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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

#531

Post by this_user »

fouc wrote: post #505
jcelerier wrote: post #441

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 1. turn on BT on the host device (if required); 2. turn on the client device; 3. listen to music. how does that work in a crowded space, e.g. public transport, where I'd wager most people are using BT headsets nowadays ?

https://www.logitech.com/images/pdf/emea_business/2.4ghz_whi... Seems like it's possible for bluetooth to handle up to 78 users in 10m space without interference.

BT is on the same 2.4 GHz band that most Wifis use, and I can tell you from personal experience that there can be interference. Given how ubiquitous Wifi is, the available bandwidth for BT devices will most definitely not be able to serve the theoretical maximum of users in any given space.

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

#532

Post by fidrelity »

hoorayimhelping wrote: post #523
tjoff wrote: post #423

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Elderly? I can guarantee that no human being on earth can confidently setup bluetooth on all devices. And that's the issue, these one-off pairings. I had a friend sync with my car bluetooth-stereo, it took a while and from the steering wheel I couldn't be of enough help. But it worked in the end, was quite frustrating though. Then later when I tried to use my phone again it had been lost from the receiver (eventhough…

> Removing the headphone-jack is akin to removing a fire-alarm system Am I missing something? There's still a headphone port on phones, it's just not dedicated. People can still plug headphones in to their phones right? I'm asking because the tone of these comments makes it seem like new phones have removed the ability to listen to music without bluetooth.

There are more and more phones produced without a headphone jack: https://smartphones.gadgethacks.com/news/always-updated-list...

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

#533

Post by Frondo »

williamdclt wrote: post #477
simonh wrote: post #443

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>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 poin…

I do like wireless, for a different kind of reliability: never ever having to worry that I'm going to snap off the plug in my phone, pull the jack off the circuit board from sitting on it wrong, whatever. When I sit down on the train, last thing I want is to sit on my phone wrong and wreck the phone and the headphones at the same time.

Moving parts and physical connections are fragile. Wireless connections solve that fragility. Agreed that pairing sucks, but that's a solvable problem.

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

#534

Post by nerdwaller »

kevincrane wrote: post #177
nerdwaller wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While “we” are in the 10% I try to think about the changes in the frame of the “90/10 rule” (also how I consider the impact of features in my applications). Anecdotally, dropping the headphone jack (and similarly adding the Touch Bar) has negatively impacted 0% of non-developers I’ve talked to about both. If I were a company, I doubt I’d change course immediately unless the larger data set said something significantl…

> Anecdotally, dropping the headphone jack (and similarly adding the Touch Bar) has negatively impacted 0% of non-developers I’ve talked to about both. How does removing the headphone benefit users? Also how does being a developer affect how one would listen to music on a phone?

Lacking negative impacts doesn’t imply that there’s benefit, my anecdata seems to be mostly neutral.

The only thing that being developer hints at here is often that group is often more techie and either would be on wireless or have very strong opinions about their listening setup. But the same is likely true for audiophiles (likely skewing toward the 3.5mm).

For what it’s worth, I’m not arguing for the jack to be gone - just sharing the reception I’ve seen in my network.

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

#535

Post by yoz-y »

tjoff wrote: post #511
arsenico wrote: post #509

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is exactly why AirPods are an absolutely superior product.

For one very niche use-case. No wireless technology is a replacement for the headphone jack. It will probably be decades before we have anything decent (though I'm not hopeful).

It's not really niche. The GP's problem is solved because pairing effectively becomes "put these two things close together and open the box".

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

#536

Post by ModernMech »

virmundi wrote: post #528
hoorayimhelping wrote: post #523

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Removing the headphone-jack is akin to removing a fire-alarm system Am I missing something? There's still a headphone port on phones, it's just not dedicated. People can still plug headphones in to their phones right? I'm asking because the tone of these comments makes it seem like new phones have removed the ability to listen to music without bluetooth.

The iPhone allows the ability to use old headphones if you use an adapter. So you have to remember to carry that with you. You then have to buy another adapter to charge the phone at the same time as using the headphones. Say you want to use YouTube, but not pay for Red, Unlimited, or whatever they call it now. You have to leave the screen on, which means eating the battery. Two dongles or you run the risk of running…

Can I just say how insane it is Youtube charges you for the privilege of turning off your screen? I remember the original iPad did this for free. How is this the world we made for ourselves?

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

#537

Post by yoz-y »

fidrelity wrote: post #532
hoorayimhelping wrote: post #523

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Removing the headphone-jack is akin to removing a fire-alarm system Am I missing something? There's still a headphone port on phones, it's just not dedicated. People can still plug headphones in to their phones right? I'm asking because the tone of these comments makes it seem like new phones have removed the ability to listen to music without bluetooth.

There are more and more phones produced without a headphone jack: https://smartphones.gadgethacks.com/news/always-updated-list...

Parent was probably referring to the fact that phones still have usb-c/lightning ports and you can plug usb-c/lightning headphones to them just fine. The port is not dedicated but as long as you are not charging it works identically to the old headphone jack.

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

#538

Post by jamesrcole »

Spooky23 wrote: post #524
jamesrcole wrote: post #508

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Surely you wouldn't accept "Unless it has a connection failure, your wireless headphones alway just work". Because it's implying it has more reliability than it actually has. And the reality is that wired headphones don't always just work either. I've had heaps of problems with the headphones themselves, and several instances of issues with the jacks.

Apple designs experiences, and your argument (which is a valid one) boils down to your use cases align with Apple's target. Like anything, wireless have pros and cons. The big pro is that it's fully portable and gives you a freedom of movement that is difficult to match. Most of the cons are associated with poor care (corrosion, stuff jammed in there) or poor quality devices (which is a "con" shared with wireless). T…

I mostly agree with your comment, but not this part

> The only meaningful benefit is to drive revenue for Apple's secret weapon -- high margin accessories. Those $30 earbuds have a cost that is probably

As I've argued in many other places in thread, removing the headphone jack will speed the adoption and price-reduction in wireless headphones. While this is not a pro for a lot of people, it is for others, including myself.

I don't agree with the argument that the only thing is to drive revenue to Apple, as there are many different brands of wireless headphones, just as there are with wired headphones. I own non-apple bluetooth headphones.

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

#540

Post by dangerface »

jamesrcole wrote: post #32
BLKNSLVR wrote: post #3

The blog ends with the best and most insightful comment: And no human’s life is measurably better since Apple had the “courage” to remove the 3.5 mm jack. But a lot of our lives are just a little worse. The author also points towards active de-standardisation between Android and iOS: "if only there was one universal audio port they both could use" Apple gets an advantage from this with their iron-grip on compatible p…

Personally, I detest wired headphones. I find they always get caught on things while I'm wearing them, and because of the neck problems I have that's a big issue for me (and as well as that, they'd always get tangled up in my bag, which was a bit of a hassle). So I'm personally glad they've removed the headphone jack, because it will help push wireless into the mass market (and bring down prices) at a faster rate tha…

> it will help push wireless into the mass market

They are already in the mass market the problem is they suck.

I have tried a bunch of cheap Chinese bluetooth headphones that cost from $20-$60 they all sound like $5 wired headphones have about 2 hours battery life and break after a month.

I have tried bluetooth head phones that where $200 beats by drea they worked as well as the Chinese headphones they just cost 10 times the price.

Removing the headphone jack has forced people to spend a lot of money on shitty headphones, thats what your glad of.

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