by danielhooper on 9/8/16, 9:54 PM
This is a move towards wireless, not lightening. We'll relive this controversy in a few years when the iPhone gets rid of the lightning port to go completely wireless.
by lanestp on 9/8/16, 9:39 PM
I completely disagree with this. The headphone jack is archaic and needed to go long ago. The fact that my headphones need a AAA battery AND have to be plugged into a device is insane. These same arguments have come with every port and input removal. I remember being bitter when I couldn't get a computer with a parallel port!
by sytelus on 9/8/16, 8:38 PM
In theory, removing headphone jack is a good thing. This design has survived for decades purely because of compatibility, not technical merit. If we were to design headphone jack in 2016, I bet it wouldn't be this analog unpowered design. Headphone jack should be moving to digital signals and powered one.
by likeclockwork on 9/9/16, 1:01 AM
It doesn't matter. Apple products are bought by people who buy Apple products. They will buy the iPhone 7, they will buy the iPhone 8. Apple has no competition in this market, there's no differentiation on features, only Apple makes Apple products.
They will buy Apple Product X, they will buy Apple Product Y.
Anyone who believes profit is the most potent measure of success can always point at Apple and say "those people are doing the right thing".
by totalZero on 9/8/16, 9:55 PM
Totally agree with the article. Seems like an unnecessary delete of a functional and ubiquitous port, for which I can currently spend anywhere between 6 and 1000 bucks to buy headphones of my choosing. Maybe Apple is trying to push people towards more Beats expenditures.
by Zigurd on 9/9/16, 2:55 AM
For $150, a price that's appropriate compared the iPhone itself an accessories like the Apple Watch, you get really wire-free headphones that should sound excellent in all use cases because the amplification can be tailored to the transducers.
Music on an iPhone should have uniformly very high quality because Apple got rid of the analog port. Apple has also set a high baseline for 3rd party products.
This is good for audio quality, good for customers, and good for the brand.
by jpmcglone on 9/8/16, 9:20 PM
This feels a lot like how everyone complained about the iPad when it came out, but then it turned out to be no big deal.