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The End of Headphone Jacks, the Rise of DRM

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Re: The End of Headphone Jacks, the Rise of DRM

#51

Post by ourmandave »

the_other wrote: post #30

This reads slightly hyperbolic. I suspect Apple will fight against DRM on music for quite some time having made the decision to remove it. In the past the Apple's designs needed to respect a vast pre-existing ecosystem of headphones, amps and assorted other audio gear. Dropping the socket largely takes them out of that ecosystem, but today the success and reach of their devices exerts pressure on that ecosystem to mo…

I thought they might be trying to get rid of the 3.5 mm jack to make a thinner phone but the 7 is the exact same size as the 6.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/0/apple-iphone-7-full-...

Maybe this is an evolution to a super thin iPhone 8.

Re: The End of Headphone Jacks, the Rise of DRM

#52

Post by moyix »

nlawalker wrote: post #9
PaulHoule wrote: post #2

This is the first time I've heard that argument. It's a good one.

You can't close the analog hole, though. As long as we're listening to music via physical speakers manipulating air pressure, there will always be an unencoded electrical audio signal somewhere in the system. Now, when we start getting DRM-enabled bone conductors implanted in our jaws...

Exactly. Nothing stops someone from pulling open their AirBuds and recording the analog signal that drives the speaker.

Re: The End of Headphone Jacks, the Rise of DRM

#53

Post by sigmar »

mead5432 wrote: post #20

I understand the argument that forcing content through a proprietary jack opens the door for controlling said content and has huge implications for hardware manufacturers and the way people use their stuff. What I am having a hard time understanding is why is that any different than the OS influencing what gets sent to the 3.5mm jack? It isn't like apps running in iOS had to interact with APIs to do all the other thi…

>why is that any different than the OS influencing what gets sent to the 3.5mm jack?

Their issue seems to be that it is not analog. The lightening port and bluetooth connection are two-way data connections, and the phone will be able to identify what is attached (rather than just outputing an analog signal). Here's the quotes that make that clear-

> But intentionally or not, by removing the analog port, Apple is giving itself more control than ever over what people can do with music or other audio content on an iPhone.

>With Bluetooth, the phone can distinguish between different types of devices and treat them differently. Apple can choose which manufacturers get to create Lightning-compatible audio devices.

Re: The End of Headphone Jacks, the Rise of DRM

#54

Post by Elrac »

zepto wrote: post #24
TelmoMenezes wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, but it cannot detect which specific device is connected to the jack and act accordingly.

Also not true - the analog jack is bidirectional, so there is no reason that devices should not be required to handshake when plugged in.

I believe you're wrong about that.

A headphone socket can report whether there's a jack plugged in or not - that one bit of information is the total extent of traffic in the reverse direction. There is no electronic standard for back talk from analog audio devices, and it would be pointless for Apple to try, because no analog device currently on the market would comply with it.

Re: The End of Headphone Jacks, the Rise of DRM

#56

Post by jdmichal »

calinet6 wrote: post #36
mbreese wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wouldn't it be just as easy to refuse to route to a physical audio jack as well? I don't see how the loss of the physical jack changes that scenario.

The difference is in how smart the jack can be. First, it's under legal/licensing restriction, which means you have to pay to play (ignore the adapter for now; it's inconvenient and can also be detected as a particular kind of 'unlicensed' device). Second is the subtler stuff -- like how the jack can now communicate about the music and the device with the phone, so you really could do things like have exclusive Apple…

I'm with mbreese in that I still don't see how having an external intermediate between the headphones and the phone enables this anymore than having an internal intermediate between the headphones and the rest of the phone.

That said, this is only true as long as it's still a 3.5mm plug for the headphones. If headphones start directly integrating with the new port, this equation drastically changes.

Re: The End of Headphone Jacks, the Rise of DRM

#60

Post by new299 »

electic wrote: post #41

The real issue here is this might be anti-competitive, and go as far as being an anti-trust issue. Apple can now limit who makes headphones for the iPhone and the ones that are "allowed" could end up seeing their headphones far more expensive than the Apple and Beats brands. This is all because 3rd party brands will have to pay licensing fees to Apple to use the port. So we could end up seeing headphones that are 20%…

Or you could use standard bluetooth headphones?
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