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Taking the headphone jack off phones is user-hostile and stupid

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Re: Taking the headphone jack off phones is user-hostile and stupid

#61

Post by rikkus »

rufius wrote: post #23
JoeAltmaier wrote: post #7

Folks buy new headphones for their phone all the time. Just get the right one. Headphones with wires fail all the time, so wireless is arguable better for most folks most of the time. The arguments about sound failures are cherry-picked to ignore that. Also phones are compromised by every hole in the case (water, dirt, static etc). So now there will be fewer catastrophic failures. And now you can walk with your phone…

And yet I've got three pair of $300 headphones in my house between my wife and I, two of which are 6+ years old. If you take care of high quality headphones they will last quite along time. Wire wears out? Replace it. Ear pads lost their shape? Replace them. So yaaaay dongles? Which that's even more fun because if I'm listening music for any length of time, there's a portable amp in between the phone and my headphone…

If you care enough about sound fidelity to buy 3x $300 headphones and have a separate amp, it's surprising you don't have a separate DAC too. Not that I'm suggesting you should be 'forced' to buy one, but a decent DAC is a cheap component of such a setup.

Re: Taking the headphone jack off phones is user-hostile and stupid

#62

Post by coldtea »

creshal wrote: post #18
kbart wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's too big (at least according to those "slim" worshiping designers).

Then use the standardized 2.5mm analog audio plug that was designed for space-constrained environments.

Yes, but if you're going to change it, might as well go full on. Why use a same-era technology?

Yes, it will be thin too, but it will also have the same issues as going for a digital interface (annoying people with the change etc) -- but without any of its advanced capabilities (e.g. for device control).

Re: Taking the headphone jack off phones is user-hostile and stupid

#63

Post by trowawee »

SeanBoocock wrote: post #53
maccard wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actions speak louder than words. People continue to say they want more durable phones and longer battery life, but continue to buy thinner and shinier phones.

I'd be interested to hear and read about examples of this being tested in the market. Have consumers been presented with a choice between phone thinness and battery life on the otherwise same phone hardware?

http://www.wired.com/2012/04/why-is-htc-choosing-phone-thinn...

> According to Kilburn, HTC’s consumer research shows people prefer thin smartphones — between 8 mm and 10 mm thick — as opposed to thicker devices with longer battery life.

One data point, but that's what HTC's claiming their customer research shows, and Apple's trends suggest their internal data points the same way.

Re: Taking the headphone jack off phones is user-hostile and stupid

#64

Post by rayiner »

I'm looking forward to getting rid of the headphone jack. I'm looking forward to getting a MacBook Pro with the MacBook low-travel keyboard. I'd even be fine with a MacBook Pro with a single USB-C port!

One thing Apple gets is that you don't need to constrain your design to appease small minorities of users. I bet 99.9% of people only ever plug in the stock earbuds or a pair of Beats they bought at the Apple Store. So why should Apple waste logic board space on a headphone jack?

Re: Taking the headphone jack off phones is user-hostile and stupid

#65

Post by fullphaser »

I don't know this seems to be missing the most basic question I have.

What If I want to plug in my phone and listen to music at the same time? Am I going to need another adapter for this?

How does this not violate the

Telecommunications Act Section 255 Accessibility Guidelines

§1193.43 Output, display, and control functions.

(g) Availability of audio cutoff. Where a product delivers audio output through an external speaker, provide an industry standard connector for headphones or personal listening devices (e.g., phone-like handset or earcup) which cuts off the speaker(s) when used.

?

It's bad enough the Gym I go to has a bunch of proprietary Lightning connectors and my phone is obviously MicroUSB, I'd hate to not have the right headphones for that same gym equipment.

Re: Taking the headphone jack off phones is user-hostile and stupid

#66

Post by mr_sturd »

kbart wrote: post #8
bsimpson wrote: post #5

John Gruber's response ( http://daringfireball.net/2016/06/headphone_jacks_are_the_ne... ): > Should the analog headphone jack remain on our devices forever? If you think so, you can stop reading. What's the advantage to removing the headphone jack? Is the jack some sort of bottleneck to sound quality that nobody noticed until now? I really don't see a benefit in removing the headphone jack, now or anytime in the for…

It's too big (at least according to those "slim" worshiping designers).

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11953691

I'll point you in the direction of bsimpson's post, just above.

Re: Taking the headphone jack off phones is user-hostile and stupid

#67

Post by rufius »

dilap wrote: post #11

i just dont get it -- whats the problem with the old analog headphone jack? it works perfectly for me. wheres the benefit in ditching it?

There isn't one. At least not for mere mortals or even most HiFi nerds.

I've got $300 headphones I use with my iPhone. They sound exceptionally better (especially with an amp) than shit earbuds it comes with. Even if Apple traded the analog for a digital connection, I'm pretty certain I wouldn't notice a meaningful difference in day to day use.

Now I'm sure if I sat down with the express goal of proving they're different I could convince myself they are but I doubt it.

Re: Taking the headphone jack off phones is user-hostile and stupid

#68

Post by coldtea »

thirdsun wrote: post #32
Navarr wrote: post #13

I don't think abandoning the headphone jack is a bad idea. I think abandoning it for lightning is a bad idea. Is apple so desperate for hardware money that there is not a single "open" connector on the iPhone? Why Lightning as opposed to USB-C? Why make it so that people need a completely different set of headphones just for apple devices? (Bluetooth not withstanding)

Of course you won't buy new headphones. You'll buy adaptors - buying an Apple-specific headphone would be insane in my opinion.

Or you know, you wont buy anything. In the future, Bluetooth headphones will be the norm.

Re: Taking the headphone jack off phones is user-hostile and stupid

#69

Post by coldtea »

adrenalinelol wrote: post #6

You aren't forced to buy a new iPhone, better yet the one you have probably doesn't really need to be upgraded at all. Apple will understand you're displeasure if you vote w/your wallet; they won't care about your displeasure if you tweet them or complain in the comments section.

I've always updated to the latest iOS the very day it appeared, and never had those "slowness" problems. Not sure where people see them, and who objectively measured them.

Re: Taking the headphone jack off phones is user-hostile and stupid

#70

Post by ghshephard »

gambiting wrote: post #54
ghshephard wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I came here to say just this, but you captured every though I had, and better. USB-C finally has the chance to be the universal adapter for "phone sized" devices (there will probably have to be a micro-USB C for things that are tinier) - and if Apple really wanted to show courage/leadership, they would replace their lightning ports with a standard that every device in the world is moving to. I'd have no problem with…

I do - you now can't charge your phone and listen to music at the same time, unless you have some weird Y-splitter-type cable. Can we have two usb-c ports on phones?

Agreed, we leave that behind - for those people for whom it's important, they either need to buy a powerbank/charger with two USB-C connections, with chaining enabled or, as you indicated, use a Y-Splitter.

I wonder if Apple already knows what % of their users listen and recharge at the same time. If it's a small percentage, Apple has always been willing to leave behind that use case, in pursuit of a "purer" product.

I just wish the pure product used a universal standard.

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