Apple Defends Decision To Remove 3.5mm Headphone Jack, Cites “Courage”

[Deleted member 108676]

The only reason I'm upset about losing the ear bud jack is because the Android people won't shut the fuck up about it. I wish Android would have done it first so we could see them bitch and cry about "how come apple doesn't do this?"

Who gives a shit what people spend their money on? If you don't like it, don't fucking buy it. Android sucks shit. I have an Android Turbo for work and I hate the piece of shit. Its slow, idiotic, and has worse battery life among many other drawback, yet people bitch about apple ditching a headphone jack...lol

Congratulations Android people, you're the new iphone people of 2007-2009.

I don't hate apple, I hate corporate decisions that are exclusively designed to cost the consumer more money.

If you think Apple is the only company, or even phone making company, that does this I have a bridge to sell you at a LOW LOW LOW price!!!

 

[Gorankar]

When does Apple ever actually do something first? Some of the Android using phone makers have remove it at various times. They got slammed over it, and their next models brought the jack right back.

 

[Quix]

Defending Apple removing the headphone jack is silly. The phone isn't any thinner, water-resistant headphone jacks exist and previous iPhones support Bluetooth headphones. All they're doing is dropping off a standard port to force you into buying new headphones, preferably from them and locking users in to their totally pointless proprietary lighting port. Lightning, is objectively pointless because USB-C is similar in size but much more robust and durable, and allows for greater transfer speeds than lightning.

If you like iPhones, that's fine and I can understand why you would. Claiming Apple taking away a feature and calling that a feature is good, is silly. The only two reasonable positions are "I don't care, I don't want to use it anyway" or "This sucks".

 

[big_aug]

All this back and forth is hilarious. If it is a big deal to consumers, they won't buy it. If it isn't, they will buy it. Apple has no magic dust that makes people buy their products. People want what Apple makes and they buy it. When they don't, they wont.

Many of you are making statements that make it seem like the poor, helpless consumers have no choice but to buy an iPhone and suck it up whether they like it or not. It doesn't work that way. People buy it because they want it. The headphone jack may or may not be important to the majority of consumers. We'll find out.

No one needs to "defend" Apple. It's a design choice and nothing more. Their sales will defend them. Or maybe not.

 

[nysmo]

Defending Apple removing the headphone jack is silly. The phone isn't any thinner, water-resistant headphone jacks exist and previous iPhones support Bluetooth headphones. All they're doing is dropping off a standard port to force you into buying new headphones, preferably from them and locking users in to their totally pointless proprietary lighting port. Lightning, is objectively pointless because USB-C is similar in size but much more robust and durable, and allows for greater transfer speeds than lightning.

If you like iPhones, that's fine and I can understand why you would. Claiming Apple taking away a feature and calling that a feature is good, is silly. The only two reasonable positions are "I don't care, I don't want to use it anyway" or "This sucks".

Lightning came out well before USB-C. In fact when it did come out I dont think USB-C was anything more than some early specs on paper that nobody knew for sure would make it out or not. Apple invested in their own hispeed micro port charging/transfer technology utilizing a reversible plug and they arent about to just ditch it because USB finally caught up.

I think a large part of apple removing the phono plug was just to train users into adopting a more elegant phone setup using more wireless devices. They want to look cutting edge and sleek, not like some nerdy swiss army knife of devices that maintains backwards compatibility with everything just because it can. They want people to walk into a store, buy an iphone and buy the kind of accessories that compliment it, not the kind that are old, cheap, and just so happen to still function.

 

[pcgeekesq]

Apple is giving you everything you need.... Just buy ...

You just write ad copy for them.

 

[Gavv]

Either buy it or don't

If the phone is that important to you find one that works for you.

If Apple wants to release a model without a headphone jack that's their business. If you want to buy it.... Loosen your wallet and fork over the cash.

Complain about them being greedy, not necessary, not what the customer wants, etc. doesn't matter. Everything's about money in the long run.

So back to the first sentence

 

[Sonicks]

Being a big audio buff and somewhat of an audiophile, I take serious issue with their statement about wireless audio being the future.

Unless their W1 chip can completely outclass Bluetooth 100x over, it's just another money grab for Apple.

I hope they fix the shitty wireless on the 7 too. If my 6S is held the "wrong way" my Bluetooth devices usually loose connectivity and produce choppy audio. Not good when I'm cycling and have the phone in my back pocket.

 

[Deleted member 245375]

we're not talking about wireless audio, we are talking specifically about wireless earbuds that sound good.

You might want to go back and re-read the thread for content then because we actually are talking about using wireless technologies for audio purposes. Audio playback quality and 'it sounds good' are 100% subjective things - what sounds good to you more than likely sounds like fingernails on a blackboard to me.

 

[CAxVIPER]

I must be the only one that sees no issue with this. Everyone keeps saying it is so they can force you to buy apple products. All Bluetooth earbuds will work it isn't like apple is locking you into their products. Also more companies will start offering headphones and ear buds with the lightning connector. Lastly if you don't like it don't buy it. Everyone likes to complain about companies moving forward when it isn't exactly what they wanted. I suppose we should have never moved to away from VGA to HDMI/DP right?

 

[Fifth Horseman]

Full disclosure: I've never owned an iPhone for personal use in my entire life. I have to carry an iPhone 6 for work, but I've owned nothing but iPods, various Android, PalmOS, and even a Windows CE phone. I literally hate the iPhone compared to Android, mainly because of how shitty it is to support it where I work, their walled garden approach, the crappy integration with third party apps like keyboards, and the lack of removable storage to name a few things, but that's a whole other story .

With that said, I actually have to side with Apple on this one.

I've been using Bluetooth headphones for a few years now with my phones and even my iPods. I stopped using wired earbuds after damaging the headphone jack on one of my old cellphones by ripping out the cord accidentally while at the gym. The only time in recent memory that I can think of where I've used a wired headset with a phone was earlier this year on a business trip. I had to take a flight to Dallas and I used a closed headset to help cut out the noise in the airplane.

Ironically I had to use an adapter to make it work with my phone too. I have a Galaxy 7 Edge with a Mophie Juicepack and I had to use the extender included with the Mophie to be able to plug in the headset. Since I was sitting the whole time I wasn't too concerned about accidentally ripping out the cord from flailing around.

I haven't used it since then and probably never will again. For everyday use I either use my Jaybird Freedom earbuds, I'm plugging my phone into my truck VIA the micro usb port (Android Auto), and/or using Bluetooth to connect to my truck's stereo.

Let's be realistic here; the people bitching about the removal of the jack are either just jumping onto the Apple hate bandwagon not for any legit reason other than they like to hate on something, are stuck in the past because they won't buy a decent Bluetooth headset, have a significant investment in older tech, or they haven't seen the inside of a gym (or worked out) in their entire lives and can't wrap their heads around why corded headsets suck in that environment ( ). Anyone working out isn't going to be charging their phones at the same time, so if they choose to use the adapter to plug in a wired headset it's not going to be a problem. The only legitimate concern I can see is for those people that have an older vehicle that only has a 3.5mm input for the stereo. Give it time and someone will make a play+charge car adapter though.

Audiophiles have a legit bitch about the quality of the Bluetooth stream though. Yes the fidelity of Bluetooth can suck royally depending on your equipment and the bit rate being used between the devices. Let's be realistic here though. IT"S AN EFFING PHONE THAT'S PLAYING BACK COMPRESSED AUDIO! All the same, my Jaybird Freedom ear buds sound amazing, and when it comes to listening to music in my truck, even through Bluetooth audio I have to really strain to hear the difference between it and the audio stream VIA Android Auto and micro USB.

The only legitimate bitch I can agree with is the earbuds they're hocking. Though I can see how they'd be comfortable to use in a gym, having two independent ear buds is just asking for trouble. I can already see all the ebay listings for a left or right ear bud from people that lost the corresponding ear bud.

As for the headphone jack though... let it die kids. I hope Samsung follows suit eventually.

 

[delita]

Then why are you here exactly? If you don't have a dog in this fight so to speak what was the exact purpose of your comment. Because from this perspective your only reason for commenting was blatant fanboy Apple defending and now you are trying to back peddle now that someone called you out. As someone else mentioned, "I don't use it therefore no one else should" is the same garbage reasoning we shot down around here for years on Win8 Start menu debacle and many other things.

To give you some perspective, whether you care or not, I worked at the genius bar in my early 20's and guess what? I only used android devices throughout my entire tenure with Apple. Mainly because I saw them broken on a daily basis and thought they were not so great at the time. I'mt definitely not an Apple fanboy, and no I don't really have a problem with what they've done with the headphone jack either. It's a corporate decision as you said, probably handed down to help increase revenue through selling these overpriced new headphones or dongles so people can continue to use their legacy headphones. My only advice to those people is, if you are really that pissed...don't buy the phone. But the truth is, and you know this too, it won't matter to Apple. They can pretty much do what they want, and people complaining on a forum instead of offering solutions won't do a damn thing either. I didn't come here to start a fight, I just weighed my own personal opinion. I thought that was allowed.

 

[likeman]

i find the cable annoying and most of them end up blocking surrounding sounds around you (situational awareness lower have to look a lot more)

problem with most bluetooth headsets is battery life and only good ones are above £50-£100

Plantronics seem to make good bluetooth headsets i use the Voyager Legend i get about 5-7 hours of constant playback (only one ear but don't like both ears been blocked any way and its noise cancellation is really very good)

only annoying feature it lacks is a built in Hang up tone when the phone does not bother to send the hang up beep down the bluetooth headset when call ends (does if in hand) which is samsung S5 so i have to look at the phone to see if the call has ended even the vibrate on call end is not long enough

i just ordered a second Plantronics Voyager Legend (with charge case this time) so it can last me the whole day (its only like £10 more for the pack with charge case so gone for that)

i would use motorola but there newer ones just are not as good as older ones and they don't seem to be bothered selling them in the UK

for day to day use bluetooth stereo headsets can work as long as you have 2 of them (charge one when the other one runs out) i not had any problems with quality of bluetooth headsets audio wise

 

[Tsumi]

I'm sure thats what someone said when physical buttons were removed from all over the phone.

False analogy. One is a completely different product change, the other is an update to an existing product. Again, it is like Microsoft removing the Start Menu because they believed people would be better suited for the Start Screen.

Nobody needs an iphone 7.

There is a good reason to do so. It prompts the industry to kick an ancient standard, it starts the wheels turning so things like wireless earbuds become common place and dont cost $160 and sound like shit, it may free up interior space for other features to embed, somewhere it was mentioned that it could impact water proofing, maybe eventually an iphone can be dropped 20 ft below an olympic swimming pool and still be retrieved without damage. If anything it satisfies Apple's insatiable desire to seem clutter free and cutting edge. An old phono jack just screams 20th century. Some people are OCD about such things and apple certainly caters to that crowd with super sleek streamlined designs.

I have a $30 Motorola Buds, and they don't sound like crap. Not the best, but they're at least as good as most $20 wired earbuds I've tried.

Again, Sony has had waterproof 3.5mm jacks since 2013. This has absolutely nothing to do with waterproofing. Apple taking a truly courageous move would be to adopt USB-C and push for USB-C headphones. This is not a "courage" action, this is a "I'm going to screw over the sheep and you're going to like it" action.

 

[Silentbob343]

The only reason I'm upset about losing the ear bud jack is because the Android people won't shut the fuck up about it. I wish Android would have done it first so we could see them bitch and cry about "how come apple doesn't do this?"

Who gives a shit what people spend their money on? If you don't like it, don't fucking buy it. Android sucks shit. I have an Android Turbo for work and I hate the piece of shit. Its slow, idiotic, and has worse battery life among many other drawback, yet people bitch about apple ditching a headphone jack...lol

Congratulations Android people, you're the new iphone people of 2007-2009.


If you think Apple is the only company, or even phone making company, that does this I have a bridge to sell you at a LOW LOW LOW price!!!

Android phones did do it first and people have bitched...it has been mentioned several time in this very thread.

 

[arthur_tuxedo]

but you shouldn't have to spend money to make your new device look like shit by needing dongles for stuff that was built in before. Imagine spending $2000 on a high end gaming computer but in order to use HDMI output you needed to connect a device 3 times the size of the computer to convert the video card maker's new standard that nobody else can support over to HDMI.

if spending that type of money on an item I expect to be able to get at the very least the same level of use from it unless there was a valid reason to drop something due to it being old. There is no reason to get rid of a headphone jack however just yet as many people still use it. That is different than the move away from PS2 devices to USB.

something else you are over looking is not just headphones but devices that plug into headphone jacks. Anyone that uses a card reader on their phones for PayPal, square or any other popular service was given a device that plugs into your headphone jack. With this change these devices that people use to process credit cards at booths at events or food trucks suddenly can no longer use the device without some dongle (assuming it would still work through that) which is going to mean that the device would be harder to use.

But there was a reason. The deletion of the jack freed up enough space to add stereo sound, something I suspect will be more appreciated than dongle-free headphone compatibility for most people. Anyone who can afford to buy a new smartphone can afford a dongle. Yes it's a slight additional PITA but standards change over time and you can't expect devices whose highest priority is cramming functionality into tiny spaces to hang onto legacy ports when it's not strictly necessary. I do own exactly one decent pair of headphones myself and they are 3.5mm, so I have as much reason to complain as anyone but I'm having trouble seeing the justification for this much outrage.

 

[Aireoth]

I often wonder if this generation realizes how facist they sound online? Ie pretty much any of the comments about cords in this thread.

There are legitimate problems with battery powered headphones, long term health concerns with continued exposure to specific wavelengths of radiation, potential battery failure, maintaining adequate charge, not losing them when they fall out. Great, you like it wonderful, but it is not for everyone, you defend it like it is, and if it isn't for "you" then you must be a techonological neaderthal, sitting at xyz with cords showing... Geez.

 

[Deleted whining member 223597]

I often wonder if this generation realizes how facist they sound online? Ie pretty much any of the comments about cords in this thread.

There are legitimate problems with battery powered headphones, long term health concerns with continued exposure to specific wavelengths of radiation, potential battery failure, maintaining adequate charge, not losing them when they fall out. Great, you like it wonderful, but it is not for everyone, you defend it like it is, and if it isn't for "you" then you must be a techonological neaderthal, sitting at xyz with cords showing... Geez.

Oh noes the radiation is coming for you and the children!!!! NOT THE CHILDREN! Seriously most who are defending it are saying "don't like it, don't buy it". That's the camp I'm in. I have no issues with those who are against this change, but I personally don't give a shit and it won't affect my purchasing decision.

 

[Liver]

Either buy it or don't

If the phone is that important to you find one that works for you.

If Apple wants to release a model without a headphone jack that's their business. If you want to buy it.... Loosen your wallet and fork over the cash.

Complain about them being greedy, not necessary, not what the customer wants, etc. doesn't matter. Everything's about money in the long run.

So back to the first sentence

So true. So if this bombs and they go back to a headphone jack there are gonna be so many people saying "I told you so." What they won't get is that it's just business. Apple has 231.5 BILLION in CASH, so I'm sure they are good at it.

I've bought several cordless headphones and have kept three. One disposable for the gym, another semi disposable for work around the house and nice pair for watching movies. I haven't used the headphone jack in years. If it stays or goes, doesn't bother me.

 

[Tsumi]

But there was a reason. The deletion of the jack freed up enough space to add stereo sound, something I suspect will be more appreciated than dongle-free headphone compatibility for most people. Anyone who can afford to buy a new smartphone can afford a dongle. Yes it's a slight additional PITA but standards change over time and you can't expect devices whose highest priority is cramming functionality into tiny spaces to hang onto legacy ports when it's not strictly necessary. I do own exactly one decent pair of headphones myself and they are 3.5mm, so I have as much reason to complain as anyone but I'm having trouble seeing the justification for this much outrage.

Sony and HTC have had stereo phones for years, and they didn't have to remove the headphone jack to work that in.

I (and a lot of other people I'm sure) hate having dongles and adapters, because they're just one more thing to lose. Rather than eliminating the "legacy" port first, why not make sure there are plenty of Lightning-based headphone choices and time for them to proliferate before elimintating it? There has also been no mention on how to charge and listen to music at the same time, and the included dongle certainly doesn't allow for that.

 

[mope54]

As a former head-fier if you cannot connect a fricking Koss Porta Pro, that has been a baseline for quality portable headphones for decades, your device is a fucking failure.

Do you not understand the announcement? There's nothing preventing you from connecting a Koss Porta Pro to an iPhone 7.

You could *gasp* even have smart circuits that will charge from either port so you have a much lower chance of having your ONLY STUPID PORT break and be completely screwed while you get your phone replaced.

One of the worst design decisions of the cheap tablets was the whole single port thing. With phones now pretty much being small tablets that make phone calls they suffer the same issue. A single catastrophic point of failure and also the complete inability to PLUG SOMETHING THE HELL IN when wireless just isn't happening for whatever reason.

Have you even looked inside a lightning port? Why would you think it would break? It's a socket, not like a USB-C (for all the championing of USB-C it's funny the people arguing for it don't have a very good idea of the differences between the two) and you certainly can't compare it to whatever craptastic cheap Android tablet you have in mind.

 

[mope54]

There has also been no mention on how to charge and listen to music at the same time, and the included dongle certainly doesn't allow for that.

I know this is difficult for Android people to understand, but iPhones don't need to be charged constantly to use them all day.

 

[MrSteel74]

I know this is difficult for Android people to understand, but iPhones don't need to be charged constantly to use them all day.

Um my Note 3 would last for about 40 hours on a single charge with normal everyday use if I pushed it hard and streamed movies or music all day I could easily get a solid 14 hours out of it before it dropped below 10%.

 

[Tsumi]

I know this is difficult for Android people to understand, but iPhones don't need to be charged constantly to use them all day.

I know this is difficult for Apple sheeple to understand, but there are situations where you will want to charge the phone and listen to music at the same time. Just because you have never encountered that situation doesn't mean others won't.

 

[raz-0]

It's a single use port eh?

Tell that to my square card reader (or pick your payment card reader of choice), my trigger trap cord, and my headphones with and without phone controls.

Ont he market is also a thermometer, a geiger counter, a laser pointer, and IR thermometer.

It's hardly single use, and I wonder how many of them will work with the dongle.

 

[Gavv]

I know this is difficult for Apple sheeple to understand, but there are situations where you will want to charge the phone and listen to music at the same time. Just because you have never encountered that situation doesn't mean others won't.

I have and while it is an inconvenience it just changes how you manage things.

Not a big deal.

 

[mope54]

Um my Note 3 would last for about 40 hours on a single charge with normal everyday use if I pushed it hard and streamed movies or music all day I could easily get a solid 14 hours out of it before it dropped below 10%.

Yes, I'm aware that some Android phones have good battery life. With that kind of battery life, the times you would need to charge your phone and listen to music at the same time would be sometime approximating never. My post was for the Android users who continue to piss all over themselves due to this non-issue like the guy who posted right after you did.

 

[Terpfen]

Apple doesn't need to defend anything. It was well past time to cut this particular cable. They provided an adapter for legacy compatibility. Bluetooth headphones have been available for years. There's nothing to apologize for, and in fact, I'm surprised it's taken this long to eliminate the 3.5mm headphone jack from mobile devices.

Looking forward to Samsung completely ripping off this design move in six months, and many of the same people here complaining about Apple doing this praising Samsung for doing it.

 

[Deleted member 245375]

I can just see it now...

First, the owner misplaces the factory earbuds because they don't use them in favor of using some other headphones/earbuds/IEMs so they get lost from lack of use (could have just left them in the damned box I suppose but then again people get rid of the box more often than not)

Second, the owner breaks or misplaces one or even both of the EarPods they bought to make use of wireless audio (or some other Bluetooth-enabled/powered headphones/earbuds/IEMs)

Third, the owner loses the headphone adapter because it's very small and will more than likely get lost (so there goes the analog potential till it's replaced)

But but but... it's got stereo speakers, one at the top and one at the bottom...

Yeah, I can actually see that happening with an alarming level of frequency.

 

[Terpfen]

I can just see it now...

First, the owner misplaces the factory earbuds because they don't use them in favor of using some other headphones/earbuds/IEMs so they get lost from lack of use (could have just left them in the damned box I suppose but then again people get rid of the box more often than not)

Second, the owner breaks or misplaces one or even both of the EarPods they bought to make use of wireless audio (or some other Bluetooth-enabled/powered headphones/earbuds/IEMs)

Third, the owner loses the headphone adapter because it's very small and will more than likely get lost (so there goes the analog potential till it's replaced)

But but but... it's got stereo speakers, one at the top and one at the bottom...

Yeah, I can actually see that happening with an alarming level of frequency.

So, in other words, the same things that have already happened for years in other Bluetooth earbuds and headsets? What exactly is different or special about Apple now selling wireless earbuds and headsets?

Or is this an implicit admission that Apple is the market leader and nothing any other competitor does really, truly matters at the ground level?

 

[thesmokingman]

This reminds of that time Floyd Mayweather was caught with an IV in his arm and his fans defended him for it. He was next to death, he had to have that illegal instant banned IV to save him!!!

 

[Deleted member 245375]

Or is this an implicit admission that Apple is the market leader and nothing any other competitor does really, truly matters at the ground level?

Since I don't buy Apple smartphones I wouldn't consider them to be the market leader (maybe in terms of sheer profit, sure, but that's because of that 40%+ profit margin they maintain above and beyond anything else).

As for the ground level, go right ahead and drop an iPhone and you'll figure it out pretty quick.

 

[Tsumi]

Yes, I'm aware that some Android phones have good battery life. With that kind of battery life, the times you would need to charge your phone and listen to music at the same time would be sometime approximating never. My post was for the Android users who continue to piss all over themselves due to this non-issue like the guy who posted right after you did.

No one has yet given a valid, functional reason why it should have been eliminated. Answers have varied from aesthetics to waterproofing (debunked) and stereo speakers (also debunked). Meanwhile, there are functional reasons why it should be kept.

Apple doesn't need to defend anything. It was well past time to cut this particular cable. They provided an adapter for legacy compatibility. Bluetooth headphones have been available for years. There's nothing to apologize for, and in fact, I'm surprised it's taken this long to eliminate the 3.5mm headphone jack from mobile devices.

Looking forward to Samsung completely ripping off this design move in six months, and many of the same people here complaining about Apple doing this praising Samsung for doing it.

Did you even bother to read the thread? No? Okay.

 

[Terpfen]

Since I don't buy Apple smartphones I wouldn't consider them to be the market leader (maybe in terms of sheer profit, sure, but that's because of that 40%+ profit margin they maintain above and beyond anything else).

As for the ground level, go right ahead and drop an iPhone and you'll figure it out pretty quick.

The iPhone is the leading smartphone. The only relatively reasonable competitor is Samsung, which slavishly copies the iPhone as proven in a court of law. So, yes, you're basically implicitly admitting here that problems aren't really problems until they're sufficiently mass market, defined as "sold at Apple.com."

 

[Terpfen]

Did you even bother to read the thread? No? Okay.

So you have a browser extension that automatically filters out page 1 of every forum thread? Good to know.

 

[Trimlock]

The salty'ness continues

So, in other words, the same things that have already happened for years in other Bluetooth earbuds and headsets? What exactly is different or special about Apple now selling wireless earbuds and headsets?

Or is this an implicit admission that Apple is the market leader and nothing any other competitor does really, truly matters at the ground level?

I can't wait to see how these fit in my ears, typically Apple buds don't do well with me so I went with Jaybirds (which blow btw..) and returned those too. If they fit I'll probably buy them, they are priced comparable to other high end BT buds but these come with a wireless charger to boot!

My only concern is losing one, I have little kids and a messy wife. I don't lose stuff but my kids will lose stuff for me all the time lol.

 

[nysmo]

False analogy. One is a completely different product change, the other is an update to an existing product. Again, it is like Microsoft removing the Start Menu because they believed people would be better suited for the Start Screen.



I have a $30 Motorola Buds, and they don't sound like crap. Not the best, but they're at least as good as most $20 wired earbuds I've tried.

Ok fine then, how about when optical disc drives stopped being included in certain laptops. A lot of people threw an uproar over their inability to access those precious cd-roms because ya never know when you might have to burn something or whatever the fuck. I rolled my eyes and cringed just as hard back then. Or when laptops stopped including 5+ usb ports with 3+ video out ports. "omg der taking away our optionz!". It reminded me of the fat guys at work who would bring a backpack every day like a schoolkid filled with all these backup essentials "just in case". They'd have a full change of clothes, bottle of water, external HD, a few USB drives, their laptop from home that they never use at work, etc etc etc. I'd call them out on it and they'd say "dude you never know when you might get caught in a storm at work and need a change of dry clothes, or spill coffee all over your crotch or need 8TB to migrate some data off another guys laptop". Yeah, they never touched that shit once in 5 years, but they put themselves through the inconvenience of having all that extra shit "just in case".

The problem with MS removing the start menu is nearly 100% of their user base depended upon it, so much so that nobody had time to relearn a new system. And it didnt exactly make anything better, it just made it different. It'd be like if car manufactures all suddenly decided to change from round steering wheels to joysticks in the car. It's just too dramatic and there has been no gradual shift into that design yet to prepare people. You cant just have one thing that everyone uses and then the next day take it all away. But the headphone jack is different. We've had a solution to this problem for years and people have been using it. We're finally to a point where it's just flat out not necessary any more except for people too cheap to buy quality headphones.

 

[wizzi01]

The iPhone is the leading smartphone. The only relatively reasonable competitor is Samsung, which slavishly copies the iPhone as proven in a court of law. So, yes, you're basically implicitly admitting here that problems aren't really problems until they're sufficiently mass market, defined as "sold at Apple.com."

You mean the rectangle with round corners patent? The thing apple copied from Star Trek?

 

[Trimlock]

You mean the rectangle with round corners patent? The thing apple copied from Star Trek?

This keeps getting brought up but most don't remember the "skin" that Samsung used, which looked and worked exactly like iOS at the time. The only way Apple could get them to fix it was to utilize multiple patents.

Plus Steve Jobs had a massive fucking agenda against Android and he couldn't do anything about it, that part I loved

 

[MavericK]

If it was Samsung or any other popular Android phone manufacturers that decided to do this, it would be lauded by [H] readers as bold, forward thinking, and technologically progressive. It will show how much Apple has fallen behind technologically. That they are resting on their laurels and daring to call a minor update of iPhone 6 as iPhone 7.

Watch as what I wrote gets quoted selectively.

Others have already pointed it out, but...yeah, this is complete bullshit.

If Samsung / LG / whoever did this, I would actually be more pissed because they have products that I actually buy and enjoy.