Report: Apple to Ditch Headphone Jack for Future iPhones

[NLS]

I seriously doubt this.
It's not unlikely that they'll be offering lightning-connectivity for high end audio devices. Working much like SPDIF or HDMI, sending lossless audio streams without analogue interference.
However, cutting out the already proprietary audio jack isn't gonna happen anytime soon.
1. You only have 1 lightning port, meaning you can't charge and listen at the same time.
2. The lightning connectors are too stiff and rigid at the moment. You can't curl one into your pocket like your usual headphone cord without risking damage to the cable or connector.
3. Lightning costs more to produce. Which means the standard earplugs that come with your iphone for free, will cost more for Apple.

TLDR;
Yes, they'll probably start offering high end audio products that use the Lightning port for lossless audio, as well as opening this up for third parties.
No, they won't cut out their all-in-one audio jack that so far works flawlessly for their standard customers.

 

[Drummodino]

Boy am I glad that I swapped over to Android when I replaced my old iPhone 4. I like to purchase my own headphones which are pretty high quality and I use them for everything - my phone, laptop, tablet and even my desktop before I purchased a proper headset. If I still had an iPhone this would mean I'd need two sets of headphones. Thanks but no thanks.

 

[alj]

It certainly makes sense for Apple to acquire a high-end headphone manufacturer,

Beats "high end" that's a good one .

I can understand them changing the 30 pin whist the 30 pin can do a few things that lightning cannot the connector is not very rugged and is very fiddly and a bit big in this day and age so yeh not a huge problem.

I don't think even apple are stupid enough to remove the headphone jack as its used for so much more than just plugging in a set of ear-buds such as speakers and car audio, then again you never know with apple. I have moved form iPhone to a nexus 4 and now 5, Still have my iPad and like that so i am not in one camp or the other but i don't see it happening,

 

[Lono Shrugged]

See, I like the way I can plug my iPhone into my decent creative speakers at home, my cheap sony earbuds for walking and my comfy sennheiser cans in work. I am basically left with the choice of eventually moving to android or buying an mp3 player for my music. Which is a shame. I recently got an iPhone and enjoy using it. But I also have a Nexus tablet and enjoy the relative freedom you get from android. I doubt that this will cripple apple or anything. But when the average jack off is buying a phone, they will most likely want headphone sockets. The thought of having 1 pair of propriety headphones is painful to me. I

 

[nickpy]

I'm not even vaguely surprised. Apple have form in this regard, I had to purchase an adapter to use a HDMI cable with my MacBook.

Well, to be fair to Apple, in this case, Display Port (which is the hole you'd have neeeded the adaptor for) Is actually a completely standard port, and is the official successor to DVI for computer monitors, its just that VGA/DVI/HDMI are already good enough for 97.95% of the population and consequently almost nothing actually supports it outside of Apple.

Having said that I do agree that it seems absolutely ludicrous to not include an HDMI port as well, even a Mini or Micro one if they're concerned about space/sleek-ness.

Source: I used to have to sell these things for a living. It wasn't easy.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

Apple are trying the same s**t Microsoft were taken to task for in the 90s, namely trying to make everything proprietary. The charger, different from all other manufacturers. Drag and drop? On every platform except Apple that requires iTunes. Headphone jack? Every device in the world, except Apple. HDMI? Nope, unique again.

This isn't marketing, it's not innovation, it's execs trying to get people "locked" into a platform by forcing use of proprietary items. How Apple are able to continue to sell the iPhone in Europe where the law says it has to use MicroUSB (AFAIK) is beyond me.

 

[Shamanic Rhythm]

I'm not even vaguely surprised. Apple have form in this regard, I had to purchase an adapter to use a HDMI cable with my MacBook.

Well, to be fair to Apple, in this case, Display Port (which is the hole you'd have neeeded the adaptor for) Is actually a completely standard port, and is the official successor to DVI for computer monitors, its just that VGA/DVI/HDMI are already good enough for 97.95% of the population and consequently almost nothing actually supports it outside of Apple.

Having said that I do agree that it seems absolutely ludicrous to not include an HDMI port as well, even a Mini or Micro one if they're concerned about space/sleek-ness.

Source: I used to have to sell these things for a living. It wasn't easy.

Hehe, I feel your pain. At least you understand the stuff you're selling - I was in an Apple Store today just to browse, and the dipshit who served me had absolutely no idea how to find out what the resolution of the display was...

 

[iniudan]

I'm not even vaguely surprised. Apple have form in this regard, I had to purchase an adapter to use a HDMI cable with my MacBook.

Well, to be fair to Apple, in this case, Display Port (which is the hole you'd have neeeded the adaptor for) Is actually a completely standard port, and is the official successor to DVI for computer monitors, its just that VGA/DVI/HDMI are already good enough for 97.95% of the population and consequently almost nothing actually supports it outside of Apple.

Having said that I do agree that it seems absolutely ludicrous to not include an HDMI port as well, even a Mini or Micro one if they're concerned about space/sleek-ness.

Source: I used to have to sell these things for a living. It wasn't easy.

What are you talking about DisplayPort is available on most gpu and PC monitor, while it should be there on most professional laptop (got one on my Lenovo Thinkpad T520, which is a 3 years old model and it is still there on modern Thinkpad series, but it is miniDP connector these day), but consumer laptop usually have hdmi, as where DisplayPort never appear is on a TV, as it's a PC standard.

 

[Gorrath]

I don't buy this rumor at all. Apple is known for inventing its own proprietary crap, but this would be jaw-droppingly stupid. Not being able to charge your phone and listen at the same time is idiotic and making the bundled headphones more expensive to produce is equally so. I'd say it is far more likely that they'll simply add the ability for headphones to be plugged into the lightning jack and launch new "high-end" headphones for sale that are compatible with it, all while maintaining the current headphone jack. Stupid rumor is stupid.

 

[Thyunda]

Maybe they're gonna fix the problems with the headphone jack - like the £60 replacement cost of a busted jack because I happen to use headphones while the iPod is in my pocket, and apparently it just can't handle that.

I don't buy this rumor at all. Apple is known for inventing its own proprietary crap, but this would be jaw-droppingly stupid. Not being able to charge your phone and listen at the same time is idiotic and making the bundled headphones more expensive to produce is equally so. I'd say it is far more likely that they'll simply add the ability for headphones to be plugged into the lightning jack and launch new "high-end" headphones for sale that are compatible with it, all while maintaining the current headphone jack. Stupid rumor is stupid.

Other than that, I pretty much agree totally with this.

 

[The Hungry Samurai]

Yep if this is true. I'm out. Droid here I come!

 

[ryukage_sama]

It certainly makes sense for Apple to acquire a high-end headphone manufacturer, and then force all of its customers to either use it, or purchase a pricey adapter (for reference, the standard Lightning to 30-pin adapter costs $29).

Wow, I hadn't heard that Apple acquired a "high-end headphone manufacturer". That'll be a big improvement over those lowsy headphones made by Beats. It's good to know that Apple still values function over fashion.

 

[Something Amyss]

Does anyone else feel that the whole Apple VS Android thing is kinda like the whole Consoles VS PC? One keeps trying to lock you down and the other one finds new ways of being more adaptable and customizable?

Wait. Which is which?

Because Google effectively locked the SD card for a lot of users, making certain apps useless without rooting your device.


I see the iProduct/Droid race as a race to the bottom. Which, honestly, I think is probably a more apt analysis of the console wars than console v PC. "What's the shittiest box we can sell to the consumer? Why, one that's only slightly shittier than our rival's box! Then we can slowly reduce service in time, because they'll do the same."

Well, I hope Apple's fans aren't so blind in their loyalty that they stand for it, because frankly, it sounds downright abusive.

I've had more than one friend describe their relationship with Apple as abusive, or compare it to Stockholm syndrome. This will be more of the same, I think.

1. You only have 1 lightning port, meaning you can't charge and listen at the same time.

The rest may be true, but this would neither be the first or last time this was pulled.

This isn't marketing, it's not innovation, it's execs trying to get people "locked" into a platform by forcing use of proprietary items. How Apple are able to continue to sell the iPhone in Europe where the law says it has to use MicroUSB (AFAIK) is beyond me.

I thought the law wouldn't even come to a vote until this summer. Has it passed?

 

[Daniel Janhagen]

Does anyone else feel that the whole Apple VS Android thing is kinda like the whole Consoles VS PC? One keeps trying to lock you down and the other one finds new ways of being more adaptable and customizable?

I dunno... that seems an incredibly gracious assessment. Google may have got in late to the "pointlessly dick our blindly loyal zealots for no rational reason than our corporate profit" game but fact is fact Google has done an amazing job of playing catch up. The more google as an entity moves toward "evil empire" territory, the more customer unfriendly design choices restricting users freedom in the name of towing the line to ensure not only their own profits, but the profit of tightly tied partners like HTC, Samsung, etc. rear their head.

So true! Also, the consoles vs PC as a platform breaks down a bit too, unless you're talking about Linux and the like (or just hardware, rather than operating system), because Microsoft are trying to lock you down all the time, and quite successfully too.

 

[Verlander]

Apple keep doing stuff like this, getting taken down for clear antitrust violations, and paying a huge fine (in Europe particularly). Can a judge stand up and actually start banning their products until they're compliant already, please?

On a similar note, can't wait for this: http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/14/europe-votes-for-common-charger-law/

 

[Pinky's Brain]

Putting a 20 kHz signal across a meter of cable with good fidelity is not rocket science ... making it digital won't gain you anything.

That said, I've always believed the mini-jack is the spawn of Satan ... so good riddance.

 

[Zipa]

What´s good about apple today anyway? The only thing special about their phones is the design and their computers are super expensive PCs that can do less stuff.

Apple products are a hell of a lot easier for the less tech savvy (like say my parents for example) to use, my Dad struggles to use an Android phone but he doesn't with an iPhone.

 

[MCerberus]

Wow, I just now got why Apple bought Beats

Awful products at a high price, with so many middle fingers to the customer. It's a perfect match!