For those of you living under a rock, it is virtually certain that the iPhone 7, due to be announced next week, will only have a single Lightning port at its bottom and will come with a pair of earbuds that end in a Lighting connector instead of a traditional 3.5mm plug. Brace yourself, but it’ll be OK.
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WHAT’S WRONG WITH THE HEADPHONE JACK?
It’s impossible to know exactly what the designers at Apple are thinking with their decision to hill the headphone jack, but you can get an idea of what they’re going for: thinness and simplicity, though perhaps both to a fault.
A headphone jack might not seem like much on the outside, but inside an actual phone it takes up a fair amount of space. Not only does the port have to be thick enough to accommodate the plug with no room for thinning down, but it also has to be as deep as the plug is long, with a block electronics around the plug dedicated to dealing with it. As this X-ray shot from iFixit’s iPhone 6s teardown shows, the headphone jack takes up as much space as the Lightning port and Home button combined!
If that’s your only option, then it’s a necessary evil, but it turns out that Apple’s Lightning Port (as well as its Android equivalent, USB Type-C) can do all all the same work. Plus it’s already got other jobs like functioning as a charging port and data connection, so it needs to be there. The headphone jack, not so much. Getting rid of it will not only let future iPhones get thinner (not like they really need to be) but also open up that precious space for other guts that do a unique job instead of a redundant one.
The iPhone will also be simpler. With the headphone jack gone, there will only be one place to plug everything in. Nobody was really getting confused or overwhelmed what with two whole jacks(!) but removing one will eliminate one of the few parts of the phone susceptible to physical wear and tear. The other big one, the Home Button, is rumored to be on the chopping block too.
Last (and maybe least), one less port should make the phone much easier to waterproof because there are less holes for water to get in. Apple’s already been quietly dabbling in water resistance. Other waterproof phones like Samsung’s latest Galaxies claim to be waterproof even with a headphone jack, but they can wind up having a little trouble.
But none of that can counteract the brutal reality iPhone owners are about to face: Not having a headphone jack is going to be a pain in the ass. The inconveniences include, but are not limited to:
- Not being able to charge and have headphones plugged in at the same time.
- Not being able to use normal headphones without a dongle.
- Being out of luck if your dongle breaks or gets lost.
- Having to buy Lightning headphones if you don’t want to use a dongle.
- Not being able to use your Lightning headphones anywhere other than your iPhone.
Yes, it’s going to be annoying. Here’s what you can do to make it a little less irritating.
BETTER GO BLUETOOTH
If you’ve already got a pair of Bluetooth headphones, they’re about to become way more useful. If you don’t, there’s never been a better time to grab a pair; even without the coming headphone jack-pocolypse Bluetooth headphones can be incredibly handy.
If you exercise, you haven’t known true freedom until you have listened to music without a wire running to your pocket or arm. Have you ever caught the cable of your headphones on a doorknob and had them yanked out of your earholes? Bluetooth headphones will save you from that horror. Perhaps best of all, Bluetooth headphones let you listen to music or podcasts on headphones without being particularly close to your phone. I don’t know how I lived before I could do dishes, listen to a podcast, and charge my phone on the other side of the room all at once.
Bluetooth headphones used to be bulky and expensive, but they’re not (necessarily) anymore. You can get a good pair of over-the-ear Bluetooth headphones like the Jabra Movefor around $70. If you’re a stickler for quality and willing to pay for it, there are plenty of more expensive but better-sounding options like the $350 Bose QuietComfort 35.
If you prefer in-ear buds—which are a little subtler and better for working out—there are a wealth of options there too. I have a pair of Jabra Coach earbuds that I couldn’t live without, and there are much cheaper options as well, like these $20 SoundPEATS. Though when it comes to Bluetooth headphones, you can justify a little bit of a splurge. Without a plug that’s constantly bending and eventually shorts out, Bluetooth headphones are practically immortal.
Just don’t splurge on those totally wireless ones that look like two earplugs and come in a little case. You will lose one eventually, especially because there’s no good way to hang them around your neck when they’re not in your ears.
BE NICE TO YOUR BACK-UP ‘BUDS
The obvious problem with Bluetooth headphones is that they will run out of battery, inevitably at the worst time. Fortunately, the new iPhone is pretty much guaranteed to come with Apple’s traditional “EarPods” but in Lightning connector form. You’re going to want to keep these in your backpack or purse because otherwise you might actually be stuck alone with your thoughts for a bit when your Bluetooth headphones run out of charge.
Be sure to treat these with extra love and care; if they break, you’ll be stuck either paying for another pair of special headphones that only work with your iPhone, or buying an annoying dongle that turns old 3.5mm plugs into Lightning plugs. If you’re in love with a set of wired headphones you already have, it might be worth it to pick up an adapter, but brace yourself:Apple’s adapters aren’t known for being cheap. And dongles are just annoying in general. If you can get away without buying one, you should.
Apple is very excited about the wireless future, which is why its new Macbook hardly has any ports either. It’s a little bit irritating in the meantime, where we are all used to our wired earbuds that never have to charge and other cabled devices that will never randomly drop a connection. But if you like using an iPhone, you’ve got no choice but to come along for the ride. It might be a little annoying, but you’ll be fine.
If you exercise, you haven’t known true freedom until you have listened to music without a wire running to your pocket or arm. Have you ever caught the cable of your headphones on a doorknob and had them yanked out of your earholes? Bluetooth headphones will save you from that horror. Perhaps best of all, Bluetooth headphones let you listen to music or podcasts on headphones without being particularly close to your phone. I don’t know how I lived before I could do dishes, listen to a podcast, and charge my phone on the other side of the room all at once.
Bluetooth headphones used to be bulky and expensive, but they’re not (necessarily) anymore. You can get a good pair of over-the-ear Bluetooth headphones like the Jabra Movefor around $70. If you’re a stickler for quality and willing to pay for it, there are plenty of more expensive but better-sounding options like the $350 Bose QuietComfort 35.
If you prefer in-ear buds—which are a little subtler and better for working out—there are a wealth of options there too. I have a pair of Jabra Coach earbuds that I couldn’t live without, and there are much cheaper options as well, like these $20 SoundPEATS. Though when it comes to Bluetooth headphones, you can justify a little bit of a splurge. Without a plug that’s constantly bending and eventually shorts out, Bluetooth headphones are practically immortal.
Just don’t splurge on those totally wireless ones that look like two earplugs and come in a little case. You will lose one eventually, especially because there’s no good way to hang them around your neck when they’re not in your ears.
BE NICE TO YOUR BACK-UP ‘BUDS
The obvious problem with Bluetooth headphones is that they will run out of battery, inevitably at the worst time. Fortunately, the new iPhone is pretty much guaranteed to come with Apple’s traditional “EarPods” but in Lightning connector form. You’re going to want to keep these in your backpack or purse because otherwise you might actually be stuck alone with your thoughts for a bit when your Bluetooth headphones run out of charge.
Be sure to treat these with extra love and care; if they break, you’ll be stuck either paying for another pair of special headphones that only work with your iPhone, or buying an annoying dongle that turns old 3.5mm plugs into Lightning plugs. If you’re in love with a set of wired headphones you already have, it might be worth it to pick up an adapter, but brace yourself:Apple’s adapters aren’t known for being cheap. And dongles are just annoying in general. If you can get away without buying one, you should.
Apple is very excited about the wireless future, which is why its new Macbook hardly has any ports either. It’s a little bit irritating in the meantime, where we are all used to our wired earbuds that never have to charge and other cabled devices that will never randomly drop a connection. But if you like using an iPhone, you’ve got no choice but to come along for the ride. It might be a little annoying, but you’ll be fine.
[Source:-PC]
