The first headphones with a built in iPhone charger adapter appears.

[Skanky Sylveon]

21 minutes ago, abazigal said:

The idea is not replace a port with another one (makes no sense at this time and age), but to remove cables once for all. The future is wire-less, what you propose is a dated idea. We should be looking forward to new wireless technologies, not the other way around.

[Energycore]

Inb4 they're really bad earbuds and cost $200

[Skanky Sylveon]

2 hours ago, 8uhbbhu8 said:

Yes the "future" may wireless But that's just it. The FUTURE.

When it comes to audio, wireless may never be fully embraced.

2 hours ago, 8uhbbhu8 said:

We are nowhere near ready to go fully wireless with our tech anyway. Forcing this on us will not improve that.

To much interference, quality that is measurably worse (notice that almost all high end headphones are wired. There's a reason for that), it's just another device you need to charge which is hated a lot as there are so many you need to nowadays. The "savings" in removing it is not worthwhile as you now have to add other tech which may or may not be far more expensive to replace it.

Sounds like my experience with these.

 

I can't take them outside anywhere without them cutting out (i'm assuming from interferance).

I have to charge them.

They drain my phone's battery more.

 

The value of wireless is subjective, but to me, I got about three greater issues while solving a very minor issue.

[abazigal]

7 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

Why? Explain that. Aside from convenience, why?

 

Will wireless give me a better quality sound? No. AT BEST, it might be able to match that of a wired cable, but that's making a lot of assumptions that won't hold true.

Your argument assumes that sound quality is the only thing which matters in a pair of headphones and nothing else. Having owned my AirPods since the day it was available, it’s the only pair of earphones I see myself using. It’s light, comfortable, extremely portable and convenient to carry around. Sound quality is acceptable for me. 

 

I'm convinced that Apple's end goal with the iPhone and its wearable accessories is a future without wires or concerns about battery life. Imagine this scenario: after using your iPhone, AirPods, and Apple Watch normally throughout the day, you'll just place them on an AirPower charging mat and forget about cables, adapters, and battery packs.

 

As Apple releases more wearable accessories (like that rumoured AR glasses), expect wireless charging to play an even more integral role in keeping them all charged without having to contend with a rat’s nest of cables. 

[Doobeedoo]

When first Type-C only appeared on a phone I never bothered with charging and listening music with earbuds at the same time. I just don't do that at all. 

But even then I wondered cause they could put 2 ports though. Maybe many don't do that and they know. 

But whatever, as long as Type-C becomes more wisespread the better. Be it on PC and on phones and new headphones etc. 

[MatsNorway]

Phones will get more features not less in the future. In the beginning they did not have MP3 player, cameras, MMS, internet, flash, touchscreens, vibration, calendar, alarms, apps, email, 3.5mm jack, USB connection, bluetooth, wifi, stereo, subwoofer... and projectors to mention a few.. built into them.. I expect that trend to continue.. more stuff not less. 

 

Also.. jack/3.5mm++ is not really just a Data thing.. it is also a hi-fi thing. And the hi fi industri moves at its own pace. Making headphones for just one phone is not something most companies is going to bother with. Not with the high end stuff. So they could force apples hand.. Especially when you know apple has an affinity to chance things every few years.

 

[Sniperfox47]

I still maintain that a more elegant solution would just to be to have port receptical connected inline with a single thicker wire running down to the plug carrying both power and audio data.

 

Who thought having the plug receptical dangling off the end was a good idea? That's just one more thing to get caught on something and ripped off.

[Indus Monk]

-snipped-

[dalekphalm]

3 hours ago, abazigal said:

Your argument assumes that sound quality is the only thing which matters in a pair of headphones and nothing else. Having owned my AirPods since the day it was available, it’s the only pair of earphones I see myself using. It’s light, comfortable, extremely portable and convenient to carry around. Sound quality is acceptable for me. 

 

I'm convinced that Apple's end goal with the iPhone and its wearable accessories is a future without wires or concerns about battery life. Imagine this scenario: after using your iPhone, AirPods, and Apple Watch normally throughout the day, you'll just place them on an AirPower charging mat and forget about cables, adapters, and battery packs.

 

As Apple releases more wearable accessories (like that rumoured AR glasses), expect wireless charging to play an even more integral role in keeping them all charged without having to contend with a rat’s nest of cables. 

You might like that kind of future, where things are "good enough", but I just got my Sennheiser HD 6xx's last December, and they destroy Apple AirPods in sound quality - just utterly eviscerate them. There's really no comparison.

 

I also don't walk around all day listening to music on the go, so that's of no value to me.

 

My argument is not that Audio quality is the only factor - it's simply the most important factor.

 

Other factors, such as convenience, comfort, etc, are all important too. But, aside from the cable being, perhaps, a minor inconvenience, the rest, like comfort, are not mutually exclusive. My 6xx's are very light for on-ear headphones. They're extremely comfortable. And while they're not especially portable compared to earbuds, they don't need to be.

 

If I wanted portable headphones or earbuds, I would buy them - but I sure as hell would not buy AirPods. They might be "good enough" for you - and "good enough" does seem to be Apple's motto.

 

Never the less, removing the headphone jack does not improve anything about the iPhone experience that they couldn't have otherwise done with a different engineering solution.

 

It most definitely, does not, in ANY WAY, improve the audio experience on an iPhone. Why? Because my iPhone 6s, which has a headphone jack, also has Bluetooth, and also has a Lightning Jack, so I can still listen to all the same peripherals as am iPhone 8 user could. I just also have a built in headphone jack, which makes it superior to the iPhone 8, from a sound listening perspective.

 

Quite simply put, there is no advantage, from a sound perspective, to removing the headphone jack. Things like Bluetooth are already going to be in a smartphone, and the newest, best Bluetooth spec, is going to be in there too anyway, just to keep up with the competition.

[handymanshandle]

16 hours ago, Cinnabar Sonar said:

I wonder if it could act like a splitter so you could listen to music on your earbuds and someone else could listen to it with their earbuds/headphones.

[dalekphalm]

11 minutes ago, wcreek said:

I wonder if it could act like a splitter so you could listen to music on your earbuds and someone else could listen to it with their earbuds/headphones.

Who knows - it depends on how the cable is wired. I'd assume not though. I bet they just split out the DC charging wires for the charging port.

[handymanshandle]

1 minute ago, dalekphalm said:

Who knows - it depends on how the cable is wired. I'd assume not though. I bet they just split out the DC charging wires for the charging port.

It would be interesting. It is still a shame that the headphone jack is dying, oh well.

[dalekphalm]

Just now, wcreek said:

It would be interesting. It is still a shame that the headphone jack is dying, oh well.

I don't think it'll truly die out for some time. There will - for the time being anyway - be at least a few "high end" flagship smartphones to choose from that will keep the jack.

 

I suspect that Samsung will follow suit soon though, as they often take design inspiration from Apple.

[handymanshandle]

2 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

I don't think it'll truly die out for some time. There will - for the time being anyway - be at least a few "high end" flagship smartphones to choose from that will keep the jack.

 

I suspect that Samsung will follow suit soon though, as they often take design inspiration from Apple.

yep.
First one to do it, that I think inspired Apple was Motorola, then Apple's done it, now Google's done it. Samsung is next. Then I think LG.

 

I imagine Samsung will drop the headphone jack this year

[suicidalfranco]

all the retardation in the smartphone industry simply made me go "fuck it, i'm getting a DAP!" best decision so far.

 

[dfsdfgfkjsefoiqzemnd]

 

58 minutes ago, wcreek said:

I imagine Samsung will drop the headphone jack this year

All signs so far (and the leaked photos of the official and 3rd party cases/covers) point to the S9 and S9+ having a 3.5mm jack on the left of the USB-C port.  But we'll know for sure on the 25th. 

 

12 minutes ago, suicidalfranco said:

all the retardation in the smartphone industry simply made me go "fuck it, i'm getting a DAP!" best decision so far.

I do still carry music on the phone though. My commute is too noisy to truly enjoy the extra audio quality of my DAP, so I only take the phone with me.

[kokakolia]

14 hours ago, iamdarkyoshi said:

 I can't stand wireless periperals. They seperately need to be charged, require more processing power to run, and cost more.

But I have to make the case for wireless earphones at the gym. They're a godsend compared to wired earphones. They don't get caught up on stuff. 

[Skanky Sylveon]

11 hours ago, abazigal said:

Your argument assumes that sound quality is the only thing which matters in a pair of headphones and nothing else.

And your argument assumes that we should like what you like, and embrace it.

Either way, I have found wireless headphones to be LESS convenient, not more.

 

11 hours ago, abazigal said:

without having to contend with a rat’s nest of cables. 

A little bit of cable management goes a long way.

7 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

but I just got my Sennheiser HD 6xx's last December, and they destroy Apple AirPods in sound quality - just utterly eviscerate them. There's really no comparison.

That's an understatement, no really.  I have a pair of HD 650s, which is essentially what you have.

7 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

I also don't walk around all day listening to music on the go, so that's of no value to me.

 

My argument is not that Audio quality is the only factor - it's simply the most important factor.

 

Other factors, such as convenience, comfort, etc, are all important too. But, aside from the cable being, perhaps, a minor inconvenience, the rest, like comfort, are not mutually exclusive. My 6xx's are very light for on-ear headphones. They're extremely comfortable. And while they're not especially portable compared to earbuds, they don't need to be.

 

If I wanted portable headphones or earbuds, I would buy them - but I sure as hell would not buy AirPods. They might be "good enough" for you - and "good enough" does seem to be Apple's motto.

I like to listen to music while I work, so I usually have a pair of earbuds.

I recently bought a $150.00 dollar Bluetooth pair, and I find that it gives more inconveniences then removes.

From random cutting out, to having to charge them, they are a pain, all for "look ma, no wires!".

 

Also, while not really relevant my priorities are: Sound quality > comfort > convenience > features.

7 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

It most definitely, does not, in ANY WAY, improve the audio experience on an iPhone. Why? Because my iPhone 6s, which has a headphone jack, also has Bluetooth, and also has a Lightning Jack, so I can still listen to all the same peripherals as am iPhone 8 user could. I just also have a built in headphone jack, which makes it superior to the iPhone 8, from a sound listening perspective.

 

Quite simply put, there is no advantage, from a sound perspective, to removing the headphone jack. Things like Bluetooth are already going to be in a smartphone, and the newest, best Bluetooth spec, is going to be in there too anyway, just to keep up with the competition.

That's what I don't get.  Why do some people have issues with those that don't like the removal of the 3.5 mm jack?

It didn't harm them, when it was there.

7 hours ago, wcreek said:

I wonder if it could act like a splitter so you could listen to music on your earbuds and someone else could listen to it with their earbuds/headphones.

Just curious, is there an actual use case for that?

[handymanshandle]

53 minutes ago, Cinnabar Sonar said:

Just curious, is there an actual use case for that?

I'm sure there is. Like if you dont wanna give up one of your IEMs to share the experience of listening to music with someone with headphones/speakers.

Like sharing earbuds? Duckduckgo it or duck it

[Skanky Sylveon]

2 minutes ago, wcreek said:

I'm sure there is. Like if you dont wanna give up one of your IEMs to share the experience of listening to music with someone with headphones/speakers.

When I listen to music with others it's usually on speaker, but I guess that makes sense.

2 minutes ago, wcreek said:

Like sharing earbuds? Duckduckgo it or duck it

Sharing earwax...

[handymanshandle]

7 hours ago, Captain Chaos said:

All signs so far (and the leaked photos of the official and 3rd party cases/covers) point to the S9 and S9+ having a 3.5mm jack on the left of the USB-C port.  But we'll know for sure on the 25th.

Huh alright then, guess we'll see. I guess I would and wouldn't be surprised if Samsung left it in this year. But I imagine that the Note 9 and S10 will not have it. But I suppose that's like 9-12 months away.

[handymanshandle]

Just now, Cinnabar Sonar said:

When I listen to music with others it's usually on speaker, but I guess that makes sense.

lol yeah there's a few examples where a speaker wouldn't be ideal. Like in a public space where silence would be ideal

Just now, Cinnabar Sonar said:

Sharing earwax...

lol sure.

[dalekphalm]

19 minutes ago, Cinnabar Sonar said:

Sharing earwax...

*vomits in mouth* yeah gross.

 

The only person I'll let use my earbuds (and use theirs in return) is my fiancee, and even then, it's only when there's no other alternative.

[Ertman]

What I don’t get is why they didn’t just go with a 90 degree connector that allowed you to plug-in the charging cable as per normal, instead of the second wire coming out of the backside of the connector.

[Skanky Sylveon]

29 minutes ago, Ertman said:

What I don’t get is why they didn’t just go with a 90 degree connector that allowed you to plug-in the charging cable as per normal, instead of the second wire coming out of the backside of the connector.

That would have required thought.