Pssst – check the plug
Credit: TechRadar
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Update 25 August 2016
The Woz not impressed – “If it’s missing the 3.5mm earphone jack, that’s going to tick off a lot of people.”
Bluetooth? – “I would not use Bluetooth … I don’t like wireless. I have cars where you can plug in the music, or go through Bluetooth, & Bluetooth just sounds so flat for the same music.” – Steve Wozniak, Co-founder of Apple
More at the Australian Financial Review
http://www.afr.com/technology/mobiles-and-tablets/apple/steve-wozniak-says-apple-must-fix-iphone-7-bluetooth-or-revive-its-headphone-jack-20160821-gqxwsg#ixzz4I6wk11Ub
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In January of this year, a furore was created when a rumour surfaced that Apple would ditch the 3.5mm audio socket in the iPhone 7. Over 200,000 online petitioners asked Apple not to.
Almost 6 months later those rumours persist.
One concern is that an iPhone with only one Lightning port & no 3.5mm socket, will not be able to charge & use headphones at the same time. A likely solution will be adapter(s) with two Lightning sockets &/or Lightning + 3.5mm sockets. Some manufacturer will probably produce an adapter with all of these.
Apple’s Macbook 12" with only 1 USB-C port + 3.5mm has already spawned multiple adapters, including its own USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter (USB-C + HDMI + USB-C) & the Marble mutiport adapter (2 x USB-C + 2 x USB-A + HDMI + Micro SD reader + mains power adapter).
More:
Ditching iPhone headphone jack annoys everyone except Apple
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/ditching-iphone-headphone-jack-annoys-everyone-except-apple-20160627-gptaxb.html
How your current headphones can work with the iPhone 7 even if it ditches the audio jack
https://bgr.com/2016/01/11/iphone-7-headphone-jack-workround-adapter-converter/
iPhone 7 may include EarPods with headphone jack + Lightning to 3.5mm adapter
http://9to5mac.com/2016/06/20/iphone-7-may-include-earpods-w-headphone-jack-lightning-to-3-5mm-adapter/
If Apple does release an iPhone 7 without a 3.5mm socket, & you don’t want to follow suit, it would be a good time to grab one of the iPhone 6 variants. If the 7 is as uninspiring as some are suggesting, this may be an attractive option:
Wait for 8? More evidence iPhone 7 will be a boring upgrade
http://www.techradar.com/au/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/iphone-7-rumors-apple-design-2016-1323759 / iPhone thinner iPhone 7 rumor mill Fast Company design ditch standard 3.5mm headphone jack make phone thinner Japanese website Mac Okatara November Fast Company 9to5 Mac anonymous sources lend extra weight to the claim Apple developing different potential accessories replace ubiquitous 3.5mm EarPods ship iPhone headphones connect via Lightning port spec Apple defined Lightning headphones 2014 charge phone listening to music phone support wireless charging Apple Watch Android Windows phones completely wireless headset Apple Beats acquisition no wire connecting headphones iPhone no wire connecting left and right earbuds together Apple testing replacement headphones solutions market dongle standard headphones dropping headphone jack thinner phone important extra battery space freed up relatively deep headphone jack dumping old technology drive adoption new technology typical Apple behavior ubiquity 3.5mm jack guarantee consumer pushback Internet petition 200,000 people signing Apple dump 3.5 mm jack plug every computer tablet phone buy billions 3.5mm headphones guarantee a painful transition ditching ditch abandon iPhone headphone jack annoys everyone except Apple furore continues Apple doing away with ditch abandon eliminating standard 3.5mm headphone jack plug technology If it ain't broke don't fix it industry changing its products consumers knee-jerk reaction upset about the rumours garment-rending chest-beating these reports last surfaced in January kerfuffle Apple changing charging cable Lightning cord plug socket headphone port industry standard something Apple uses con arguments buy new stuff new headphones new attachment modify old headphones buying a $1000 phone include Lightning-enabled headphones with every phone particularly soulless money grab tighten Apple's control accessory market digital music Nilay Patel these headphones tacitly support DRM digital rights management keeps you from being able to freely move media files between devices get rid of the analogue headphone jack motivation support anything analogue argument anyone making Lightning headphones will require certification from Apple Beats support new standard more control for Apple a bad thing for consumers open standard closed standard leads to confusion and higher costs for consumers add a second Lightning port to the phone Apple wants to make more room inside the phone can't charge your phone have your headphones plugged in at the same time one-port MacBook power port double duty USB-C sound quality can be better over a Lightning port manufacturers headphones lossiness of today's music make the iPhone thinner create more room in the iPhone bigger battery thinner iPhone boost battery official Apple charging case consumers not user-friendly Apple track record weeding out legacy technologies disk drives CD drives old 30-pin charger makes its customers happy Apple's pros cons for Apple change always on their own side /
