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

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

#551

Post by Tade0 »

dangerface wrote: post #549
jamesrcole wrote: post #372

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reasons for saying it has an impact. 1) Prices have noticeably come down since they've been removed. This in itself is not proof, but at the same time, what is your proof that these phones have nothing to do with it? 2) Removing the headphone jack has given greater impetus for manufacturers to produce wireless headphones, and to produce lower-end models. More volume, more competition. 3) Removing the headphone jack h…

1) I bought a pair of bluetooth headphones from china about three years ago for $20, the price hasn't dropped. 2) Aliexpress has nearly 100k results for bluetooth headphones there has always been plenty of competition, they are still shit. https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?catId=0&initiative_id=S... 3) I agree with this more people have spent alot of money on bluetooth headphones that don't work, how is this a ben…

The single feature I've seen that provides any actual value is pairing via NFC - but that came before any mention of forcing wirelessness.

Also the value comes from the fact that manual pairing is still shit - I only do it via NFC because I haven't been to date able to do so alternatively.

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

#552

Post by cassianoleal »

pookieinc wrote: post #213

We need to take into account _Accessibility_. A large use case that I've found most people seems to miss are individuals who are older and don't have much experience with bluetooth or wireless technology. I'm fine with Apple removing the headphone jack, but they've alienated so many people to find their own path when they don't include the adapter. Anecdotal example: I recently purchased headphones for my 65-year old…

> but they've alienated so many people to find their own path when they don't include the adapter.

Have they stopped including it? My latest iPhone is an iPhone X and it certainly came with the adapter, as well as the 7 I had before it.

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

#553

Post by nathan_long »

My questions are:

1. What's the value of a wireless connection to a device you'll be touching when you use it anyway?

2. Assuming you value "no cord tangles" so highly that you're willing to put up with Bluetooth, charging your headphones, risking dropping your AirPods down a storm drain, etc, why can't the rest of us just have the jack as an option? Nobody's saying "remove Bluetooth."

3. What about the value of loose coupling and backward and forward compatibility? Given a couple adapters, I can plug my current iPod into a 1970s stereo, or plug a record player into my car stereo, and instantly have them working. Brand and device age are irrelevant. BlueTooth compatibility isn't guaranteed between two devices made today.

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

#554

Post by jamesrcole »

yoodenvranx wrote: post #493
jamesrcole wrote: post #289

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How has removing the headphone jack made anyone's life better? Ancestor comments of this have explained that. Removing headphone jack speeds up uptake of wireless headphones, and greater uptake of them makes them cheaper. These are changes that have already happened. This has benefited people who want to use wireless headphones.

> Removing headphone jack speeds up uptake of wireless headphones 1) And by doing this we create even more e-waste! 2) I do _not_ want wireless headphones! I almost exclusively use headphones when I am traveling by bus and train. This happens every 2-4 weeks. At the moment I have a cheap pair of wired headphones in my backpack. They need 0 maintenance. if I need them I just use them. They never needs charging and the…

> 1) And by doing this we create even more e-waste!

You could say that about anything new.

> 2) I do _not_ want wireless headphones!

Good for you, no-one is forcing you to use them.

All I have ever done in this comment thread is argue against the idea that removing the headphone jack has zero benefits for anyone. And yet I'm getting piled on by people basically accusing me of trying to force everyone to go wireless.

As if pointing out that some people have different wants from theirs is somehow denying their wants. It's an amazing lack of perspective.

Is it that hard to accept that someone else has a different view from your own, and that them expressing it is not the same as trying to force it upon you?

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

#555

Post by mcdevilkiller »

Frondo wrote: post #533
williamdclt wrote: post #477

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Why are you sitting on your phone, in the first place?

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

#556

Post by soundwave106 »

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…

Yeah, it's all for freedom of movement at shows.

Even though wireless transmitters have gotten a lot better than previous times (in the 1980s one of the Spinal Tap spoofs was getting radio interference in their wireless guitar system if I recall correctly), now using similar frequency bands wi-fi does with proprietary protocols from what I see (definitely not Bluetooth!)... you still see reviews of reliability problems in some circumstances. You'd definitely want to carry around a standard guitar cable as a backup if you have one.

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

#557

Post by Spooky23 »

jamesrcole wrote: post #538
Spooky23 wrote: post #524

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 m…

I can see your perspective here, but I think that's an effect, but not the Apple strategy. Particularly given that they "just happened" to release magical wireless earbuds at the same time!

Apple doesn't need to own the whole wireless vertical, but they are adept at cross selling within the product line.

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

#558

Post by bogomipz »

threeseed wrote: post #392
bogomipz wrote: post #361

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem with the headphone jack adapter is that it is mutually exclusive with input for the power cable. Where this is particularly frustrating is when you are on a particularly long conference call and your phone starts to run out of charge. This happened regularly enough for me ditch the iphone. I'm sure there yet another dongle you can buy to address this shortcoming though.

Yes you can get a dual charging/headphone adapter for $2.65. I really don't understand people who change entire platforms over such small amounts of money. I know for me personally my investment in apps and content is significantly more than just $2.65.

It's not about the additional cost of a few extra dollars.

It's a matter of practicality and convenience.

I don't want to have to worry about remembering the phone, the charger, the earbuds AND a dongle. In my opinion it's simply one concern too many for basic functionality. Functionality we used to have.

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

#559

Post by ubermonkey »

sacado2 wrote: post #438
pookieinc wrote: post #213

We need to take into account _Accessibility_. A large use case that I've found most people seems to miss are individuals who are older and don't have much experience with bluetooth or wireless technology. I'm fine with Apple removing the headphone jack, but they've alienated so many people to find their own path when they don't include the adapter. Anecdotal example: I recently purchased headphones for my 65-year old…

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…

>I just don't get the benefit of bluetooth in most situations.

Aside from exercise, there isn't one.

OTOH, as you note, there are a large number of serious drawbacks -- battery failures being the biggest and most obvious. The other thing is that, heretofore, you could rely on a dumb audio jack if you wanted to play music with almost any device. Now you're limited to things with Bluetooth, and you have to extend some amount of trust in making that connection.

I use almost exclusively higher-end headphones -- say, $300 and up. Bluetooth has effectively zero presence in that market. There's a reason for this.

I also own AirPods, but their job is about 60% gym and 40% conversations. For serious listening, I reach for the Grados or the Etymotics or the Sennheisers.

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

#560

Post by mcdevilkiller »

sytelus wrote: post #403
yiyus wrote: post #340

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a good supply of Chinese phones that include a headphone jack. If the iPhone is a product you don't like, just buy another phone. It will be cheaper and will do the same and probably more. It may take a while to get used to a different OS, but I've seen my parents switching between iPhone and Android without problems so I don't think your father (about the same age) will have more difficulties.

One would think Android phone makets would take this as opportunity given the massive uproar. But instead they are absolutely determined to blindly follow Apple off the cliff. Now many major Android phones have not only removed headphone jack but even introduced unnecessary notch even though they don’t have FaceID!! The lack of independent thinking is stunning among leading Android phone makers and very sad thing for…

Notch is not for FaceID, wtf. It's because they need space to put the frontal camera and the proximity sensor.
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