Apple to ditch 3.5mm headphone jack for the next iPhone to make it skinnier?

[qubit]

In a move likely to upset lots of people, Apple is reportedly removing its 3.5 mm headphone jack from its next generation iPhone. Instead, the iPhone 7's Lightning connector would be used to attach headphones, according to Japanese blog Macotakara.

That shift would allow Apple to reduce the phone's thickness by about 1 mm, compared to the iPhone 6S. It would also force consumers to use new headphones, which will be bundled with the iPhone 7, according to the report, or get an adapter to connect older devices. Bluetooth is also an option.

To me, it seems a bit pretentious to remove something so standard just to make the thing skinnier. The handset becomes less comfortable to hold if it's too thin anyway.

Let us know what you think of this in the poll and comments.

www.sfgate.com/business/article/Apple-may-ditch-headphone-jack-to-make-a-thinner-6667853.php

 

[bubbleawsome]

I voted other because it isn't happening

 

[erocker]

I'll just use a little 3.5 to Thunderbolt adapter that will either come with the phone or be sold anywhere for a few bucks.

 

[Fishymachine]

Great, now Apple pandering headphone makers will make getting a good pair even harder, as if the 3-button fruity remote didn't dick Android/Winphone enought

 

[dorsetknob]

Dont care &
*
I don't have an iPhone and I never will!
Unless some one gives me one for nothing and then its straight on fleabay

 

[Finners]

Agree that I don't think it will happen but phones are thin enough now.

If you can shrink the internal components then great, stick a bigger battery in

 

[MIRTAZAPINE]

My Guess for this it is probably a rumour. It was speculated before last year iphone to just use the lighting connector. It did not happen to Iphone.
Even the ridiculous recent macbook still retain a headphone jack. Having a dongle now would add a lot more bulk to an iphone. It this is incorporated I doubt it would be a sudden taking out of the headphone jack out. Maybe another 2 gens down. If they do this better give me another lighting port.

I would love to own an iPhone but their expensive in my country unless you eat a hefty contract with it.

 

[newtekie1]

 

[taz420nj]

Good thing you could vote for two, because otherwise I'd have a tough time deciding between "Don't Care" and
"I don't have an iPhone and I never will!"...

Apple products are nothing but overpriced status symbols for suckers. Always have been, always will be. The fact that it took them three revisions to finally include video - and the suckers that camped out to buy it every time they released a new one - proves that.

 

[R-T-B]

Dont care &
*
I don't have an iPhone and I never will!
Unless some one gives me one for nothing and then its straight on fleabay

Aw come on man, if you got one too old to sell, you must admit it would be kind of fun to watch it scream for mercy while you tried to stuff android into it's brain (ala idroidproject):

 

[dorsetknob]

Aw come on man, if you got one too old to sell,

"" There is No Iphone to old to sell "" muppets will buy it just because its an iphone ( bling )
Muppets will even buy dead ones to show they own an iphone ( pub table garbage and so they hope it gets stolen so they can claim on insurance )

 

[R-T-B]

"" There is No Iphone to old to sell "" muppets will buy it just because its an iphone ( bling )
Muppets will even buy dead ones to show they own an iphone ( pub table garbage and so they hope it gets stolen so they can claim on insurance )

Ok let me phrase it differently: It might be fun to mess with if it's worth less than 50 bucks (some really old ones are).

 

[FordGT90Concept]

iPhone 7: forget butt dialing and butt bending, we're introducing butt cracking.

 

[dorsetknob]

send me yours

 

[Aquinus]

iPhone 7: forget butt dialing and butt bending, we're introducing butt cracking.

Mistake #1, putting your phone in your back pocket. Why the hell would you risk sitting on it? Even if you don't have a super skinny phone, do you really want to risk cracking your screen or otherwise damaging your phone?

I voted other because it isn't happening

+1: Mistake #2, assuming that someone other than Apple knows what Apple is going to do with their hardware.

I think that what most people use their phone for is more stupid than the phone itself.

With that said, I use my phone like a phone, so I don't have a whole lot of motivation to upgrade my iPhone 4S. The only motivator for me was GPS and Google search to upgrade from a flip phone.

 

[Bill_Bright]

I voted other because it isn't happening

Sure it is IF the rumor is based in fact from a real Apple source and not some wannabe journalist making stuff up - again.

And it makes sense Apple would be leading the way. They were the first to do lots of things.

We have to remember that Apple now owns Beats headphones so a method to get 48KHz digital output is needed - at least for those who can afford $500 - $1000 headphones.

But I don't see why folks are complaining here. If consumers were not demanding thinner phones, makers would not be looking at ways to provide them. And according to a CNN Headline News report I saw just this morning, the small adapter to allow current "analog" headphones to work will initially cost about $2. If you are going to shell out the big bucks for an Apple phone, and extra $2 is hardly a budget buster.

Lets also remember that Bluetooth (i.e., wireless) headphones are becoming more and more popular too.

As far as these thin phones in the back pocket - well of course the ladies do this a lot. Technologies are there to make the phones more survivable with stronger metals, carbon fiber, or both. As long as folks are willing to pay for it, and apparently they are, it WILL happen.

With that said, I use my phone like a phone

What a concept! Me too. And here I thought I was unique in this world - totally confused as to why PC sales continue to decline. Personally, I will give up my full sized keyboard, mouse, and multiple widescreen monitors when my Glock 17 is empty and my hands are dead cold.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

http://money.cnn.com/2015/11/30/tec....html?iid=ob_homepage_tech_pool&iid=obnetwork

In 2011, Apple applied for a patent for a D-shaped headphone plug that cut the diameter of the plug roughly in half.

And last year, Apple released specifications for manufacturers to make headphones that connect directly to the iPhone's Lightning port.

...the writing is on the wall. I don't think it is a matter of "if," but "when" 3.5mm will be replaced with a plug under 2mm. Looking farther down the road, I could totally see Apple doing away with the connector completely forcing users to either by a Lightning (or whatever port it uses at the time) adapter or Bluetooth. In both instances, internal amplifying is out of the question because both are digital communications.

 

[GreiverBlade]

iPhone 7: forget butt dialing and butt bending, we're introducing butt cracking.

ahaha thanks, you made my day

also ... my LG G Flex 2 is already bent ... so unlike a iPhoune i don't have any issue with my back pocket

voted "I don't have an iPhone and I never will!"
obviously

but i should have voted
"Another awesome innovation from Apple!"
using extreme sarcasm indication

 

[Steevo]

While 3.5mm has been good for quite awhile, I think the idea of a USB powered and driven set of headphones is more interesting than any of this Apple crap, power for bigger cans right from the device battery and only one port, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...phone_jack_adapter-_-9SIA2V52TU4582-_-Product

Like this.

 

[Bill_Bright]

or Bluetooth

The problem with going wireless is then the headphones or speakers must provide their own power. So in the case of headphones in particular, not only must users remember to keep their phone batteries charged, they must remember to keep their headphone batteries charged too. Plus, enabling BT in our phones increases the drain on the phone batteries more than just a straight audio connection.

It seems the older I get, the more things I need to remember. It should be the other way around.

 

[taz420nj]

Most bluetooth headphones have decent battery life. I have a pair of Beats knockoffs that I use for a couple hours a day and I only have to recharge them about twice a week. Most can also recharge while in use. If I ever forget to recharge mine, I can stick a juice box in my pocket and just plug them in.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Yeah, as long as you remember to charge your juice box!

Of course everyone's mileage will vary and once in a routine, the habit of plugging in to charge becomes set. I don't live on my phone. In fact, in the year since I've had this phone (Samsung S4 Mini) I've probably made less than 10 calls and I bet 8 of them were done through my truck's BT interface and speakers. That said, I put over 2000 miles on my bicycle where I use the phone to listen to tunes while riding and plug-in ear buds "seem" to have no affect on battery life as my phone will still last several days between charges.

Anyway, back on track, I don't have a problem with Apple changing connectors. I just hope (1) that it is a very rugged design and (2) they don't patent the design and make it proprietary. If they make it proprietary so other makers have to pay a license fee, they will likely come up with their own proprietary designs. This is VERY BAD for us consumers as it will mean we will have to buy special headphone or special adapters for each type device. That will add to the costs and be a PITA.

 

[taz420nj]

Yeah, as long as you remember to charge your juice box!

Of course everyone's mileage will vary and once in a routine, the habit of plugging in to charge becomes set. I don't live on my phone. In fact, in the year since I've had this phone (Samsung S4 Mini) I've probably made less than 10 calls and I bet 8 of them were done through my truck's BT interface and speakers. That said, I put over 2000 miles on my bicycle where I use the phone to listen to tunes while riding and plug-in ear buds "seem" to have no affect on battery life as my phone will still last several days between charges.

Anyway, back on track, I don't have a problem with Apple changing connectors. I just hope (1) that it is a very rugged design and (2) they don't patent the design and make it proprietary. If they make it proprietary so other makers have to pay a license fee, they will likely come up with their own proprietary designs. This is VERY BAD for us consumers as it will mean we will have to buy special headphone or special adapters for each type device. That will add to the costs and be a PITA.

Ummmm how would that be different from anything else Apple has ever done? The 30 pin dock connector and Lightning connector are both patented and proprietary, and require a licensing fee to produce. Not very long ago, every single phone manufacturer had a different proprietary charging connector. Now (with the exception of Apple) you can't find anything other than micro USB on a phone.

 

[Bill_Bright]

That's exactly why I said it would be bad and I hope it is not proprietary. Right now, virtually any set of headphones with a 3.5mm jack will work. And it will work in your [current] iPhone, Android phone, Blackberry, notebook and PC, Roku remote, tablets (Apple and Samsung), mp3 player - just about anything that has audio. A headphone with a standard 3.5mm jack really is a one-size-fits-all device - a true "universal standard".

I don't care if a new standard comes along - as long as it really is universal so it does not force consumers to pick something proprietary at a greater expense.

 

[GhostRyder]

I guess I have mixed feelings about this. I just bought an iPhone 6s which means I'll be skipping the next generation anyways as I purchase them every other year.

As long as the adapters are cheap, I really don't care (meaning less than 10 bucks). Plus since they come with headphones that would work then it would be fine with me. Though it would be annoying to have to make sure to always have the adaptor with you or buy more new headphones for it so I am little mixed (meaning if you forgot your headphones).


The real problem is do we really need a thinner phone??? I really don't see a problem with the current thickness and with things getting too thin are we going to have a repeat of the phones bending? Because I really prefer my phones to be tough and not too delicate.