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I still miss my headphone jack, and I want it back

fastcompany.com

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Re: I still miss my headphone jack, and I want it back

#471

Post by capedape »

I’ve tried AirPods, which sounded ok, but they fall out. The included headphones don’t sound good (and also fall out) compared to any of the headphones I already own. I’ve been to the Apple store four times in the last year and had to sit and wait to get a dongle replaced. Once, while in another country the adaptor just quit working. They had a certified Apple store, but the dongle was out of stock so I had to wait four days for one. The second day of waiting was in a motorcycle accident which left me in a hospital bed with no headphones.

I start a lot of audio/visual sketches on iPad I can’t use Bluetooth headphones because of the quality and latency...

Get it together Apple, I’m really tired of this dongle adaptor’s poor quality and the kludgy nature of Bluetooth.

Re: I still miss my headphone jack, and I want it back

#472

Post by cm2187 »

One thing I don't understand is that if the port size is really a problem, why don't the big tech companies agree on a smaller format?

The same applies to ethernet. Pretty much all laptops have dropped the ethernet port, mostly because it too bulky for modern formats. Why can't they simply agree on another socket?

Re: I still miss my headphone jack, and I want it back

#473

Post by TeMPOraL »

LeonM wrote: post #323
randycupertino wrote: post #308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is why I hold on to my iPhone 6 like it's precious and won't install any software updates so as not to kill the battery. I have bluetooth headphones but they're a pain to charge and the headphone jack just works consistently. I love my iPhone 6!!

From a security point of view, it's really worrying that a lot of users refuse to upgrade software because of the track record of Apple making devices less usable with every upgrade. I prefer the method of Samsung in this case, they clearly state for the monthly update that it is mostly a security update. Where Apple seems to apply marketing by promising 'the best experience yet' and shiny new features with each majo…

> From a security point of view, it's really worrying that a lot of users refuse to upgrade software because of the track record of Apple making devices less usable with every upgrade.

Sure it is, but this is what you get for not separating security and feature updates. I tend to avoid updating applications (both on desktop and mobile) for that very reason (though I do update the OS).

If each vaccination you took came with mandatory remodeling of your house, directed by whims of some "artists", you'd see much more antivaxxers too.

> I prefer the method of Samsung in this case, they clearly state for the monthly update that it is mostly a security update.

I have an S7 and my experience doesn't confirm this, though I don't know whether it's Samsung's fault or operator's (Orange). Either way, I find most updates I get to be indistinguishable by their description. I'm not worried though, because I haven't caught any of them installing bloatware. That said, from what I understand, they're still linear - you're expected to apply one patch after another. I see no way of opting out from feature updates, and sticking only to security ones.

Anyway; why oh why it's so hard to include a changelog in an update?

Re: I still miss my headphone jack, and I want it back

#474

Post by TeMPOraL »

cm2187 wrote: post #472

One thing I don't understand is that if the port size is really a problem, why don't the big tech companies agree on a smaller format? The same applies to ethernet. Pretty much all laptops have dropped the ethernet port, mostly because it too bulky for modern formats. Why can't they simply agree on another socket?

Agreeing on a standard is hard. Meanwhile, while no agreement exists, there's plenty of space for people to make money on incompatible standards, each trying to become the dominant solution.

Frankly, I'm sometimes surprised by the amount of things that _are_ standardized between platforms, especially when that standardization isn't forced by regulation.

Re: I still miss my headphone jack, and I want it back

#475

Post by baldfat »

This isn't important to most people and it is just an annoyance.

All of my devices have a headphone jack, BECAUSE I buy my devices with a headphone jack.

I have a LG V20 which had the best headphone jack on the market. People didn't buy it. People don't care about headphone jacks enough to buy headphone jacks in devices.

Re: I still miss my headphone jack, and I want it back

#476

Post by TeMPOraL »

pimeys wrote: post #464
geggam wrote: post #460

Earlier quoted context omitted.

unrealistic congestion before things really start to fail. aka public transit...

Or any busy street crossing with lots of cars.

On the one hand, that suggests either shitty Bluetooth devices you're using, or some pretty unusual density of Bluetooth users in the crowd.

On the other hand, this is what mass adoption of wireless headphones will lead to, and it shows how ridiculously bad this is compared to the tried-and-true wire.

Re: I still miss my headphone jack, and I want it back

#477

Post by williamdclt »

simonh wrote: post #443
sacado2 wrote: post #438

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not an eldery, and I prefer a jack socket. I just don't get the benefit of bluetooth in most situations. Jacks are more reliable and definitely plug-and-play. Unless it has a physical failure, your jack socket always just works. As you state it, bluetooth requires you to "Turn on Bluetooth on your phone, then turn on your headphones, then hold down the button to pair, etc", for no benefit. Oh, and now you need ba…

>why is that? Are they too old? Latency. When you're making music and interacting with it directly, you can't afford any noticeable latency. When you're passively listening to it, that doesn't really matter. For phone/tablet users the main place this matters is games, due to their interactive nature.

Reliability, too. I don't trust bluetooth at all.

And price: a jack is dumb tech and cheap (cheap anough that I always had about 10 extra jacks of all kinds with me when I was doing a gig).

But to be fair, wireless transmitters/receivers do exist for musicians. They don't use bluetooth ofc, but that means that the latency can be bearable with wireless. It's made for live playing though (freedom of movement), no point using that in studio

Re: I still miss my headphone jack, and I want it back

#478

Post by lloeki »

rusk wrote: post #298
ddingus wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sadly, that will remain true digitally too. It is just not hard to tap the signal. I think you are right about the DRM. It will prove to be a waste of time. Audio is too easy. Seriously. Heck, I can make something to just write the stream to a file, and doing that is not hard. Costs less than a CD.

> Heck, I can make something to just write the stream to a file Not so easy if the analog signal only emerges at the earpiece ...

Hint: what is the transducer itself driven by?

This analog hole is a ridiculously easy hack job with a soldering iron.

Re: I still miss my headphone jack, and I want it back

#479

Post by kozak »

We need a powerbank with a built-in Bluetooth to 3.5 mm audio interface. People tend to carry a powerbank around anyway, and having the Bluetooth thing built into it will ensure that this device will never run out of battery. Yes it's going to be a niche product, but some people will love it a lot.

Re: I still miss my headphone jack, and I want it back

#480

Post by InternetOfStuff »

threeseed wrote: post #396
m_mueller wrote: post #327

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn't be so sure - it will take years for sure, but industry has many times come up with decent standards in the past - ethernet, USB, PCI, just to give a few examples. Bluetooth as a network protocol also seems to be fine with its latest revisions, it's just the pairing that sucks - if Apple can do it on top of bluetooth I think others should also be able to.

Actually kind of curious about this. Because I bought the Sony 1000MX3 and its pairing at least with one device is much faster and more reliable than Airpods. It definitely is worse with multiple devices however.

Anecdotally, Sony BT headsets are pretty good (I'm currently on my fourth set, I wear them out eventually).

In my personal experience they have decent sound, pair reasonably easily (through NFC and "normally"), and the connection is pretty stable.

Pairing partner were various Samsung Galaxies.

I recommend Sony BT headphones.

That said, I also use the 3.5mm jack regularly :-)

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