[rwpritchett]

Isn't the lightning port supposed to give you much better audio quality than the old OLD 3.5mm jack?

This is what I don't get. Why do people automatically think the lightning port gives better audio quality? Lightning headphones with a built in DAC like the Sine and Fidelio M2L will rely on there own electronics for audio. Could be better, could be worse than the iPhone DAC. If the little $9 lightning to 3.5 adapter that comes with the 7 has a built in DAC (which isn't likely, but unconfirmed either way) what kind of DAC chip do you get for $9?

Most likely (but again, unconfirmed at this time), the lightning port outputs analog audio over the lightning to 3.5 adapter and is still using the phones internal DAC to turn the ones-and-zeros to analog audio. In that case, apple has just changed the "old" round headphone port into a "new" oval shaped one unless you happen to have the very rare headphone that has its own DAC.

 

[PL4Y3R 0N3]

Most likely (but again, unconfirmed at this time), the lightning port outputs analog audio over the lightning to 3.5 adapter and is still using the phones internal DAC to turn the ones-and-zeros to analog audio. In that case, apple has just changed the "old" round headphone port into a "new" oval shaped one unless you happen to have the very rare headphone that has its own DAC.

I wish there was an apple insider on this forum to give us a simple "yes/no" answer on whether the Lightning port on the iPhone 7 outputs digital or analog. That is probably the top question on this thread.

 

[incubusfc]

Didn't Samsung say a long time ago that they were also going to ditch 3.5mm? And use micro USB? For basically the same reasons (higher quality)

I can totally relate to the 'I can't listen to music and charge at the same time' there are adapters for this and hopefully in the future all the charging cables will have another port in them to plug headphones into. Or wireless charging.

So it's not going to be an issue of 3.5 vs lightning, it will be USB vs lightning. And honestly with the types of headphones we have what's another cable? Or an adapter?

 

[rwpritchett]

Maybe when it finally gets released and we still don't have an answer someone on head-fi can sacrifice the $9 and buy an apple 3.5 to lightning adapter and cut it open. If there's just wires in there with no DAC, then the adapter is basically just a gender changer cable.

 

[incubusfc]

Lightning port has 24 bit audio.

I preordered mine on the first day. Is there a way to tell digital vs analog audio somehow that is easy? I'd be more than happy to figure things out when I get it.

 

[PL4Y3R 0N3]

Maybe when it finally gets released and we still don't have an answer someone on head-fi can sacrifice the $9 and buy an apple 3.5 to lightning adapter and cut it open. If there's just wires in there with no DAC, then the adapter is basically just a gender changer cable.

Lightning port has 24 bit audio.

I preordered mine on the first day. Is there a way to tell digital vs analog audio somehow that is easy? I'd be more than happy to figure things out when I get it.

Instead of cutting an adapter open, why not plug the adapter into an older gen phone first? I am pretty sure that 6s lightning port outputs digital only, so if you plug the adapter into it and still get sweet, beautiful music (or just music because $9 adapter) then there is in fact a dac in the adapter.
Unless I'm wrong and lightning port has always output analog. Then you'll definitely need to cut it up.

 

[rwpritchett]

Lightning port has 24 bit audio.

Has apple upped the sample rate support any? For my wife's iPad Air 2, I had to redo all of my hi-rez 96 and 192kHz music to 48kHz ALAC because it couldn't play the higher sample rates.

 

[Kildras]

AFAIK apple isn't the first to dump the 3.5mm port but they could be the big one that push for a change because of the massive fan base.
Apple isn't just doing it for marketing or profit, they are pushing lightning port to be main stream standard port imo, they are going all in by dropping the 3.5mm port entirely.

The industry in a whole is looking to find a port that does everything (usb type c with thunderbolt for example)
I think apple is trying to get a piece out of this.

Personally I think a more unified port is great. Just look at how many different balanced output port there is now.

 

[msknight]

@msknight, don't you think it may be a tad judgemental to say that all iPhone users get it to fit in socially? I mean, I got my iPhone 6s because it has awesome hardware, and I prefer iOS to any mobile software. Really I could care less if people looked at my phone. I don't hold it out in front of me so everyone can see it, I hold it out in front of me because I am scrolling through head-fi. you act like iPhones aren't in fact good phones when in truth they are.

I'm not saying that users are... but I've yet to hear anything concrete as to why they are better phones.
 
I know that I was very happy to hand the 5 back to work... the first one was DOA, and the tie-in meant it never played nicely with anything else. Things that came as standard and ease of use with the Android phones I had at the time, required extra software on the iPhone, which also then required more money. They don't play well with work systems (why my employer actually got them, who knows) and when I decided to try once again, the Macbook Air lasted a week before I wiped the drive and installed Linux... and even then the lack of some navigation keys is a curse which means I'll never buy another one.
 
It seems to me that it a major component in the people I meet and talk with. Everyone talks generic about how it's better, how it's innovative, etc. ... but they don't get in to specifics, because it actually isn't so. http://gizmodo.com/heres-proof-of-apples-downward-fall-from-innovator-to-i-1710185505 - and more.
 
As far as I can see... and in my personal experience... they're not good phones.

 

[PL4Y3R 0N3]

I'm not saying that users are... but I've yet to hear anything concrete as to why they are better phones.

I know that I was very happy to hand the 5 back to work... the first one was DOA, and the tie-in meant it never played nicely with anything else. Things that came as standard and ease of use with the Android phones I had at the time, required extra software on the iPhone, which also then required more money. They don't play well with work systems (why my employer actually got them, who knows) and when I decided to try once again, the Macbook Air lasted a week before I wiped the drive and installed Linux... and even then the lack of some navigation keys is a curse which means I'll never buy another one.

It seems to me that it a major component in the people I meet and talk with. Everyone talks generic about how it's better, how it's innovative, etc. ... but they don't get in to specifics, because it actually isn't so. http://gizmodo.com/heres-proof-of-apples-downward-fall-from-innovator-to-i-1710185505 - and more.

As far as I can see... and in my personal experience... they're not good phones.

If you look at the hardware specs (Apple a9 processor/GPU) and software-hardware interaction then you will find your answer. The iPhone 6s was the most powerful phone on the market until the Samsung Galaxy s7, and it is that high headroom on cpu/GPU power that leads to the massive amount of apps on both iTunes and google play. Just think of the amount of things that are available on phones now that we're only available on PC before. The more powerful phones get, the more things you can do on them that you could only do on PC before. That is the mobile revolution, soon physical desktops will become scarce and be used for only gaming and work purposes, that is already starting to happen now. And after that handheld devices will start to take over more and more of the everyday things we need a computer to do. That has already started as well.

 

[msknight]

If you look at the hardware specs (Apple a9 processor/GPU) and software-hardware interaction then you will find your answer. The iPhone 6s was the most powerful phone on the market until the Samsung Galaxy s7, and it is that high headroom on cpu/GPU power that leads to the massive amount of apps on both iTunes and google play. Just think of the amount of things that are available on phones now that we're only available on PC before. The more powerful phones get, the more things you can do on them that you could only do on PC before. That is the mobile revolution, soon physical desktops will become scarce and be used for only gaming and work purposes, that is already starting to happen now. And after that handheld devices will start to take over more and more of the everyday things we need a computer to do. That has already started as well.

Ah, so the lack of battery life, low storage, and other flaws if the iPhone 6S wouldn't count in your eyes? Most powerful? Specs? iPhone 6S camera 12mpx f2.2 , Galaxy S6, 16 with f1.9 - 6s 16bit 44.1khz - s6 24 bit 192khz . 6S battery 14 talk time on 3g - S6 17 hours on G3.  The 6S didn't even beat the S6.

 

[msknight]

As for Apps, as I said before, I tried to get a bluetooth app to transfer pictures off the iPhone to another machine. Shed loads of apps in the store... yes... none of them worked though. Loads of 1 star reviews. - what that told me was that there was a solid demand for other people wanting to do exactly the same thing that I wanted to do... but none of them could get the iPhone to actually do it.
 
Also, I took my linux Air in to work where there was an Apple DVD USB drive. Plugged in it to the Air... saw it and worked fine, despite running LInux. Plugged the same thing in to a non-Apple laptop and the USB DVD drive didn't even come up.  We didn't take it apart, but the long story short from the testing we did, was that we concluded that there was hardware in the DVD drive that would only let it work with other Apple hardware. Now that kind of behaviour, I can do without.

 

[PL4Y3R 0N3]

Ah, so the lack of battery life, low storage, and other flaws if the iPhone 6S wouldn't count in your eyes? Most powerful? Specs? iPhone 6S camera 12mpx f2.2 , Galaxy S6, 16 with f1.9 - 6s 16bit 44.1khz - s6 24 bit 192khz . 6S battery 14 talk time on 3g - S6 17 hours on G3.  The 6S didn't even beat the S6.

As for Apps, as I said before, I tried to get a bluetooth app to transfer pictures off the iPhone to another machine. Shed loads of apps in the store... yes... none of them worked though. Loads of 1 star reviews. - what that told me was that there was a solid demand for other people wanting to do exactly the same thing that I wanted to do... but none of them could get the iPhone to actually do it.

Also, I took my linux Air in to work where there was an Apple DVD USB drive. Plugged in it to the Air... saw it and worked fine, despite running LInux. Plugged the same thing in to a non-Apple laptop and the USB DVD drive didn't even come up.  We didn't take it apart, but the long story short from the testing we did, was that we concluded that there was hardware in the DVD drive that would only let it work with other Apple hardware. Now that kind of behaviour, I can do without.

Ok. I get it. You hate apple, but that doesn't change the fact that they make good products. Everything you have complained about is either a problem with ALL smartphones or hasn't been a feature of the iPhone since day one. There is no reason to get this wound up over it. If you want to complain about something, you will find problems with it. End of story.
I'm through arguing about it. I'm clearly not changing your mind and you won't change mine.

 

[dazzerfong]

Lol at 'digital audio'. You guys do know that it's all the same in the end, right: it becomes analog audio. It just gets converted using that dongle thingy or the headphones themselves.

 

[PL4Y3R 0N3]

Lol at 'digital audio'. You guys do know that it's all the same in the end, right: it becomes analog audio. It just gets converted using that dongle thingy or the headphones themselves.

Not really. A cheap $9 dac won't do as good of a job at converting digital audio to analog audio as a good dedicated dac will.