[csglinux]

It looks like every rumor is now pointing towards the next generation iPhones ditching the 3.5 mm audio jack socket. Here's my solution to this little dilemma...
 
http://modmyi.com/forums/member-written-iphone-news/849433-how-why-we-should-all-more-device-agnostic.html

 

[Wilson]

Now people are also talking about C type USB  on non-Apple products and no more traditional audio jack.   I am sure there will be many conversion products, but it is just annoying to think about all my headphones at home going through a conversion device.

 

[csglinux]

Apple aren't going to USB C. This is all supposed to be a secret until September, but all the headphone manufacturers that are in bed with Apple's MFi program seem to know what's going on. The 3.5 mm headphone jack is being removed and the only wired port you'll have left will be the Lightning socket. Apple's goal here is to sell $69 adapters, MFi licences or Beats by Dr. Dre Lightning-enabled headphones. Either way, you won't be able to just use small, lightweight IEMs anymore, because you'll need a clunky adapter, or clunky headphones with a built-in DAC/amp.
 
BTW, modmyi.com pulled down my post (above). It was basically a long rant about how to circumvent the loss of the headphone jack on your iPhone. They pulled it down, because my post hinted pretty strongly at moving to an Android device

 

[csglinux]

Since modmyi didn't want to host my rant, I'll reproduce it here

Android gives you a wide choice of devices, so I'm fairly sure you'll have a 3.5 mm jack socket on a premium Android device for a long time to come. Personally, I'm hoping the iPhone 7 crashes and burns!

------

Why we should all be more device agnostic...

[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]For many years I've read comments on modmyi, such as "If Apple kills our jailbreaks or does <insert whatever here>, then I'm switching to Android." Many of us of said it and probably a few did it. Those of us left behind in the jailbreak community have been facing longer waits between jailbreaks, deteriorating software quality from Apple and some bizarre, lackluster, stagnating hardware choices. For some time now, I've been running into an increasing number of issues with Apple. There was the recent iOS 9.3 update that bricked our older iPad. My Retina Macbook Pro was the subject of last month's ethernet port update bug, which left its internet crippled. We have had numerous bugs with our home iMac and Apple TV (connected via Apple's Airport Extreme) which regularly cause the Apple TV to fail to wake our iMac. Nine times out of ten, Siri on our Apple TV remote either doesn't work at all, or fails to recognize what we've said. The recent upgrade to El Capitan bricked our iMac and forced me to spend an entire day re-installing the software from scratch. My iPhone 6s Plus had days where (even with no background apps running) it would get inexplicably hot and experience severe battery drain. Its bluetooth connection (to any BT device) would randomly drop (an issue I also had previously with my iPhone 6). I was never been able to get my 6s Plus to backup automatically to iCloud and it would randomly reboot most nights because of the SystemMemoryReset/JetsamEvent that's been widely reported on reddit. According to Saurik, these random reboots are an inherent Apple issue and nothing to do with the jailbreak, but as we all know, the response of Apple support would be: "update your iOS version" (and, of course, lose your jailbreak). That's always been an issue for us jailbreakers. When my iPhone 4's camera module came loose and stopped working. I had no issues swapping the iPhone out at the Genius bar, but then I lost my jailbreak, along with an ability to customize that I found I was increasingly relying on.

Then there's the issue of where Apple is headed with its business ethics. On August 1st, 2014, Apple acquired Beats headphones - widely regarded as the manufacturer of the worst-sounding, lowest quality, over-priced garbage of any headphone company on the planet. Now, in 2016, all rumors point to Apple omitting the standard 3.5 mm headphone socket in future iPhones. My main hobby is audio, and I own headphones that cost more (and are more valuable to me) than any iPhone I've ever owned - and most of these have 3.5 mm jack plugs on the end of their cables. But let me explain why this 3.5 mm socket removal is a problem, even if you don't care about audio. The suggestions are that the headphone socket is going away in order to make the iPhone thinner - despite the fact that thinner iDevices already exist with the same 3.5 mm socket and that most customers want better battery life, not thinner phones. I believe the primary reason for this change is that Apple stands to make a ton of money selling lightning-equipped headphones (which it will falsely tout as having superior audio quality) and over-priced lightning-to-3.5 mm adapters. These are cynical moves that should leave no doubt that Apple cares far more about shareholder profit now than it does about producing "insanely great" products. Sadly, that era seems to be over.

So why become more device agnostic? In short - choice. Apple wants to lock you into their ecosystem. Apple wants to make it really difficult or impossible for you to ever leave. But some day - even if today is not that day - you might want to exercise that choice. I see many reviewers and writers acknowledging this, but then admitting they're locked in with no easy way out. For example:
[/color]
http://www.zdnet.com/article/stop-p...=nl.e539&s_cid=e539&ttag=e539&ftag=TRE17cfd61[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]

and this reviewer (who's apparently not aware of the alternatives to his Apple watch):
[/color]
http://bgr.com/2016/03/31/galaxy-s7-vs-phone-6s-comparison-almost/[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]

Thankfully, getting rid of those Apple shackles isn't nearly as difficult as you'd think and becoming device agnostic will make you happier and better off in so many ways, even if you stay with iPhone.

Firstly, Android is not the nightmare scenario that's often depicted. Podcasts like "Today in iOS", hosted by the ever-patronizing (and Apple share-holding) Rob Walsh, will regularly tell you that Android is a buggy, fragmented, malware-infested mess. There is a small molehill there, but it's nowhere near the size of Everest or Kilimanjaro as some would have you believe. The truth is, iOS and Android are now incredibly similar. With no prior experience of Android, it took me about 30 minutes to configure a Galaxy S7 Edge, mirroring the setup on my iPhone. The user experience is almost identical. But what about hardware? Apple makes the best quality, most premium devices, right? Again, there are more similarities than differences these days. The design of the S7 and S7 Edge has taken an awful lot of inspiration from the iPhone 6(s). I'm amazed that Samsung hasn't been sued (again) by Apple over what looks like blatant copying. The good news for us consumers is we can now choose premium devices from another manufacturer. The S7 Edge has the same screen size as the iPhone 6s Plus, but in a lighter, smaller form factor that's easier to use with one hand. The S7 phones are also IP 68 water-resistant and have expandable storage (I have a 200 Gb microSD card in mine) which is so much more convenient than iTunes syncing. The S7 Edge's battery life is comparable to that of the iPhone 6s Plus, but more consistent (it doesn't randomly get hot and drain battery for no reason and it doesn't randomly reboot each day). Bluetooth connections are super-reliable and I don't need to carry a special, proprietary lightning charging cable just for my phone (since I carry microUSB cables for my other devices). I can copy any file I like between the internet or cloud (e.g., Dropbox) and SD card. Although Android isn't infinitely customizable (the US versions of the S7/Edge come with locked boot-loaders), even without root, you can customize a lot more than you can with iPhone. Android's Tasker has a lot of capability that Activator is missing (and as you all know, Activator is only available on jailbroken devices). The S7 phones have faster LTE speeds and fast wired and wireless charging (0 to 100% in about 1.5 hours). Samsung pay has both NFC and something called Magnetic Secure Transmission, which is really awesome. It works by mimicking the magnetic card swipe and so works with virtually all existing credit card readers (Apple pay has only ever worked for me in Apple stores and in Trader Joe's). Both S7 phones are compatible with Android Wear and Tizen smartwatches, like the Gear S2 (which, IMHO, poop all over the Apple watch) and both come with a standard 3.5 mm headphone jack socket (adios, iPhone 7!).

So, how?

Relax, this is going to be much easier than you think If you're really lazy, the new Galaxy phones even come with a dongle to transfer everything across from your iPhone. But I didn't even use that. Ninety nine percent of the apps you use regularly already exist and function the exact same way in Android. The only issues I've had have been with Apple's own apps (or hardware), for which you can use the following alternatives:[/color]

[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]iOS[/color]	[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Android and iOS[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Find My Friends[/color]	[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Life360[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]iMessage[/color]	[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]SMS, WhatsApp, Google Hangouts, Skype[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]FaceTime audio[/color]	[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]WhatsApp, Google Hangouts, Skype[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]FaceTime video[/color]	[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]WhatsApp, Google Hangouts, Skype[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Apple Maps[/color]	[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Google Maps[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Apple Pay (iOS only)[/color]	[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Android Pay or Samsung Pay (Android/Samsung only)[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Notes[/color]	[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Google Keep[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Location-based reminders[/color]	[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Google Keep[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Apple Music (paid)[/color]	[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Apple Music (Android app) or Google Play Music (better and includes access to YouTube Red!)[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]iTunes music[/color]	[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Google Play Music[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]iBooks[/color]	[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Kindle[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Activator (iOS only)[/color]	[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Tasker (Android only)[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]HDMI-out/Airplay[/color]	[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Chromecast, or Apple TV + localcast[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Cydia[/color]	[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]You don't need it anymore! [/color]

[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]
The biggest issue you're going to face is with iMessage and FaceTime. These services go into a black hole once you're using Android, so turn them off NOW - on all your iOS devices - and never ever use them again. Period. I mean it. Even if you stay with an iPhone for the rest of your life, stay far away from these evil, proprietary, Apple-only services. Yes, your friends and family are going to have to spend a few minutes figuring out that you can now only be reached via SMS, MMS, Hangouts, Skype, WhatsApp, Viber, Voxer, FaceBook Messenger, etc., but once you've cleared that hurdle, you're home and dry. In all probability, every app that you use regularly on iOS will already exist in the Google Play Store, or there'll be an equivalent. In total, I haven't spent more than about $20 in the Google Play Store to mirror my previous iPhone apps. Some of the equivalents above (i.e., Life360, WhatsApp, Google Maps, Google Play Music, have more features and/or are faster and more reliable than the Apple versions, e.g., Find My Friends, iMessage, Apple Maps, Apple Music), so I'd recommend these changes regardless, even if you choose to stay with iPhone. DRM-protected content (for example, video) will be a problem - Apple really doesn't want you to leave! But all your iTunes music? No problem! If you already subscribe to Apple music, just download the free Apple music Android app and sign in - done. (Apple even made a widget for the Apple Music Android app: [/color]http://modmyi.com/content/21745-apple-music-android-update-introduces-home-screen-widget.html[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]). If you're not an Apple Music subscriber, download the Google music manager for your PC or Mac and point it at your music library and these will automatically be matched or uploaded to the cloud (it's completely free for the first 50,000 tracks). Then, if you want to, you can continue to purchase music in iTunes and it will automatically sync to Google Play Music and show up on your Android device. If, like me, you prefer to carry your music with you in lossless FLAC or ALAC format (neither of which are available from the iTunes store anyway), you can add and manage your own library on a microSD card.

One unexpected joy with the Google Play Store is that it can offer you an instant refund you if the app you buy is junk or doesn't work as advertised. It just instantly uninstalls and refunds your money. Awesome!

Once you're device agnostic, you have a ton of choice over your future phone purchases - and of course, accessories, like smart watches. In the latter case, you can even buy watches with (re)activation lock capabilities and stand-alone voice calling and messaging. With Apple, the only smartwatch choice is how much to spend on the casing and the watchband. (Yes, technically Android Wear is now available as an iOS app, and the Gear S2 will also be supported in iOS at some point this year, but both of these are - or will be - horribly and intentionally crippled by Apple.)

So that's it! You're now device agnostic!! Whether or not you stay with iOS when the iPhone 7 is released is now YOUR choice, not Apple's [/color]

Update (6/7/2017): I have zero regrets about switching to Android. It's better in so many ways! It looks like things aren't improving for Apple users either:

https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/homepod-apple-legacy-audio-innovation-is-dead/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/chrisv...m-a-company-without-a-visionary/#454bd5e91f7e

 

[Cinder]

I agree with everything you said. Most people agree with everything you said. However, it's not going to change anything. The people who buy Apple's products mostly do so mindlessly, and do not care about any alternatives. The idea that Apple is the best is so ingrained into their minds, that all other devices are garbage. I live my days surrounded by the wonderfully complacent people of Southern California and writhe in pain each time I pass by an Apple Store, which is inexplicably packed all hours of the day.
 
The fact of the matter is, Apple will continue to be the technology sector's biggest ****** unless they start loosing money. Short of dying, I'm not sure what could cause Apple fans to actually stop throwing their money blindly into the laps of the ******* that run Apple.

 

[csglinux]

Cinder, you just put that much more eloquently than I ever could

 

[Cinder]

Cinder, you just put that much more eloquently than I ever could

Glad to be of service. It's been a long time coming, and as you may be able to tell via my choice of words, I am pretty frustrated with Apple as a company. They keep corrupting the tech sector, and make it worse for everyone else, even if they don't use Apple products.

 

[Solarium]

So at this point it's pretty much confirmed about the ditch. Several questions for you peeps out there:
 
1. Will the Lightning --> 3.5mm adapter degrade the signal quality vs straight up 3.5mm?
2. Will it require a DAC inside the adapter (making it bulky) since it's analogue --> digital conversion?
3. Will Apple's inherent DAC be better than that of say... a Samsung S7 Edge?
 
I'm about this "<->" close to move to the S7 Edge, because of this mini jack issue, but want to be better informed before I do.

 

[csglinux]

  So at this point it's pretty much confirmed about the ditch. Several questions for you peeps out there:
 
1. Will the Lightning --> 3.5mm adapter degrade the signal quality vs straight up 3.5mm?
2. Will it require a DAC inside the adapter (making it bulky) since it's analogue --> digital conversion?
3. Will Apple's inherent DAC be better than that of say... a Samsung S7 Edge?
 
I'm about this "<->" close to move to the S7 Edge, because of this mini jack issue, but want to be better informed before I do.

 
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]I'll start with your last point, because this is by far the easiest. Get yourself an S7 Edge. My only regret with switching to Android was waiting so long to do it [/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]As for your other points:[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]1) It shouldn't, but it will depend on the quality of the external DAC and amp you connect to the Lightning port. That's a big deal because of the next point...[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]2) Absolutely, yes it will! Unlike USB C, Lightning is 100% digital, which means even though you've already got a respectable DAC/amp combo inside the iPhone, you won't be able to use it ever again for any external device For wired headphones, you will be forced to either use models that have a separate DAC and amp built in, or a separate adapter, also with a DAC and amp built in. Either way that's going to be bulky. Those headphones and adapters are also going to be expensive, because you'll either have to buy them from Apple, or you'll be buying Apple MFi certified products, and this means paying an Apple tax, even just to use the headphones you already own.[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]3) I'm not sure if this question relates to the DAC inherent to the current Apple iPhones or inherent to the $100 adapter/$500 Beats Lightning headphones they're going to sell you in September? For the former case, I find the iPhone DAC/amp is broadly comparable to that in the Galaxy S7 Edge. The S7 Edge has a marginally warmer sound signature and doesn't go quite as loud as the iPhone 6s. However with sensitive IEMs, like my SE846, the S7 Edge still goes plenty loud enough to damage hearing. If you meant how would the future external DACs/amps compare to a typical smartphone's current analogue output, that's where there's currently an awful lot of misinformation being spread in the media. I think some of these "news" sites are simply ignorant. I think others are disingenuous due to bias/sponsorship (e.g., MacRumors). Here's a very typical example:[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/05/5-ways-usb-type-c-headphones-will-improve-our-live.html[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]This is my favorite line from the above article:[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]"Simply put, higher resolution means sharper reproduction."[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]That sounds compelling, right?! Until you dig a bit deeper... The good folks at [/color]xiph.org[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)] (the people that brought us Ogg Vorbis and FLAC) have gone to great lengths to explain why things aren't what they seem: [/color]https://xiph.org/~xiphmont/demo/neil-young.html And e[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]ven if hi-res audio works for you, there's nothing inherent about the inclusion of a 3.5 mm headphone jack that would make an iPhone function any less efficiently as a digital transport mechanism. I have external DACs/amps that certainly sound better via digital-in from an Apple Lightning port than any of my other headphones do from the 3.5 mm jack socket, but I do not need Apple to remove the 3.5 mm jack in order for me to use the Lightning port.[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]The above "Paste" article also claims that Apple may be moving to USB C. Nope. There's zero chance that Apple will give up its proprietary strangle-hold of Lightning, Beats Lightning headphones, Lightning-to-3.5 mm adapters and MFi licencing fees. If you look at Apple's website right now, the items they're pushing at the top of their accessory list are Bluetooth PowerBeats and Bluetooth Beats Solo 2 headphones. I'm sure many of us own Bluetooth headphones, and they're ok for yardwork where the 100 dB drone of the mower is going to drown out the hiss and distortion, but otherwise I wouldn't use Bluetooth even if it were lossless. I prefer to avoid the hassle of constantly pairing/re-pairing/charging, etc. And if Bluetooth audio quality wasn't already bad enough, in 2016 Apple still doesn't even support aptX.[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Apple trying to sell the loss of the headphone jack at September's keynote will be like a QVC pitchman trying to sell something even they know is a total pile of garbage - and I suspect it will be entertaining However, as @Cinder pointed out above, if Tim Cook takes the stage and merely utters the words "Apple is serious about audio", millions of uneducated consumers will simply believe it. However, you can and should vote with your wallet [/color]

 

[csglinux]

Interesting article which gives a very plausible explanation as to why Apple doesn't really care about the consumer these days:
 
http://www.zdnet.com/article/why-apple-doesnt-care-that-flagship-android-smartphones-are-better-than-the-iphone/?ftag=TRE17cfd61&bhid=26884224928935463426356719134286

 

[willowbrook]

Simple answer, ignore Apple and just go Android or Windows. Time will tell whether the conversion will keep up or will just be a big mistake for Apple. However, Apple just might be somewhat successful with this with their loyal consumer base because all you need is a simple adapter that contains the DAC/amp. From rumors, the next iphone will ship with it already, so the main downsides are it is going to be bulky and not chargeable while listening. You also need to carry the adapter everywhere with the phone or it is not possible to listen to music. It's just really stupid, but there is a big potential to gain additional sales from so called "sheeps". You lose the adapter, pay $xx or you can't listen to music and we all know Apple is going to continuously put effort into stopping 3rd party adapters from working like CCK cables.
 
Possible step back in SQ, but no one knows for sure yet.

 

[Buzzkill93]

If this change results in having better sound quality, I am all for it. We shall see.
Notes:
The adapter (lightning to 3.5mm) will be included in the box.
You can also buy it separately for $9.00 from Apple.

 

[willowbrook]

If this change results in having better sound quality, I am all for it. We shall see.
Notes:
The adapter (lightning to 3.5mm) will be included in the box.
You can also buy it separately for $9.00 from Apple.

Price is actually not so bad. Apple will just be laughing in tears wiping them with bills. I assume a big chunk of people will ditch the iphone completely or wait for the next model to see if they revert it. I doubt they will though.

 

[Philimon]

It comes with the adapter to 3.5mm so its fine with me. Apple is going to make a killing on lightning and bluetooth headphones in their Apple stores. 

 

[Buzzkill93]

Interesting read regarding the decisions that went into removing the headphone jack

https://www.buzzfeed.com/johnpaczkowski/inside-iphone-7-why-apple-killed-the-headphone-jack?utm_term=.pryMe6G7P#.cmWEYLQZ2