Apple removes headphone jack from new 10th generation iPad
The new 10.9-inch iPad now requires either wireless headphones, or the use of a USB-C adapter as it becomes the latest device to lose the famous 3.5mm headphone connector.
Completing the process it began with the iPhone 7 in 2015, Apple has now removed the headphone jack from all of its new mobile devices. The sole device Apple sells that still retains the old jack is 2021's 9th generation iPad.
The decision is likely to be less controversial now than it was seven years ago, as Apple has proven to be right about the move to wireless headphones. Or at least it's right in the sense that all rival manufacturers have now copied it.
It's arguable that Apple was self-serving in making the decision, because the company later became so dominant in wireless headphones with its AirPods range.
There are still many cases where a wired connection is better than a wireless one, such as for musicians and people working in education. For those people, Apple sells a pair of headphone $9 adapters, one for USB-C, and one for Lightning.
Read on AppleInsider
Completing the process it began with the iPhone 7 in 2015, Apple has now removed the headphone jack from all of its new mobile devices. The sole device Apple sells that still retains the old jack is 2021's 9th generation iPad.
The decision is likely to be less controversial now than it was seven years ago, as Apple has proven to be right about the move to wireless headphones. Or at least it's right in the sense that all rival manufacturers have now copied it.
It's arguable that Apple was self-serving in making the decision, because the company later became so dominant in wireless headphones with its AirPods range.
There are still many cases where a wired connection is better than a wireless one, such as for musicians and people working in education. For those people, Apple sells a pair of headphone $9 adapters, one for USB-C, and one for Lightning.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
But at this point, who needs the audio jack anyway? You have legacy earbuds? Get new ones. Get Bluetooth ones. Or buy a cheapo adapter. You say the audio quality is too low over Bluetooth? Well, you should be using a high end stereo system, that has both the 35mm and 1/4" audio jacks, not an iPad.
At least they sell a USB-C to 3.5mm adaptor. Annoying though.
Now on the other hand, DJs who used to split the audio output into separate mono channels for mixing are REALLY upset about this...
As for your points:
1. People buy dedicated I/O interface. Yes, and I have one for my guitar/bass that connects to the iPad.
2. Audio quality: When it comes to recording I don't care what the sound quality of the click track is. I also don't need high quality audio to work on an arrangement, or to lay down additional tracks.
3. You can't separate your tracks: Huh? GarageBand supports up to 256 tracks. I'm not sure how it takes longer to record individual tracks on an iPad. I can't currently play more than instrument at a time so recording individual tracks is how I record no matter if I'm using an iPad or a Mac.
4. It's really only for people that dabble: Gorillaz recorded an entire album on an iPad. There are also no shortage of artists that have recoded songs on iPads or iPhones. Other than being objectively incorrect, you argument has another problem. You are basically saying hobbyist should matter as customers That is just goofy.
There is a saying, "Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those doing it."
Anyway, my points stands. People working with audio would benefit form the headphone jack. Is it insurmountable or a deal breaker? No, but that wasn't the question asked.
My point about being able to separate audio tracks: once you have a song on the iPad which is made up of several sounds (guitar, bass, vocal, drums, etc), what do you do with them after that? If you're just recording it straight to a completely mixed song, then you're fine. However, if you need to do some mastering/post-production such as frequency filtering, ducking, effects, compression, etc, then you want to have the individual sounds and not the complete mix. If you only have a single audio output, you're stuck recording each track one at a time (or two if they're mono sounds). Whereas if you have a 4/8/16 channel audio output device, you can record them all at once (and at higher quality).
Time is money when it comes to the studio. I'd be willing to bet that, when it came time for mastering their tracks for release, the Gorillaz weren't using the headphone jack to get their sounds off the iPad.
Of course, there will always be some people who won’t understand why other people like to do things their own way. Apple used to even market itself as the brand for people who like to do things their own way.
I admit that I'm pretty terrible at being perfectly in time with my live recordings of anything, so I'm just used to having to go back and fix up my mistakes. In this case, adjusting the new recording so that it matches the existing recording after-the-fact. But I can see how this would be annoying for someone who is actually a good live performer, so I apologize for not seeing it at first take.
Any problem with that?