple earbud technology is the same thing.

Honestly I could probably go without a headphone port thanks to the adaptor for headphones I have, what would suck though is the time you are out and about at someone's place and you just want to plug in and play a song and you can't. The last analog hole is closed.

OP needs to wait and see what Google launches next month if he cares that much.

 

[mafia]

I think Apple would have made their case more convincing if they offered the AirPods free of charge. I find I use my headsets while charging very often and I think not having that flexibility is a real bummer. In addition to carrying around an adapter that will most likely get lost. I can imagine the moments:

*Just got done taking a bunch of pictures, snapchats, etc.. while travelling and now I'm on my flight back home. My phone is low on battery so I'll plug it into the charger while listening to my audiobook. Oh wait... can't do both

*Driving with a friend, want to show him/her a new song. Sweet, their car has an aux connector! Oh wait..

*At a friends party, want to play some songs. Oh damn, left my adapter at home.

Apple really needed to do more to make this transition better. They are taking a huge risk here.
Its like marrying a girl you just went on a first date with. Yes, you know you'll probably spend the rest of your life with her and she might look really pretty, but as we all know you can't just jump in like that.

 

[Zaap]

Kinda funny coming from the person vehemently defending carrying around spare batteries as the best way to go for a mobile device. But this is different, I'm sure.

Look, you've CLEARLY demonstrated to me that you're quite a bit dense. It's been duly noted.

Now let's remember it was YOUR falsehood that a spare battery needs to be 'carried around' (and mulitples of them for some reason to make your dumb point sound stronger) not mine. It was your supposition that a spare battery had to be charged with the phone, not that they make chargers for them.

Do you carry your charger around with you? What do you imagine is the difference with a spare battery? You either have it the same place as you'd keep a charger... OR... carry it around with you same as you would the charger!

All this external garbage just to get back the function that a simple headphone jack provided isn't the same example at all- at the gym, jogging out of the house, etc. you'd need a stupid dongle or some overpriced pair of compromise headphones WITH YOU in order to get the use of them, not wherever you'd keep a charger or spare battery.

Apply some actual "LOGIC" next time.

 

[dawheat]

The loss of the headphone jack isn't a huge deal for me. A bit annoying but not a deal killer, esp. since they provide Lightning earpods AND a headphone jack adapter in the box. The bigger deal is the haptic home button. I was fine with it, but I'm seeing the reviews now saying that it isn't very good. If that holds true, that's a real downer.

As for Android, given my post above, not surprisingly I prefer phones with real home buttons. And I prefer the flagship ones with high volume sales, since the developers develop with those in mind. So basically, Samsung Galaxy S series.

What's wrong with the home button? I love the idea and hope Samsung blatantly copies it in the S8. Josh's hands on mentioned that you have to treat it like a physical button and not a capacitive button, otherwise it's a bit odd.

 

[WelshBloke]

I love the idea and hope Samsung blatantly copies it in the S8..

You want them to replace a physical button with a faux physical button? Why? What's the advantage of that?

If you want a capacitive home button there's plenty of android phones with them already.

 

[zerocool84]

not so sure. other manufacturers have ALREADY created very thin phones and ALREADY created water-resistant phones with headphone jacks. this is more of an opportunity for them to continue to provide a headphone jack while evolving other areas of the phone in order to compete.

This was literally done to make money. The phone was already thin enough, no need to make it thinner. This does not help the consumer at all.

 

[ultimatebob]

You clearly aren't courageous enough to buy the new iphone.

Yeah... sorry, but I'm not "courageous" enough to buy two new cars with Bluetooth Audio in them just so I can get Apple's latest phone and be able to use it properly.

I listen to podcasts a lot during my long commute, so I need the ability to plug both the charger cable and the headphone jack to get audio to the aux in port on my car stereo.

I'm sure that someone will make a special dongle to do this soon enough, but I hate carrying around dongles!