
The 19th Century plug that's still being used - timthorn
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35253398
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lkbm
Sometimes you have to break backwards compatibility to move forward and get
better technology, and as painful as it is, and as controversial as it is,
switching to a new standard is often the right thing to do.

That said, if you're breaking backwards compatibility to move to _proprietary_
technology, you are not working to move us to a new standard. You're breaking
from the old standard to create a balkanized set of non-standard technology.
Doesn't matter if it's technically superior--if you're not letting people use
it for free, you're intentionally creating a worse ecosystem at the expense of
consumers and every other vendor.

~~~
bsder
> That said, if you're breaking backwards compatibility to move to
> _proprietary_ technology, you are not working to move us to a new standard.

Agreed. And it's likely not technically or physically superior anymore with
the new USB 3.1 plugs.

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LeoPanthera
Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's my understanding that the thickest component
in an iPhone is the camera, not the headphones socket. So removing the socket
won't make the phone any thinner, unless Apple goes for a wedge-shaped design,
perhaps.

Arguments about "high-resolution" audio notwithstanding (there's no need for
anything better than "CD quality", you can't hear the difference), I
understand that Apple wants to drive technology forward and that wireless
audio over bluetooth "should" be the future.

But ultimately I feel like the 3.5mm connector is just too entrenched. My
headphones use it. My car uses it. Even crazy things like the Square card
reader use it.

No, it's not ideal, but it is everywhere, and universal.

Surely there will be an adapter, but I fear that the adapter will probably
have a DAC _and_ an amp in it, and unless they make the adapter bulky, I can't
imagine that a teeny-tiny DAC/amp will sound as good as the one currently
inside the iPhone.

~~~
brian-armstrong
You make a good point about the Square reader. This would put Apple in a good
position to obsolete Square's POS devices, possibly so they can get in the
business?

~~~
cstejerean
Square already has a wireless reader which is currently used for chip cards as
well as NFC payments (including Apple Pay). This reader does not currently
have a mag stripe reader on it, but I imagine it won't be a huge leap to add
it if future iPhone and iPads get rid of the 3.5mm port.

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Theodores
Ultimately the new iPhones will come with the new headphones and they will be
undoubtedly superb with many third party headphones including Beats.

Much like the non standard power adapter, Apple users will just go along with
it and, in most cases, not grumble in the least with their new Apple bling.

Undoubtedly there will be adapters too, more like a dongle for the old
headphones. Apple being Apple could make such adapters only work if they are
genuine Apple. Again, users will accept this like they accept ethernet and
monitor dongles on their laptops now.

------
Animats
It's time to get rid of connectors on phones. Inductive charging is here.
Bluetooth stereo headphones are here. They all have WiFi and a cellular link.
White iDweeb earbuds are last-cen. Get rid of the holes, hermetically seal the
unit, and make the thing completely waterproof.

~~~
13of40
Having tried several Bluetooth audio devices over the last couple of years,
I'm not sure we're really ready. I've got a Bluetooth speaker in my car that
turns itself off in cold weather, an indoor one that talks to iPads and
Androids but not Surfaces, and a pair of bluetooth headphones in a box
somewhere that are great as long as you like your music sprinkled with random
moments of silence. The less half-baked components on the critical between my
MP3s and my ear sockets, the better.

~~~
Animats
"And in my day we had _wires_ to our speakers." Progress marches on.

~~~
arpa
I prefer engineered simplicity over progress-in-the-name-of-progress. No,
wires aren't going away. Because at the end of the day, your speakers are
driven by analog signal transmitted via the same wires you abhor; Anything
between the DAC and an analogue system (amplifier + speaker) is superfluous,
unneeded, bad design, malintent. Oh and I'd love to see 100W RMS speakers
driven wirelessly. You could probably boil tea on the excess microwaves.

