I think the "D" connector is a more likely bet for iPhone 7 (if they change the headphone jack at all) than lightning.
In any case, whatever they decide to move forward with, it's a fairly safe bet that everything you are hearing about the lightning headphone jack will NOT happen this year. It's a wild rumour at best, and sites like this keep publishing about it mostly because it's so controversial it drives clicks, and not because it's actually likely to happen.
The "D" shaped 3.5mm connector is the least likely. Do you recall the original iPhone required an adapter to attach an otherwise perfectly compatible headphone plug to it, just to accommodate the opening? Customers actively resisted buying such an unnecessary adapter. And a proprietary shape of the identical technology won't fly. Plus The size of the connector on the edge of the phone is the least of what Apple may hope to accomplish if there's any truth to this rumor. Removing the internal 3.5mm jack hardware will provide more substantial benifits than merely reducing the size of the depth of the phone, something I don't think Apple is actually ready to reduce beyond the current thickness of the 3.5mm jack. Regardless, if Apple turns on their usual marketing brilliance, customers are likely to accept (however grudgingly) that the move to Lightning is going to bring them higher quality audio, and fully interactive remote mechanisms, and other consumer benifits, over just changing the shape of the connector.
i don't agree it's a wild rumor. If it's a rumor, then likely all the other rumors about HQ audio, are wild too. Add to that the increased capabilities of Lightning, and "pro" features like 4K video in the iPhones, as well as the proliferation of the use of the Lightning connector across all of Apple's product lines, and there's some reason to give this rumor credence. In addition, there's the ability to further lock people into their ecosystem, many of whom simply won't care, especially if Apple gives them a free set of Lightning earbuds, which the majority of their customers likely use of at all. Then there's the increased revenue from licensing the tech to other manufacturers, who until this becomes real, have no reason to develop lightning-based products. And then there's Apple's push toward wireless, which is becoming increasingly more popular among consumers. The reality is a large segment of Apple's installed customer base probably won't care if the 3.5mm jack is removed, since they don't even use it, and if they do its likely with Apple's own free earbuds, which will be replaced with Lightning versions with their next iPhone.
I think Apple would likely support the Lightning port as a headphone port first and make their EarPods lightning only with active noise cancellation powered through the port. They would keep the headphone jack if you need one. Once popular opinion starts to swing towards using lightning for more advanced listening and interaction with the phone, they could drop the headphones in a slimmed down version to show what is possible. I don't think it would make sense to remove it altogether without hedging beta and prepping the market first.
Say what you want about better lightning audio quality, ditching the 3.5 headphone connector would be marketing suicide. People like their headphones and sometimes spend a lot of money on them. Very often from Beats. It will be seen as a negative, not a cool new feature. Has to be a false rumor.
Disagree. While it might not be in the iPhone 7 cycle, that 3.5" decades old tech needs to go. People said the same about USB and interchangeable storage cards (and before that ADB ports) yet Apple put USB-C only on the last macbook. The real questions are not if but when, and what kind of dongle thingy will ship with it for the legacy connectors.
Headphone jack is how card readers connect to the phone. I use Bluetooth headphones to listen to music but I use the headphone jack for my credit card readers and I've seen other types of devices that also use the headphone jack.
I still want a 17" laptop. Still using my 20111 Macbook Pro but at some point I'll have to replace it and not happy about having to move to a 15" laptop.
I think Apple would likely support the Lightning port as a headphone port first and make their EarPods lightning only with active noise cancellation powered through the port. They would keep the headphone jack if you need one. Once popular opinion starts to swing towards using lightning for more advanced listening and interaction with the phone, they could drop the headphones in a slimmed down version to show what is possible. I don't think it would make sense to remove it altogether without hedging beta and prepping the market first.
Well that's how you and I might do it, but I don't really think Apple has a history of hedging their bets. they kind of go for stuff. A "pro" device might keep the 3.5mm jack, like the iPad Pro, or the MB Pro, for a little while longer, but in order for a switch to Lightning audio, or wireless, it kind of has to be universal, as I believe Apple has always shown us to be the case, no matter how big a mistake. I can only think of one major example where Apple back peddled on a decision and that was removing the FireWire port from the first aluminum MacBook. They solved that dilemma a year later by reintroducing the plastic MacBook, leaving it alone, and upgrades the metal MacBook to "Pro" status true to form.
Headphone jack is how card readers connect to the phone. I use Bluetooth headphones to listen to music but I use the headphone jack for my credit card readers and I've seen other types of devices that also use the headphone jack.
Customers are going to have to buy new Chip card readers anyway, so it's a perfect time to upgrade to a Lightning compatible one. And, for those who already have, I'm sure there will be an adapter which will allow you to plug the card reader into the Lightning port. I've no doubt there's a thriving market for card readers, but I seriously doubt the customers who use card readers make up anything close to a majority of Apple's customers, so it's likely a minor concern should this rumor pan out in the long run.
The alu MacBook was indeed a hedging-of-bets, I think. Not so much a back-pedaling (as in reversing a bicycle, btw, not as in "peddling" cheap merchandise).
They couldnt hold the price they wanted with a display adequate for a "Pro" book in 2008, so they opted for the MacBook moniker and dropped the FireWire to see where the feedback went. I'm sure they had the plan for the next unibody plastic MacBook already well laid-out.
Turned out that a 13" MacBook Pro with FireWire was exactly what a bunch of touring artists had been waiting for.
Looks like the iMac design refresh wont be coming this year. That is kind of sad. Also, there were some rumors of a 8K iMac close to six months back.
They've been refreshed more than most of Apples other products already, so I don't know why you would expect more at this point.
I think the elephant in the room is the Mac Pro. If they don't update it sometime in 2016, it will be three years since the last refresh, which was kinda like the only refresh. Despite all that bravado when they launched it about always keeping the Mac Pro in the lineup, I wouldn't be surprised if it's just dropped completely.
I thought the Mac Pro was waiting on Intel and thunderbolt 3. Anyway I'm skeptical that they would redesign it in 2013 only to kill it off a couple years later. Why redesign it if they had no plans on supporting it long-term?
1) If moved to lightning connector, the speaker connector plug will need to include a 'locking mechanism' (like spring-clip type, or something) to hold the plug securely enough connected to the jack.
2) Can anybody confirm that the lightning connector 'body' (inside the phone) is in fact, significantly slimmer than the body of the 3.5 jack?
One other thing: If Apple does come out with a 4" (or some measure of smaller sized phone), and it is a "Budget" phone; Apple will be over. Absolutely no reason to spec the phone in any different manner than in the same manner of difference that exists between the current two phones. All three phones can be "premium" Apple, with each model priced accordingly, just as the current two are. Don't shoot yourself in the foot, Apple. Love.
Sorry, MBA is not going retina, it's being phased out. Get a thinner and lighter rMBP when they drop later this year.
Seriously, Apple, just drop the titles and go with single names. Killing the MacBook only to bring it back, and then the MacBook Air gets killed while leaving the iPad Air (which is really just the regular iPad), and then having an iPad Pro but an iPhone Plus, and then if they bring back the 4” iPhone it won’t be the iPhone Minus, but rather the iPhone Mini…
iPhone. Comes in three sizes: 4”, 4.7”, & 5.5”. iPad. Comes in three sizes: 7.9”, 9.7”, & 12.9”. MacBook. Comes in three sizes: 12”, 13.3”, & 15.4”. iMac. Comes in three sizes: 21.5”, 27”, and 42”.
They've been refreshed more than most of Apples other products already, so I don't know why you would expect more at this point.
I think the elephant in the room is the Mac Pro. If they don't update it sometime in 2016, it will be three years since the last refresh, which was kinda like the only refresh. Despite all that bravado when they launched it about always keeping the Mac Pro in the lineup, I wouldn't be surprised if it's just dropped completely.
I thought the Mac Pro was waiting on Intel and thunderbolt 3. Anyway I'm skeptical that they would redesign it in 2013 only to kill it off a couple years later. Why redesign it if they had no plans on supporting it long-term?
I agree it makes no sense. But ... three years! And they're so expensive relative to the old Mac Pros which were at least *sorta* affordable.
Sorry, MBA is not going retina, it's being phased out. Get a thinner and lighter rMBP when they drop later this year.
Seriously, Apple, just drop the titles and go with single names. Killing the MacBook only to bring it back, and then the MacBook Air gets killed while leaving the iPad Air (which is really just the regular iPad), and then having an iPad Pro but an iPhone Plus, and then if they bring back the 4” iPhone it won’t be the iPhone Minus, but rather the iPhone Mini…
iPhone. Comes in three sizes: 4”, 4.7”, & 5.5”. iPad. Comes in three sizes: 7.9”, 9.7”, & 12.9”. MacBook. Comes in three sizes: 12”, 13.3”, & 15.4”. iMac. Comes in three sizes: 21.5”, 27”, and 42”.
For some reason, the "iPad Air" moniker bothers me the most. It just sounds chintzy and lame. Evidence of Apple doubling down on the marketing speak in lieu of actual product development or differentiation IMO.
The MacBook Air was something remarkable and very deserving of the "Air" qualifier when it came out. The "iPad Air"? Not so much.
Looks like the iMac design refresh wont be coming this year. That is kind of sad. Also, there were some rumors of a 8K iMac close to six months back.
They've been refreshed more than most of Apples other products already, so I don't know why you would expect more at this point.
I think the elephant in the room is the Mac Pro. If they don't update it sometime in 2016, it will be three years since the last refresh, which was kinda like the only refresh. Despite all that bravado when they launched it about always keeping the Mac Pro in the lineup, I wouldn't be surprised if it's just dropped completely.
Supposedly Intel will have the chips ready for the Mac Pro. However Intel has really dropped the ball over the last year or so. It. Is the same discussion with respect to the MBP, it need viable upgrade chis from Intel and so far nothing in volume.
wizard69 said: Supposedly Intel will have the chips ready for the Mac Pro. However Intel has really dropped the ball over the last year or so. It. Is the same discussion with respect to the MBP, it need viable upgrade chis from Intel and so far nothing in volume.
I wonder if Intel is now more worried than before (when Apple first made the A4) about Apple going it alone. IBM got dumped because they couldn’t provide. Intel has been slipping for a good long while. Then again, Apple will need to hire some quantum processor developers if they really want to be competitive in the long term. We’re reaching the physical limits of our current materials pretty soon.
“If we just had a room temperature superconductor, this wouldn’t be a concern!” said the most vacuous person ever.
I want Apple to invest in stanene research. At the very least, they could rule out its use in printing on logic boards.
My interest is in the new iPad Air, a little big lighter (if possible) and the A9X is enough for me. My 2011 iPad 2 is long in the tooth right now, that´s the reason I think the Air 3 can spark the renovation cycle that can drive iPad sales up again. Seriously, I did´t care on upgrading to iOS 9 with it. I will wait till I got my new one to erase it and upgrade it to the latest iOS available before giving it a friend of mine, besides that it feels heavy after the years, wrist aging side effect.
OK, If Apple make the new Apple Watch independent from the iPhone and capable of been paired to an iPod Touch, iPad or Mac I would be interested too. I am nearly the last man on earth that still don´t use a cell phone, smart or dumb. But I am one of those that can´t leave without a watch in my wrist. I tried but give up after two months.
Actually we share a desire here, my iPad is even longer in the tooth being an iPad 3. However I'm no where near as accommodating as you as far as expectations go. I'd like to see the base model go to 128 GB of storage and 4GB of RAM. Along with A9X that would get me to buy.
As for OS 9 I love it on my iPad and frankly it performs much better that iOS 8. I'm actually looking forward to iOS getting better in future release due to apps and facilities being written in Swift. Hopefully that will lead to better app performance and fewer bugs.
As for a watch I don't wear one at all. Apples watch would certainly need more features and increased usability to get me to buy. Your comments on pairing are very interesting. I for one use,y iPad a lot, much more than my iPhone so your desire makes sense to me.
They've been refreshed more than most of Apples other products already, so I don't know why you would expect more at this point.
I think the elephant in the room is the Mac Pro. If they don't update it sometime in 2016, it will be three years since the last refresh, which was kinda like the only refresh. Despite all that bravado when they launched it about always keeping the Mac Pro in the lineup, I wouldn't be surprised if it's just dropped completely.
I thought the Mac Pro was waiting on Intel and thunderbolt 3. Anyway I'm skeptical that they would redesign it in 2013 only to kill it off a couple years later. Why redesign it if they had no plans on supporting it long-term?
I agree it makes no sense. But ... three years! And they're so expensive relative to the old Mac Pros which were at least *sorta* affordable.
I guess I'm just being pessimistic.
Pessimistic? I'd rather call it uninformed. For what you are getting, the Mac Pros aren't a bad deal. Remember these are Xeon workstations no t desktop computers. You are also getting dual GPUs. They are expensive relative to a desktop computer running conventional processors but that just highlights a need on Apples part to offer a variant that addresses the desktop market with a single GPU and a Core processor.
In any event I stating to here good things about Broadwell based XEONs coming out. Maybe we will have a new machine by spring.
Say what you want about better lightning audio quality, ditching the 3.5 headphone connector would be marketing suicide. People like their headphones and sometimes spend a lot of money on them. Very often from Beats. It will be seen as a negative, not a cool new feature. Has to be a false rumor.
I think the "D" connector is a more likely bet for iPhone 7 (if they change the headphone jack at all) than lightning.
In any case, whatever they decide to move forward with, it's a fairly safe bet that everything you are hearing about the lightning headphone jack will NOT happen this year. It's a wild rumour at best, and sites like this keep publishing about it mostly because it's so controversial it drives clicks, and not because it's actually likely to happen.
The biggest argument against it is that the iPhone (currently over 7mm thick), will likely take a couple of years to shave off the two millimetres necessary to get it down below 5mm when the headphone jack will finally not fit into the chassis. Remember the iPod touch is 5mm thick and handles the headphone jack just fine.
There is no current crisis. It's a problem "on the horizon" only.
Dont know where you get the idea iPod Toch is 5mm thick, it is 6.1mm according to spec.
People constantly referring the the dismissal of 3.5mm headphone as way to get thinner. That is not the only reason at all. The 3.5mm headphone jack takes up quite abit of space within iPhone. It is also one of the last few pieces of analog parts on the iPhone.
Apple will likely sell a Lighting to 3.5mm Jack Connector ( Basically a Digital to Analog converter )
I also guess it is one less port to waterproof.
I dont think there is anything I really want from a Hardware Standpoint, apart from bigger battery. Apple already has engineers working their own WiFi chip, I am not sure on 4G LTE yet. But they are definitely on course to get their own WiFi. They are participating in 802.11ax standard, I am hoping they could do test with their new 802.11ac chip on a smaller volume like new Airport Express.
Edit: You may ask why do Apple want to make their own WiFi chip ( and not 4G LTE.... yet ) instead of using Broadcom. For 4G, LTE, TD-LTE etc, there are lots of patents involved. At least in the 3G side of things. For WiFi, cost, where Broadcom has been known to be more expensive then others, it is a central piece of component that is being used across EVERY single Apple iDevices. Then there is quite a bit of similarity between the coming 802.11ax and LTE-A.
What i do want for 2016, is Apple to improves their Software and Services Department. Which is lacking behind my expectation. May be it is not Apple's fault, but Google has set such a high standard in Internet Services quality, speed, reliability, that Apple for the past two years has yet to catch up. For example a lot of iCloud content are still stored and served from Microsoft Azure, and Amazon S3. iTunes is still based on WebObject!!! ( Wohaaa )
Microsoft has massively catch up in their Software department on Windows 10. Webkit, as much as I love it, no longer seems to get the attention from community. Comparing to Blink which has Opera, Google, QT, Samsung etc working on it.
Comments
Customers are going to have to buy new Chip card readers anyway, so it's a perfect time to upgrade to a Lightning compatible one. And, for those who already have, I'm sure there will be an adapter which will allow you to plug the card reader into the Lightning port. I've no doubt there's a thriving market for card readers, but I seriously doubt the customers who use card readers make up anything close to a majority of Apple's customers, so it's likely a minor concern should this rumor pan out in the long run.
They couldnt hold the price they wanted with a display adequate for a "Pro" book in 2008, so they opted for the MacBook moniker and dropped the FireWire to see where the feedback went. I'm sure they had the plan for the next unibody plastic MacBook already well laid-out.
Turned out that a 13" MacBook Pro with FireWire was exactly what a bunch of touring artists had been waiting for.
1) If moved to lightning connector, the speaker connector plug will need to include a 'locking mechanism' (like spring-clip type, or something) to hold the plug securely enough connected to the jack.
2) Can anybody confirm that the lightning connector 'body' (inside the phone) is in fact, significantly slimmer than the body of the 3.5 jack?
One other thing:
If Apple does come out with a 4" (or some measure of smaller sized phone), and it is a "Budget" phone; Apple will be over.
Absolutely no reason to spec the phone in any different manner than in the same manner of difference that exists between the current two phones.
All three phones can be "premium" Apple, with each model priced accordingly, just as the current two are.
Don't shoot yourself in the foot, Apple.
Love.
iPhone. Comes in three sizes: 4”, 4.7”, & 5.5”.
iPad. Comes in three sizes: 7.9”, 9.7”, & 12.9”.
MacBook. Comes in three sizes: 12”, 13.3”, & 15.4”.
iMac. Comes in three sizes: 21.5”, 27”, and 42”.
I guess I'm just being pessimistic.
For some reason, the "iPad Air" moniker bothers me the most. It just sounds chintzy and lame. Evidence of Apple doubling down on the marketing speak in lieu of actual product development or differentiation IMO.
The MacBook Air was something remarkable and very deserving of the "Air" qualifier when it came out. The "iPad Air"? Not so much.
“If we just had a room temperature superconductor, this wouldn’t be a concern!” said the most vacuous person ever.
I want Apple to invest in stanene research. At the very least, they could rule out its use in printing on logic boards.
Apple has well over five years for releasing another game changer, if they want to just maintain their average.
As for my own expectations, it looks like the next year may see me replacing my work laptop. This is a good thing.
Dont know where you get the idea iPod Toch is 5mm thick, it is 6.1mm according to spec.
People constantly referring the the dismissal of 3.5mm headphone as way to get thinner. That is not the only reason at all. The 3.5mm headphone jack takes up quite abit of space within iPhone. It is also one of the last few pieces of analog parts on the iPhone.
Apple will likely sell a Lighting to 3.5mm Jack Connector ( Basically a Digital to Analog converter )
I also guess it is one less port to waterproof.
I dont think there is anything I really want from a Hardware Standpoint, apart from bigger battery. Apple already has engineers working their own WiFi chip, I am not sure on 4G LTE yet. But they are definitely on course to get their own WiFi. They are participating in 802.11ax standard, I am hoping they could do test with their new 802.11ac chip on a smaller volume like new Airport Express.
Edit: You may ask why do Apple want to make their own WiFi chip ( and not 4G LTE.... yet ) instead of using Broadcom.
For 4G, LTE, TD-LTE etc, there are lots of patents involved. At least in the 3G side of things.
For WiFi, cost, where Broadcom has been known to be more expensive then others, it is a central piece of component that is being used across EVERY single Apple iDevices. Then there is quite a bit of similarity between the coming 802.11ax and LTE-A.
What i do want for 2016, is Apple to improves their Software and Services Department. Which is lacking behind my expectation. May be it is not Apple's fault, but Google has set such a high standard in Internet Services quality, speed, reliability, that Apple for the past two years has yet to catch up. For example a lot of iCloud content are still stored and served from Microsoft Azure, and Amazon S3. iTunes is still based on WebObject!!! ( Wohaaa )
Microsoft has massively catch up in their Software department on Windows 10.
Webkit, as much as I love it, no longer seems to get the attention from community. Comparing to Blink which has Opera, Google, QT, Samsung etc working on it.