
Yes, Apple’s ‘Headphone Jack-Free’ iPhone 7 Is a Design (and Branding) Mistake - WritelyDesigned
https://rightlydesigned.com/yes-apples-headphone-jack-free-iphone-7-is-a-design-and-branding-mistake/
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danielhooper
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.

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lanestp
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!

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tw04
They don't. They make countless headphones that don't require batteries. They
make countless headphone that are wireless. I switched to bluetooth noise
cancelling headphones a few years ago and haven't looked back... but
eliminating the jack seems rather silly to me. There are still AMAZINGLY good
headphones that are always going to require a cord.

To me this is as stupid as Intel refusing to support USB3 for the sake of
"moving on". That worked out well...

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robinson7d
For context, the parent said:

> The fact that my headphones need a AAA battery

Just because some headphones do not need batteries says nothing about these
specific headphones being talked about. Both can exist at the same time (a
pair that requires batteries, and many that do not.)

For example, Bose Noise-Cancelling Headphones, which are quite popular,
require AAA batteries:

[http://worldwide.bose.com/productsupport/en_us/web/qc15/page...](http://worldwide.bose.com/productsupport/en_us/web/qc15/page.html#article_type=top_article+track_article&article_href=../article_266_installing_the_battery/page.html%23article_body)

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tw04
Right - by his own choice as justification to eliminate the 3.5mm port.

That's a ridiculous reason to claim we should get rid of one of the most
widely used ports in existence. If he didn't want to have a cord and a battery
he should've bought different headphones... Nobody forced him into having
both. Nothing apple is doing will change the fact that some headphones will
require both a cord and a battery either. So it's a borderline irrelevant
comment.

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sytelus
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.

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qyv
Why? What makes digital superior in this case? The headphone is universal and
ubiquitous because it is a dumb (as in terminal) device. It works on $10000
stereos and $10 children's toys without needing to think about compatibility,
protocols, or interface specifications because of that.

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beisner
Instead, you needed to think about impedance, power draw, and amplification.
With a digital transmission, you move rendering the audio from the source
device to the speaker itself, which gives headphone manufacturers a lot more
freedom when it comes to acoustic design. If there were a universal protocol
for music transmission ( __cough __there is __cough __), and the digital audio
jack were just as ubiquitous as the 3.5mm, it would have the same properties
you mentioned. On a personal note, I actually laud the removal of the 3.5mm
jack from the phone. Yes, it makes existing headphones a bit more cumbersome
to use, but it is also a major design choice. Most of my headphones sounded
crappy when plugged into an iPhone because it 's just impossible to put a good
amplifier/power source in such a slim package. This design choice forces more
headphone manufacturers to consider how sound is being amplified and powered
on mobile devices.

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likeclockwork
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".

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WritelyDesigned
If we're going to use profit as a measuring stick for a company doing the
right thing—then it seems relevant to mention the fact that Apple's stock has
fallen over the last several years and has continued in that trend.

I don't personally hold the view that this directly reflects a company's
innovative quality, but again if that's the measuring stick, it only seems to
further the argument that Apple's design decisions aren't what they used to
be.

[http://fortune.com/2016/05/06/apple-shares-two-year-
low/](http://fortune.com/2016/05/06/apple-shares-two-year-low/)

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stouset
[http://finance.yahoo.com/quote/AAPL](http://finance.yahoo.com/quote/AAPL)

In this case, the past few days would tend to counter your thesis. Also, the
current dip is shorter than the one from Sep '12 to Jul '14, at which point
they rebounded dramatically and pushed ever-higher highs. Do you believe they
stopped making good design decisions around then?

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totalZero
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.

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Zigurd
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.

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jpmcglone
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.

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mobiuscog
You mean the original iPad, that those of use who early-adopted it got ditched
a couple of years later because it was 'obsolete' ? Yeah.

Sure, the 'tablet' market is still ongoing, but then PDAs existed before the
iPad - the concept wasn't anything new.

