It's really out of touch, because the professional reviewers like MKBHD have been clamoring for larger devices with larger batteries and more options.
Slimmer devices, with the same battery life and less options is not what we want.
What we have right now is good. We don't need a credit card sized phone. All of that stuff will come in time and I don't view this as 'innovation,' as much as 'regression,' to fit the apple aesthetic.
Here is the thing. If you care about audio you won't have your phone playing music. You have your computer playing from foobar or what have you. Also if you care about audio you won't be powering headphones from your phone. Never mind your speakers. Your phone can out put over Bluetooth just as well as an audio jack. There is no difference. Plus you can just get the adaptor for the iPhone 7 anyway. Other phones already do this. Most dacs take micro usb so this isn't new. If you don't care about audio what's the difference between a wired and wireless pair of headphones. None. Why do people care about this. If you care about audio this does nothing. If you don't care about audio what the difference. Plus if you want good audio you won't be anywhere but sitting down. Not on a bus. Not on a train. So the arguement that phones should have audiophile like audio is dumb. Audio on a phone is for convenience. Nothing more.
The 1⁄4 inch jack has been around for over a century. Many generations of ham-fisted guitarists have proven it as a rugged and reliable connector.
if 3.5mm was too big for Apple, why couldn't they have used a 2.5mm socket?
Presumably because folks could easily find a 2.5mm to 3.5mm adaptor and Apple couldn't sell extra proprietary crap?
I'm gonna stick with the 3.5mm jack for as long as possible. I'm just used to it. I don't care for wireless headphones, because to me, that's another device I have to worry about charging all the time, and of course, the latency that comes along with them.
If Apple makes adaptors for the iPhone 7 so people can use wired headphones with them, I have no doubt they're gpmma be overpriced. It would also defeat the purpose of them doing away with the 3.5mm jack in the first place.
I agree with pieces of your argument...luckily it doesn't matter to me anymore since I recently switched from iOS to Android (had an iphone from the 3g-6). They were always free for me, and probably still would be if I would have stayed at my last job.
I just don't like the idea of carrying one more thing to listen to my entire stable of headphones. It's the same reason why I don't buy a portable DAC/amp. I think carrying the extra thing is stupid. But i think getting rid of the standard for another proprietary connector is a waste of time. I think had apple decided to just do USB-C I'd probably be on board with that, since it would be inline with the rest of the industry.....but this is apple we're talking about.
So you don't care about having a portable dac/amp then how do you expect to A power headphones that are quality and B say you care about audio. You don't. At that point what's the difference between Bluetooth headphones and wired at that point. You aren't carrying around extra in fact you are carrying less. I'm someone who believes that a dac is a dac. Yes some dacs used to be better. Not anymore. It's gotten to the point where you can't tell the difference. However having enough power to drive headphones is different. Phones never could push that. Let's face it. People just don't like change. My car doesn't have a CD player. Remember when those were the shit. Yeah not any more. Move on people. Good audio doesn't come from your phone unless you use a digital output to a dac amp which people have been doing for years on android. This is nothing new.
The iPhone 7 isn't even thinner than the iPhone 6s, so they didn't remove it to make the phone even more ridiculously thin. If they removed it to make the phone waterproof, I would argue that its a matter of laziness at that point. Other phone's have got the IP68 rating without compromising the port, such as the Galaxy 7 Active. Frankly, I see no benefit from this. If apple wants to push lightning headphone's than they could just push that through the Beats Brand and just include lightning headphone's to drive adoption, while also keeping the 3.5mm. This just segregates the market for headphone's and further drive's accessory costs up for Apple users.
Its just stupid.
Im with you there
Style options mean shit when compared with actual audio quality
Just like wearing beats headphones and bluetooth earpods, they are a fashion/class statement
YET I HAVE TO INSIST
If apple wants to have a waterproof device so so badly, then why dont they just redesign a 3.5mm jack?
They are apple, they know how to do this kind of stuff, and they know how to tax you for it too
Because:
Regression? what is that?
That doesnt exist in Apple World, oh no mister
They don't have to redesign it to make it smaller or make it water proof. The iPhone 7 is no thicker than the iPhone 6s and the port has been made waterproof on other phones. So its not done for water-proofing issues or size. If the argument would be to do it because it takes room away from the battery size, I would argue that a better option would be to make the phone thick enough to eliminate the camera hump while also increasing battery size. You eliminate too massive complaints in one shot. You'd get a lot more battery space gained from doing that, while not loosing a beloved and important port on the phone.
Apple's gonna Apple, i guess
I didnt know that it had been done already
Also, i wouldnt mind a thicker phone, im with you there. A few grams feel like nothing unless you're such a pansy to complain about some tiny weight. I mean that little weight is not gonna pull down your skinny fit hipster pants, right?
They removed it to get rid of competition for payment services. There is no logical reason to remove it from a business perspective.
There is a Lightning credit card reader, all be it not near as cheap as the 3.5mm based readers...
I went to the farmers market this morning, and the lady I bought steaks from brought this up to me (cause...well, I've got a pony tail, and wear cargo shorts....i must know these things).
It didn't even occur to me that this will hit square users.
In short: Apple is full of shit (please excuse the language, but really it is the appropriate technical term), and Apple fan boys eat it up.
The jacks being prone to failure seemed to be only on Apple phones, and it was fixed by adding a spacer. Some headphone manufacturers even included a spacer for Apple users. Essentially it was a shady business practice by Apple to set the stage to remove the jack. http://thewirecutter.com/blog/a-word-on-the-iphone-6-iphone-6-plus-and-third-party-headphones/
As far as the jack itself goes: is there a better solution? Possibly, however I believe it is Apple spouting lies to sell expensive after market adapters.
Linus goes into some detail on this topic in this headphone review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPdJX_PJro0
**Watch out for the tear down picture of a phone where he shows the actualy space a 3.5mm jack takes up. He also goes into the shadiness that Apple went into with their laptops which only had one input jack, in order to sell $80 adapters.
I also forgot the detail that Apples lightning connection is digital, so when you buy headphones you also need to pay attention to the quality of the DAC that NEEDS to be build into them. Such a small DAC will most likely be an afterthought.
The real reason why apple removed the 3.5mm jack is so that the can sell lots of dongles. Than the iPhone 8 will use USB type C so they can sell more dongles. than the iPhone 9 will use the dildo connector so they can sell dongles.
Its a simple case of planned obsolescence
somone get some metalocalypse up in here cause this ams dildos
So they can make dongles and sell you a dongle adapter A that is only compatible with a dongle B adapter and so on until dongle Z which then will be the 3.5'm headphone jack
Taking features away without replacing it with something better is not what I would call, progress. Case in point, I don't think we had any standard for sound that's better than 3.5mm Audio Jack yet, not to mention it's so well adopted.
What's with Apple and their Dongs?
they could have just shifted the whole market to 2.5mm jacks
I think apple nailed it. They have really outdone themselves. A courageous move and .... no, I can't. I tried but I can't
It is just the dumbest shit Apple has ever done. Anyone who buys this crap should be laughed at.
I still think Apple is leading when it comes to implementing new technologies into working products. But for a lot of decisions made, I would enjoy punching Tim Cook in the face all day long. I am writing this on a 2009 MBP because for half a decade now those things have been getting worse and worse. They don't have the right to call any of their products pro anymore. They dropped Aperture, effectively ruined Final Cut and just flat out killed their only real pro machine. They are like Nintendo for business people now.