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

fastcompany.com

571–580 of 741 posts

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

#571
post #391

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They were removed only when few people used them because there was a better alternative. Many, many people use headphones with 3,5 mm plugs and it is not at all clear that the alternative is better.

Apple removed the CD drive when it was still popular.

I mean, I guess... Apple is always early when it comes to killing stuff. But as late as 2016 you could still buy a new MacBook Pro with a DVD drive.

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

#572

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This was done with a replacement on hand which was more functional, more reliable, and easier to use. BT is not any of these things.

AirPods are more functional, just as reliable, and are just as easy to use. Admittedly, far more expensive. But wired headphones come with iPhones

More functional than and just as reliable as what? There are thousands and thousands of headphone models with the standard plug, many of which are arguably much more functional and reliable.

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

#573
post #423

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…

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…

> I can guarantee that no human being on earth can confidently setup bluetooth on all devices.

I second that. I use my Bluetooth headphones on three devices. But I can only save two connections. So one device I always use via jack to avoid having to repair several times a day.

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

#574
At the end of the article I find it amusing that the author states

> I won’t start about how many times I’ve tried to use wireless headphones only to find them dead, because anything wireless is just another battery to worry about.

The same logic points that his _phone_ is also wireless. Maybe we should add a cord to that?

The responsibility to have the foresight to charge a device has, in my life, proven to be a small and reasonable request.

In many android cases (unsure about apple) you can even charge your head phones using your phone as a battery.

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

#575
Haha, I literally just got Amazoned this £130.00 order to enable me to use headphones with HQ sound AND mic WHILE charging my new iPad Pro 11", which only has USB-C:

  - http://amzn.eu/d/dm8vC88
  - http://amzn.eu/d/0o5f4JK
And I KNOW I'm going to have a 50% chance this works, and 0% chance this works without either software or hardware problems. I'm psychologically for the random audio drop-outs and glitches when I slightly reposition the orgy-of-dongles (that is the collective noun right?)

I'm all over wireless as a concept, but BlueTooth can't seem to handle High quality sound & mic so, I consider removing the audio jack on the iPad pro to be a mistake. I don't hate Apple, I don't think they are offending me, I don't bother trying to guess at why. I just plain think they have made a mistake.

And god damn, when I plug my headphones into an old iPad and ... "it just works" ... god damn.

EDIT: The above config of hardware works for sound! Yay! Not tried mic yet.

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

#576
post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a pair of Bluetooth headphones that can actually go both ways. It has a wired and wireless mode. The wireless mode is great for exercise and chores, but if I forget to charge them I can still use them.

Is the quality of sound still the same in the wired mode? I have one like this, but the quality of sound in the wired mode is too atrocious to even think of it as an option. So while it ticks a "feature" on the box, it is, for all practical purposes, simply a bluetooth headphone. Not sure, but it appears that the bypass around the amplifier (which requires power) is just not designed right.

I haven't noticed a difference between the two modes, this is the pair that I own:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0757WVSN8/ref=oh_aui_de...

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

#577
post #533

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…

Well, you can always sit on your phone wrong in the train (or do something physical 'wrong') and wreck 'something' (most likely the screen - coincidental evidence i've seen more phones with broken screen than ones with broken headphone jacks), headphone or not. Why aren't you advocating for the removal of screens from phones?

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

#578
post #512

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the reasons people buy expensive tech is that it comes "batteries included" so to speak, the idea that to do something as simple as use headphones requires making another purchase after you've just spent $1000 is pretty antithetical to that.

Modern headphones are wireless, and, incidentally, literally have batteries included.

Slightly ironic that the whole point of the original comment is that wireless headphones are junk if you need low latency for music production.

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

#579

At the end of the article I find it amusing that the author states > I won’t start about how many times I’ve tried to use wireless headphones only to find them dead, because anything wireless is just another battery to worry about. The same logic points that his _phone_ is also wireless. Maybe we should add a cord to that? The responsibility to have the foresight to charge a device has, in my life, proven to be a sma…

I don't agree. Just because a phone needs foresight and charging, doesn't mean that it's not a massive disadvantage if other accessory also require the same effort. It's just an additional hassle and more things to charge.

That logic doesn't scale.

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

#580

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Aren't you only thinking of a few expensive "flagship" Android phones? I don't think the vast majority of recent Android phones have followed either of those two innovations.

I wish. It's everywhere. When I went phone shopping this year, my criteria was 1: not a phablet 2: Headphone jack 3: No notch. My options in the $500+ market* were... the Galaxy S9. And it's likely the S10 will be swapping its headphone jack for a cutout notch.

*$500 for a phone is suddenly midrange- let's not forget phone prices shot up 25% on average in the last 2 years, likely because other manufacturers realized Apple could get away charging $1000 for a phone and followed along.

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