Headphone makers quietly prepare for the iPhone 7

http://www.wired.com/2015/06/thunderbolt-3-usb-c/

 

Historically Apple has always came out with the next big thing. They have had a couple of hits too, but Apple wouldn't even be on the map if it wasn't for the iPod and iPhone. The problem with Thunderbolt is that it is primarily a technology that would be useful with desktop computers, and Apple just doesn't sell enough of those to force the market to adopt. They are what? 10% in that market? Prior to Thunderbolt, Apple was pushing Firewire (IEEE 1394) too. Sure there were some regular computers that provided them for a while just like they will probably for Thunderbolt, but people will probably just stick with USB in the end. Is it the best technology? Maybe not, but the best technology doesn't always win in the marketplace. I'm am happy though that companies are starting to adopt USB for audio in a serious way because USB is finally providing excellent audio quality depending on the implementation. Although, I'm a bit skeptical on Blutooth and wireless as good transports for quality audio. If they are used for convenience only, sure. I have used a Blutooth headset for years with my phone, but I wouldn't want to consider that technology for listening to quality audio.

 

Head of Nail, meet Hammer.

I think the blowback from this won't be all that awful. Its not a stupid move, and does NOT mean the death of the 3.5mm connector. Consider the varieties of apple's reliably enthusiastic customer base (this is not a knock, it is phenomenon which must be accounted for).
People like us: when I was using an iphone (w/ lightning) I used the CCK to get digital output anyway, so I rarely used the headphone out for serious musicking.
People who own beats: they will buy the new beats for their whole football team and be excited.
People who own something in between: you better believe they already have a lightning to 3.5mm adapter you can buy for $20 $40 with some mediocre sabre implementation. Those who are so moved by the sound of their Master and Commander or whatever will find it a minor irritation. Those who don't give a shit will bitch once and then get over it.

 

The iPhone is already a high margin product: "Preliminary analysis of the iPhone 6 Plus estimates it costs $242.50 USD to build".
http://www.techinsights.com/teardown.com/apple-iphone-6/

I think it really is just a race to the thinnest headphone claim.

 

You might as well wait for them to announce the 7. For one thing, it may still have the 3.5mm jack. For another, the price will go down on the 6s if you do decide to go that route. If you're on a 5s now, the 6s will give you similar longevity.

 

Thanks. Good points. If I wait the trade-in value of my 5s will probably go down even more, but if I buy the 6s that is probably offset by much cheaper price for it and if I want the 7 then, well, I have finally gotten off of the "s" cyclae I have been stuck on since the 3gs.

 

IMO, the S cycle is the one to be on. The number series gets the new body styling, but usually the specs under the hood don't improve much. The S cycle always gets some new feature AND under the hood improvements that make them better for 2-year upgrades. Plus any issues with the new body get fixed with the S, like the bending on the 6 or the insanely scratchable body of the 5.

But look at what was released in the S series:

Siri (4s)
TouchID (5s)
3D Touch (6s)

The first two are indispensable elements of the iPhone UI now, and I know Apple is angling for the third to become just as indispensable. Just my two cents.

Edit: Also the 5s was the first iPhone with 64-bit OS architecture and the 6s was the first iPhone with 2 GB of RAM. Okay I'm done now.

 

A thinner iPhone might result in Youtube videos of people actually snapping them in half rather than just bending them this time.

 

The risk they run is to pitch a product that's the last straw for people's backs. Proprietary headphone jacks would probably push some people over the edge, myself included, to just get a different phone or finally get off the pot and buy a dap. I dunno. Bet we'll see more and more people rocking beats with proprietary jacks, which is no skin off my back. So for every one of me they lose, I'm sure they'll gain (at least?) one of those other humanoids.

 

It certainly makes me glad that I'm an Android phone user. Watch. As soon as I say this, Android will come out with their own proprietary headphone jack. I certainly hope not... Just another adapter/cable to extort more money out of me with no added value...

 

No, with Android the adapter will be free, but it constantly monitors all sounds coming in and out of your phone for Google to analyze.

 

Stoned sheep? Baar out, Man!

 

Google is definitely an advertising engine, and sometimes that can be annoying... At least they utilize standards largely that support interoperability (hardware or software). For instance, I can at least take my FLAC files and play them on my computers, AV Receiver, Bluray players, and etc. Some of those devices do not even know what ALAC is.

 

There's a push and pull with these things. I agree that Google is very good at being open on standards like FLAC and OTG and such on Android. No question. But Apple's insistence on doing things their way has also sometimes led the industry in new directions, like their refusal to use flash in mobile Safari. I had a 1st gen iPhone, and I remember how frustrating it was to have a fully working mobile browser at my fingertips that showed me blank pages anytime a site used flash. When Android came out, one of the big selling points among tech people was that it allowed flash (Google being nice and open with the standards again). And I actually switched to Android for a while. And you know what? Flash on mobile flat out sucked. Frankly, flash sucks in all contexts. Now HTML5 is the standard, which Apple helped cultivate, and it's led to a richer web experience on desktops and mobile alike.

I'm not saying this to praise Apple and bash Google. My comment about adapters was tongue in cheek. Google does some things very well, and I do use some Google services. Apple also does other things very well, and I use some Apple services (and mostly Apple hardware because I like it personally). Microsoft does some things well, and I use those, etc. My plan is to never let all my eggs fall into one basket. First off, that's a great way to let those companies get a completely unfettered profile of you, which I think is dangerous. Second, if that company ever fails for any reason, or begins making decisions I dislike, it's not the end of the world to disengage from them and move to other services.

Anyway, that's tangential. My point is that sometimes it is good to give the industry a push, and Apple is not afraid to push. Google says, "Hey, we created these things, please use them, thanks!" Apple says, "Hey, we created these things, and if you want to play in our playhouse, you have to use them." I completely understand why Apple's approach rubs some people the wrong way. And yes, Apple has failed with many of those standards, but they're always ready to push another one. Actually, a big one they had a hand in but then abdicated licensing on is USB-C. Yeah, it's basically an Apple invention. Their name isn't on it, but their fingerprints are all over it, in design, in implementation, and in the word on tech street. That one they felt was too important to try and keep tied solely to the Apple ecosystem, so they allowed it to be the next iteration of the USB spec, and now there are several Android phones using it. Ironically, Apple hasn't adopted it for the iPhone yet.

None of these tech companies are our friends. We use the ones that make the most sense for our lives. I used to be a hardcore Apple evangelist, then I used Android and felt iOS was so deficient, and I switched sides and spread the Android gospel. Then both companies kept developing those OSes, and I ended up again preferring what Apple was doing. But by then I realized there was no point in trying to defend these companies like they're doing us any favors. They're both making money off of us, they just have different methods of doing it. I prefer Apple's methods...for now. That could easily change in the future, and I'm always checking out what their competitors are doing. There are certain types of products where that sort of thing may not be necessary, but computers and smartphones have become so essential to the way many of us work and make a living that I think it's always good to be aware of what the other options are.

 

You definitely have some good points, but Apple just rubs me the wrong way too much because of all the proprietary technologies and forcing users to use their ecosystem only. I'm a big advocate of open standards, and I agree that Google isn't always our friend either. For instance, they use to support the open document format, then they went to only Google Docs. Basically forcing their own ecosystem... Only recently have they started to support open document format files in Google Drive and etc. This is only one example, and there are others like Google+. Bottom line, I agree that many tech companies are trying to carve out their niche, and that isn't always easy. Sometimes companies go to far to lock their customers into their family of products, and that is where Apple takes it way too far for me to ever consider their products.

 

We all draw the line somewhere. It's different for each of us.

 

http://www.apple.com/welcome-beats/

 

For me I always used the iPod for music, not my smartphone. I presume that from a music standpoint the removal of the 3.5mm jack shouldn't change that much for audiophiles since I always read about them complaining about it as an inferior source and attach their own amp/DAC anyway with rubber bands, like the Oppo HA-2 or something from ALO audio.

The jack is really important for me for phone calls however. Fidelity isn't too important in that case so I can live with whatever they decide to package with the new iPhone. Plus I highly doubt they would make some sort of adapter available for us anyway.

 

As already mentioned they still need an onboard DAC to drive the speaker. How is the phone going to ring with no DAC?

I'm guessing they will switch to digital only output using usb-c or lightning. You will need to buy a little dongle for regular headphones.

Gutsy move but it's fine with me if it paves the way for any digital bit depth/sample rate output as a standard feature and drives innovation in software that uses and iPhone/iPad as a source.