Apple Jan. 27 launch event... what will it be?

[Color Me Badd Fan]

Nope... don't want to lug around wires either.

Ted, it's a cash grab, no more, no less. It's not about utility.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Nope... don't want to lug around wires either.

You are aware than an audio jack does not preclude using bluetooth, right?

[Uncle Ted]

Ted, it's a cash grab, no more, no less. It's not about utility.

No, it's about "courage"... although I wouldn't complain it causes an up tick in the stock price.

[Uncle Ted]

You are aware than an audio jack does not preclude using bluetooth, right?

I was talking about the extra two hours of battery life and the need for a charger.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I was talking about the extra two hours of battery life and the need for a charger.

Good news: Two extra hours of battery life.
Bad news: If you want to use wireless earbuds you will need to keep them charged. If you use wired earbuds, you will need buy some kind of stupid dongle to be able to charge and listen at the same time. Oh boy.

[Uncle Ted]

Good news: Two extra hours of battery life.
Bad news: If you want to use wireless earbuds you will need to keep them charged. If you use wired earbuds, you will need buy some kind of stupid dongle to be able to charge and listen at the same time. Oh boy.

That nice little carrying case for the airpods earbuds keeps them charged. As for charging and listening (wired)... Who says the charger won't have the solution integrated?

[Jeff Lebowski]

That nice little carrying case for the airpods earbuds keeps them charged. As for charging and listening (wired)... Who says the charger won't have the solution integrated?

You mean the $150 airpods? The goofy looking ones that only fit certain kinds of ears? Don't make me laugh.

And that carrying case needs to stay charged.

[Uncle Ted]

Further proof that the author of this article has 99% bone in his head... The guy is holding an USB hub! Lightning devices can be daisy-chains like Firewire. No hub needed. USB will die and Lightning will be the future.

Also, so if this guy is really serious about getting rid of all these hubs and adaptors then he should have purchased the Macbook Pro instead of the Macbook. Of course, I assume he loves the size and battery life of those little MacBooks. Bonehead.

[Uncle Ted]

You mean the $150 airpods? The goofy looking ones that only fit certain kinds of ears? Don't make me laugh.

And that carrying case needs to stay charged.

Only apple can make wireless earbuds?

How you will stop worrying and love the lightning port...

Headphones plugged into a Lightning connector can also produce better sound than ones that are plugged into a headphone jack.


Earlier this summer, our sister site the Verge reviewed an $800 pair of Lightning headphones and raved about their superior sound quality. The basic issue is that the quality of the sound generated by headphones is driven by electronics that convert a digital music file into electric signals that drive the speakers. The iPhone’s headphone jack is driven by electronic circuitry inside the iPhone, and weight, size, and power constraints mean that this circuitry is necessarily mediocre.


Shifting headphones to the digital Lightning port allows most of this circuitry to move into the headphones themselves. That gives headphone designers more freedom to use high-quality audio chips that might be larger, more expensive, and consume more power. Users who care about audio quality can pay a bit more for a higher-quality sound.


Of course, we shouldn’t expect the Lightning earbuds Apple bundles with the iPhone to sound as good as $800 headphones. And in practice, your average iPhone user might not be enough of an audiophile to tell the difference. But Apple portrays the end of the headphone jack as a bold step into a new future of superior audio quality.


Moving the audio circuitry into the headphones could allow other kinds of innovations too. For example, some high-end headphones have noise-cancelling capabilities; they often have built-in batteries to power the noise-cancelling circuitry. But because the Lightning connector can supply more power to headphones, noise-cancelling Lightning headphones can operate without a separate battery, potentially making them smaller, cheaper, and lighter. In the long run, noise-cancelling capabilities could become a standard feature of mid-range iPhone headphones.

Of course, you might object that iPhones already had Lightning connectors. Third parties are already free to make Lightning-based headphones — several already do — and customers are free to buy them. But as with the iMac two decades ago, taking away options can be a crucial spur to creativity. In a stroke, Apple is massively increasing the demand for Lightning-based headphones, which means that other companies will spend a lot more developing products to meet that demand.

http://www.vox.com/2016/9/7/12822516...ne-7-headphone

[Moliere]

There's no doubt that at some point in the near future the headphone jack was going away. It just was. Apple has the lead here because of the lightning port, which UT correctly points out is more advanced than the micro USB or 3.5mm jack. I just wish Apple would have had a transition period where they started making the AirPods (which will never stay in my ears...at least they won't if they are the same style as the current Apple wired earphones) and lightning connecting earphones but still had both ports in the phone. Then maybe with the iPhone 8 they took away the headphone jack.

I do wonder if sales will take a hit. I'm guessing they will....but I'm not selling my Apple stock just yet.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Only apple can make wireless earbuds?

How you will stop worrying and love the lightning port...


http://www.vox.com/2016/9/7/12822516...ne-7-headphone

That is a hilarious example of fanboy spin. Thank you.

[Shaka]

That is a hilarious example of fanboy spin. Thank you.

Yeah that one is really dumb. Putting DAC (digital to analog converters) in earbuds isn't going to lead to better sound because they will use the same or similar DAC that's already inside the phone because of size limitations. A regular headphone will give you more space for a high quality DAC but with higher quality comes much higher power draw which either means less useful battery life or heavier and less comfortable headphones.

Seriously, it wasn't broke and really didn't need fixing.

[Uncle Ted]

Yeah that one is really dumb. Putting DAC (digital to analog converters) in earbuds isn't going to lead to better sound because they will use the same or similar DAC that's already inside the phone because of size limitations. A regular headphone will give you more space for a high quality DAC but with higher quality comes much higher power draw which either means less useful battery life or heavier and less comfortable headphones.

Seriously, it wasn't broke and really didn't need fixing.

I see folks spending lots of money on heavier and less comfortable analog headphone all the time. What they don't understand is they are using a medium grade DAC that is integrated in the phone. Also, that analog jack and the wire up to the ears is subject to more electrical noise that requires thicker and/or shielded wires to reduce. With an analog signal you can't correct for noise. (Remember "snow" on the old analog TVs?) Digital signals have error correction and, therefore, you can use smaller wires knowing that you can correct for most noise. There are lots of advantages putting the DAC outside the phone.

[Northwestcoug]

I can't remember if Apple gave a solid reason why the jack is out. What is taking up the old space now?

[Moliere]

I can't remember if Apple gave a solid reason why the jack is out. What is taking up the old space now?

Courage???


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