Apple’s suicide-pact with the headphone jack
“Don’t it always seem to go, That you don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone, They paved the headphone jack and put up a Lightning port.”
“Don’t it always seem to go,
That you don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone,
They paved the headphone jack and put up a Lightning port.”
Wow, Counting Crows predicted it! Wired headphones have served us too well, and we won’t know what we had until the 3.5" jack is killed with the iPhone 7. At least, according to the Wall Street Journal:
And look, I know this happens all the time. “Oh Apple killed the floppy disc. Apple killed the CD drive. Apple killed Ethernet. Apple is going to kill the USB port.”
The difference, honestly, is that Apple usually sets people up for these kinds of situations. Piracy and iTunes were already kind of booming in the movie and music worlds when Apple killed the CD/DVD drive. Wi-Fi is good. I haven’t used a thumb-drive in forever, so why would the new MacBook need a USB port. The one thing I need USB for, which is some dumb MIDI controller, still works via USB-C too, via an adaptor.
Apple sets people up for big changes. They present better alternatives, even if they are more expensive. In the case of the MacBook that means a USB dongle, but it isn’t a big deal.
But Lightning and Bluetooth headphones aren’t better than the 3.5" audio jack. They don’t provide a better experience. They don’t sound better. They don’t last any longer. They’re just changes that cost people money with no gain.
Bluetooth headphones have been a thing forever. But people don’t use them. Why? Because they suck. Just last week I was using some Sony cans in Bluetooth mode and after an hour they just started freaking out over music. Why? Because Bluetooth is a shitty standard. Want to change devices? Pair and un-pair first. Want to go for a run with just your Apple Watch? Well, you’d better be ready with your headphones. Are they charged? Is your phone charged? Is your Apple Watch charged? Great, let’s run. Oh wait the sun’s already set, sorry.
And Lightning, oh Lightning. Apple added USB-C to the MacBook 2 years ago and that’s still the only Apple device that has that port. Apple doesn’t know how to switch standards anymore. They use Lightning on iOS, USB-C and USB on the Mac, and Bluetooth on the Apple Watch. Now they’re going to introduce headphones that won’t work across my Mac, Apple Watch and Apple phone. It doesn’t make sense.
I’m not saying Apple doesn’t have the ability to pull this one off with the iPhone. They already ship headphones with the iPhone. They can switch the default EarPods for Lightning EarPods and everyone will call it a day. They’ll charge $60 for a dongle. John Gruber will say it’s a great idea. Tim Cook will call it innovative. Wired will run a story claiming it’s the future and that Code is dead…again!
The sad thing is that Android manufacturers will probably follow in Apple’s footsteps, and they’ll let Apple win.
But for a company that just shipped a shitty music service, how is this doing anybody any favours?
Instead all it will do is make the iPhone thinner than it needs to be, while putting one of its main functions, music, in the background.
It’s already insane how fucking aggressive the iPhone’s size is. The thing dies under the strain of low reception. If you don’t live in the city, or if you need to catch public transport you already basically should buy a Smart Battery Case, because the iPhone’s battery is useless.
But of course, why would Apple improve upon something that people want when they can kill something people know and need. They’re just doing it because they can, and because they know idiots like LG and Samsung will follow them blindly.
Edit: lol Gruber has already backed Apple:
Headphone Jacks Are the New Floppy Drives
“in five years we’ll look at analog headphone jacks the way we look at all the other legacy ports we’ve abandoned.”
