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The 19th Century plug that's still being used

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Re: The 19th Century plug that's still being used

#41

Post by rogerbinns »

CharlesW wrote: post #31
rogerbinns wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

- Bluetooth audio codecs do lossy real-time re-encoding of the audio, affecting the quality

> Bluetooth audio codecs do lossy real-time re-encoding of the audio Lossless transcoding is possible too. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AptX#aptX_Lossless iPhones and Macbooks support aptX now. Surely this isn't just a hardware change — once Apple discloses the details, it won't be at all surprising if aptX Lossless (at minimum) is required for MFi licensing going forward. FWIW, the transcoding you mention isn't a r…

Yes, there are better codecs than the defaults. Now go to the specifications page for a random popular bluetooth audio device, and see if they even list which codecs are supported. If by some astonishing miracle they do say so, then work out which codec they would use with a random popular mobile device. It is all theoretically possible, but in practise regular folk are going to have a hard time!

I looked up recommendations for Bluetooth devices at Wirecutter and then went to the relevant tech specs page:

Mentions "bluetooth" (sometimes a2dp) and no more:

* https://www.bose.com/en_us/products/speakers/wireless_speake...

* https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Mini-Bluetooth-Speaker-P...

* https://www.marshallheadphones.com/mh_us_en/acton-black

* http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car/Digital+Media+Rec...

* http://www.kenwood.com/usa/car/excelon/kdc-x998/spec.html

* http://www.jabra.com/music/jabra-move-wireless

* http://www.jbl.com/over-ear-headphones/SYNCHROS+E40BT.html

* https://www.ultimateears.com/en-us/ueroll2

* http://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/x300-wireless-speaker

* http://www.apple.com/iphone-6s/specs/ - the Nexus 6P page doesn't even mention bluetooth

Mentions codecs:

* http://rivaaudio.com/riva-turbo-x/#specs

* http://www.peachtreeaudio.com/deepblue2.html (Says "aptX bluetooth")

* http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/Wireless-Speakers/Wireless-Spe...

Re: The 19th Century plug that's still being used

#42

Post by Spooky23 »

raverbashing wrote: post #3

"Thinner phone" is a stupid requirement. A thinner phone will be mechanically weaker. Yes, Apple retired Floppy disks and DVD readers, because those were replaced by something better. This is not the case here. A Bluetooth headphone will give you an inferior experience. A lightning converter will give you a worse experience because I can bet it doesn't stay plugged as firmly as a headphone in a high vibration situati…

It's just a way to differ estimate a flagship device. Apple is pushing volume to enterprises, etc and will make the iPhone line more diverse.

Re: The 19th Century plug that's still being used

#43

Post by rimantas »

Jaruzel wrote: post #28
rogerbinns wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

- Bluetooth audio codecs do lossy real-time re-encoding of the audio, affecting the quality

As this is Apple we're talking about - most iPhone users stick with those nasty in-ear buds that come with the phone - it's not like they are going to notice the lossy codec comparatively over the rubbish quality of those buds (or the equally rubbish m4a low bit-rate that iTunes dumps onto the phone). I'll just bet they'll start evangelising about how 'improved' the sound is now that it's no longer over a legacy/obso…

Your comment contains the most of the rubbish though.

Re: The 19th Century plug that's still being used

#44

Post by modfodder »

hackaflocka wrote: post #38
c22 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I drive a car with hand-cranked windows and I don't have any of those problems, maybe just cause I'm used to it? Did you know you could go out today and buy a 2016 model car with manual window cranks? It's still an option on a lot of vehicles.

Good to hear! Elon Musk: if you're reading this: if you put a manual window crank option in your cars (especially as a fallback in case the electric window fails), that's what I'll buy.

Maybe the hand crank could charge the battery as well. On long road trips just have your passengers crank through the night....

Re: The 19th Century plug that's still being used

#45

Post by x2398dh1 »

raverbashing wrote: post #3

"Thinner phone" is a stupid requirement. A thinner phone will be mechanically weaker. Yes, Apple retired Floppy disks and DVD readers, because those were replaced by something better. This is not the case here. A Bluetooth headphone will give you an inferior experience. A lightning converter will give you a worse experience because I can bet it doesn't stay plugged as firmly as a headphone in a high vibration situati…

Why will a thinner phone be mechanically weaker? What about if everything on the phone is flexible?

Re: The 19th Century plug that's still being used

#46

Post by userbinator »

tombrossman wrote: post #14
Animats wrote: post #6

How is USB-C working out as a connector, from the ruggedness standpoint? It has a huge number of pins (24) in a small space. How many insertion cycles can it survive in the real world? Is connector wearout going to limit phone life?

Looks like the spec is 10,000 cycles: http://www.anandtech.com/show/8377/usb-typec-connector-speci... That's over 13 cycles/day for two years. Probably fine for most users. Edit: The official spec is only available via a zipped folder of PDFs, here's the particulars to save readers the effort. 5.7.1.3 Durability or Insertion/Extraction Cycles (EIA 364-09) The durability ratings listed in Table 5-16 are specified for…

That's what the spec says. It remains to be seen how connectors perform in the real world, with all its dust and dirt.

Re: The 19th Century plug that's still being used

#48

Post by Sanddancer »

iliis wrote: post #33
Zigurd wrote: post #4

It's not quite 19th c. technology. It was .25 inches, but it had only two conductors, the tip, and the ring, separated by an insulator. Hence the "tip" and "ring" nomenclature for analog telephone wiring. Analog phone technology is remarkably back-compatible. You can use an 80 year old phone today. Not many, if any technology products could claim that level of compatibility. But, so what? Analog phones are going away…

One of the most backwards compatible technology I know of is railway signaling infrastructure - altough it's not a consumer product like a telephone: There are still fully mechanical control centres where you have to switch the switches by hand and turn a crank (to generate a bit of AC) to signal another control centre the current state of your tracks. Doesn't matter if the next station uses relais-logic or computers…

Speaking of railways, and connectors, the railway couplings in the US are another thing that's withstood the dest of time. The Janney railway coupler is compatible with couplers built 100+ years ago, and of a design dating back to the 1860s, with the refinements pretty much all been making individual components more and more standardized.

Re: The 19th Century plug that's still being used

#49

Post by 67726e »

invaliddata wrote: post #39
semi-extrinsic wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> getting rid of the jack substantially boosts battery life Yes, as you say, by moving the power draw for the DAC to another device, which must be charged separately. This isn't a real gain in battery life in any way.

Most of the people I know use the internal speakers on their phones extensively, and hardly ever use audio over either Bluetooth or the 3.5mm jack. In this case, how would battery life be improved. The DAC and amplifier cannot be removed unless the on board speaker is also. I hope this is not the case.

Do you know anyone who works out? Runs? Rides a bike?

Maybe I'm in the minority but I could never imagine not having music pumping in my ears.

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