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iPhone 7

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931–940 of 1001 posts

Re: iPhone 7

#931

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the biggest difference is that those technologies were all on the downward slope of their popularity when Apple made the move Were any of them? MacBook Air released in 2008. DVD media sales rose YOY 2005 => 2009. Flash video did not decrease in popularity pre-iPhone, it decreased because of the iPhone. > The headphone jack is just as popular today as it has ever been "DVDs are as popular today as they have ever bee…

>> the biggest difference is that those technologies were all on the downward slope of their popularity when Apple made the move > Were any of them? MacBook Air released in 2008. DVD media sales rose YOY 2005 => 2009. Flash video did not decrease in popularity pre-iPhone, it decreased because of the iPhone. And yet most people still need to buy external DVD/Blu-Ray drives. It's been 7 years, and not having DVD drives…

You've said "most people" twice here and I think it's wrong both times.

No, most people who buy Mac laptops and iMacs do _not_ buy an external DVD or Blu Ray drive. Apple is not shifting Macs:Drives in a 2:1 ratio or anything even approaching that.

> I think most people were already moving on to Blu-Ray

In 2008 Blu Ray vs HD-DVD was only just coming to an end. It's extraordinary to claim that "most people" [who had a DVD drive] were transitioning over to Blu Ray. If anything, I'd argue that a huge chunk of people who had DVD players flat-out have not transitioned to BR at all. Either way "most people" is an insane number.

Re: iPhone 7

#932
post #870

I'm not even upset about the headphone jack. Whatever. I'm really upset because you won't be able to do the following: 1.) Audio+GPS+Charging in non-Bluetooth Car. 2.) Listening to music at desk and still have enough charge for the Audio+GPS for the drive home. 3.) No more listening to music/audiobooks as I fall asleep because in the morning the iPhone won't be charged for my desk usage the next day unless I wake up…

> iPhone won't be charged for my desk usage Your desk probably has a power outlet located nearby in case you are willing to change your routine.

The solution to Apple design flaws, is not too carry a charger with your at all times.

Re: iPhone 7

#933
post #396

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair to Apple, I think they have a good point. Digital connectors are superior in almost every way (space use, port flexibility, sound quality, even cable integrity). I admire them for ripping off the bandaid, like they did previously with disk drives and parrallel ports. Someone needs to lead the way to abandon legacy, and Apple can do that far more effectively than others (e.g. Motorola has also abandoned hea…

The thing is, we already have a lightning port. It's a thing that exists. We could already have lightning headphones and the current headphone jack. Together. Digital doesn't make up for the fact that we're moving from a near-universal standard headphone jack to a proprietary port. One that, mind you, is flat vs. round. The design of the headphone jack is superior. You can plug it in at any angle, and rotate it while…

Actually, we don't have a lightning port on Macs. You now can't use the same headphones for both iPhones and Macs. Unless you go wireless.

Re: iPhone 7

#934
post #5

I still can't get over the headphone jack. Apple does have a good record of abandoning technologies at the right time (floppies, CDs, Flash, etc) but the biggest difference is that those technologies were all on the downward slope of their popularity when Apple made the move and all had solid replacements available at the time. The headphone jack is just as popular today as it has ever been and it is still more conve…

I can't get over the headphone jack either. Another dongle to loose. Tons of headphones obsoleted. Can't charge while listening. Laggy audio. more batteries in the world. They're ok with a bulge for the camera but not headphones? I work in a lab and a phone with headphones is standard equipment on the commute and work (for at least part of the day). I would seriously move off iOS if I was making music with it. If onl…

>I would seriously move off iOS if I was making music with it.

Audio latency used to be a HUGE advantage for IOS vs Android. It was their biggest USP in my opinion. Android has been improving but it's still not there yet. If the next ipad has this it will be the end for musicians using IOS.

Re: iPhone 7

#935
post #396

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair to Apple, I think they have a good point. Digital connectors are superior in almost every way (space use, port flexibility, sound quality, even cable integrity). I admire them for ripping off the bandaid, like they did previously with disk drives and parrallel ports. Someone needs to lead the way to abandon legacy, and Apple can do that far more effectively than others (e.g. Motorola has also abandoned hea…

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but I think that the audio jack is one of the few cases where an analog port is good because if the signal in not already analog it must be converted to analog via a DAC. If the DAC isn't in the phone, it has to be in the headphones. So, not only do you need to worry about the quality of the headphones, you have to worry about the quality of the DAC, and the DAC needs power. Seems like a…

The DAC is better placed in the headphone than the phone, because otherwise you get bad sound quality when you use high-end ($100) headphones with a low-end ($100) smartphone. I was able to clearly make out the difference compared to plugging in the same headphones into an iPhone.

Put differently, when the DAC is in the phone, you need to worry about two things in order to get good sound quality — the quality of the headphones and the quality of the phone. With a DAC in the headphone, you worry about only one.

Re: iPhone 7

#936

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the biggest difference is that those technologies were all on the downward slope of their popularity when Apple made the move Were any of them? MacBook Air released in 2008. DVD media sales rose YOY 2005 => 2009. Flash video did not decrease in popularity pre-iPhone, it decreased because of the iPhone. > The headphone jack is just as popular today as it has ever been "DVDs are as popular today as they have ever bee…

Even if the headphone jack were dying out (which IMO is not the case, but anyway), one has to admit that replacing it by a proprietary system like Lightning is a bad idea. Now, I get their goal is pushing toward the use of wireless, but they'll have to explain themselves as to how they're planning on pulling that off when the only official wireless alternative they offer is a $159 pair of earphones as opposed to thei…

> which IMO is not the case, but anyway

The headphone jack was not dying out up until yesterday. As of today, it is. In the next five years a whole bunch of phone manufacturers are going to do the same thing.

You're going to absolutely shit yourself when Apple removes the lightning port from the iPhone 10.

> one has to admit that replacing it by a proprietary system like Lightning is a bad idea

Apple's view: we've replaced it with wireless. Use Bluetooth or Apple W1-enabled headphones. It is much better for many reasons. If you can't use them for some reason, use the Lightning headphones we shipped in the box If you can't use them, use the 3.5mm=>Lightning adapter we shipped in the box.

> the only official wireless alternative they offer is a $159 pair of headphones

The only official laptops they offer start at $700. Apple is a premium brand. As of today the complete range of choices Apple enables you to make on headphones, right out of the box:

1. Wired lightning headphones

2. Wired 3.5mm headphones via lightning dongle

3. Any pair of bluetooth headphones

4. Any pair of Apple W1-enabled wireless headphones

If you don't want to spend $159 on a pair of bluetooth headphones then you can go ahead and buy some cheaper ones!

Re: iPhone 7

#937

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought they might replace the headphone jack with a USB-C connector. Then they could do the same thing on the MacBook and it'd have two USB-C ports. But instead they chose Lightning, so now we have iPhone headphones and Android headphones. Why did it have to be this way?

Apple gets a lot of (semi-rightful) flak for going their own way and developing their own tech, protocols, and connectors, but in many cases they were legitimately first and the 'standard' option came later. -- Lightning pre-dates USB type-C, which fulfill the same usability goal -- AirPlay pre-dates Miracast -- Metal pre-dates Vulkan In some cases, Apple's product was later adopted as the standard: -- The mini-Displ…

There may have been a reason to create Lightning, but no reason to continue using it now that USB-C exists.

Getting rid of the headphone port would have been better if the alternative port was USB-C rather than Lightning.

Re: iPhone 7

#938

Great, now they have a phone with double camera wart and no jack. Also what's up with Apple being so obsessed about pictures? I know you want to have the nude selfie in the toilet to be the best as possible, but come on! And everything revolves around fitness. People wont get up from their bum, just because their watch tells them to. And the other who already do fitness don't need a watch to tell them how fit they ar…

> Also what's up with Apple being so obsessed about pictures? It's a very, very, very common and important use case for the phone. The iPhone has been for many years the "most popular camera in the world" according to pretty much any metric and any website (Flickr, Instagram, you name it). They can't keep substantially improving how well it makes phone calls, only tiny incremental improvements happen in that field, but they do frequently have newsworthy changes to the camera, and they know it's a hugely important aspect for the iPhone audience, so they make sure to tell you about it - be it Harry Potter photos, a Backside Illuminated CMOS sensor, more megapixels, better aperture, one more sensor sticking out from a random side, etc.

Re: iPhone 7

#939
post #227
post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I never got to the point you are at because I could never get over the USB jack. It took 30 fucking years and a lot of blood sweat and tears but finally finally there is a global, universal, cheap and simple charging standard that just works. You can find a USB port anywhere and there are extra cables everywhere and life is just slightly better all around. Except for Apple.

Apple already had their standard before there was USB-C. Do you think yet another port migration would be well received ?

Yes, if means less lock-in and more interoperability, like using the same headphones with both Android and iOS.

Re: iPhone 7

#940

Cool - more dongles, adaptors + what not to carry around and lose and then pay apple another $40 for each time. I say this writing on my Thunderbolt display that has since been rendered obsolete if I ever want a new macbook

Yes, what is the plan for this?

I ask as my 2012 MBP non-retina needs replacing at some point (I think I'll shove as SSD in first, to get 3 more years life) but where do we go from here?

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