Apple prepares for thinner iPhones with slim headphone plug patent

135

Comments

  • Reply 41 of 92
    yazolight wrote: »
    It's time to improve the jack.

    Sing it!

    Poker face was her name
    Poker face was her nature
    Poker straight was her game
    If she knew she could get you
    She played 'em fast
    And she played 'em hard
    She could close her eyes
    And feel every card

    But how was I to know
    That she'd been shuffled before?
    Said she'd never had a royal flush
    But I should have known
    That all the cards were comin'
    From the bottom of the pack
    And if I'd known what she was dealin' out
    I'd have dealt it back

    She's got the Jack
    She's got the Jack
    She's got the Jack, and who knows what else?
    She's got the Jack, yeah, yeah...

    Just doing my best stealing Dick Applebaum's... uhm... Thunder...? :smokey:
  • Reply 42 of 92
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by 1983 View Post

     
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by wizard69 View Post



    Not exactly something I would want to see in an iPhone. If you are hell bent on going to something non standard you might as well go with a thin flat design similar to Lightening. Further Apple will have to work real hard to make such a connector an industry standard, people are pretty emotional about head phones.


    I agree, the world doesn't need or want another proprietary connector. Anyway how much thinner do smartphones need to get? It ultimately just makes them uncomfortable to hold with poorer battery life. Only selfish designers obsessed with thinness want this, not most other people.

     

    I agree with your comments on the designers. How about leaving the phones the current size for a while and giving us more battery? :)

  • Reply 43 of 92
    mac_128mac_128 Posts: 3,454member

    Well, that is not my experience, by far, and I tend to fly "national airlines" for simplicity reasons. Budget airlines tend to require you running off to some random airport nobody else uses.
    Well I can only tell you about American, Alaksa, United, Delta and Jet Blue.

    Since the national carriers all supply wifi internet access in flight, what do they do when you're using your computer, pad or phone, come up and quiz you about whether Bluetooth is turned off? There would be no way to enforce it otherwise. I've not personally used Bluetooth headphones in flight, but I've seen people wearing them, and none have been asked to stop, I've seen a few asked to turn them off during takeoff in the past, but they go right back on as soon as we're in the air.
  • Reply 44 of 92
    cornchipcornchip Posts: 1,945member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by lightknight View Post

     



    Apple cords are notoriously bad. Are you sure you have an Apple device?


     

    5 iDevices + Macs. I've just had better luck with the Apple kit, but I'll look into the brand that other bro mentioned.

  • Reply 45 of 92

    Just stick with Lightning. You can have a digital 3.5" dongle  if need be, use Lightning headphones, or just skip the whole thing and go Bluetooth LE.

     

    Also, is it just my wishful thinking, or could Apple easily make a USB-C-Lightning cable?

  • Reply 46 of 92
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Mac_128 View Post





    Well I can only tell you about American, Alaksa, United, Delta and Jet Blue.



    Since the national carriers all supply wifi internet access in flight, what do they do when you're using your computer, pad or phone, come up and quiz you about whether Bluetooth is turned off? There would be no way to enforce it otherwise. I've not personally used Bluetooth headphones in flight, but I've seen people wearing them, and none have been asked to stop, I've seen a few asked to turn them off during takeoff in the past, but they go right back on as soon as we're in the air.



    Well, for one I have experience with the other side of the Atlantic, mostly Europe and Asia, not the Americas, and secondly, It's mostly the take-off and landing sequences where I witness incidents. Indeed, nobody seems to pay attention to wireless once the plane is flying.

     

    I suppose we could conclude our experiences are similar, only our threshold for being annoyed are different ;)

  • Reply 47 of 92
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by cornchip View Post

     

     

    5 iDevices + Macs. I've just had better luck with the Apple kit, but I'll look into the brand that other bro mentioned.




    Well, I expect you're more lucky than I've been, or maybe I cause more wear-and-tear to cables than the average Joe. To be fair, it's rather likely, being a developer, I do connect/disconnect them very often.

  • Reply 48 of 92
    There's another problem with this design. I like to use a right-angled plug because the part outside the socket is shorter and less likely to get bent. But the D-shape won't allow rotation and that will certainly cause problems.

    If Apple is going to a proprietary design then redesign it properly rather than tweaking it just a bit.
  • Reply 49 of 92
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by lightknight View Post

     



    Well, I expect you're more lucky than I've been, or maybe I cause more wear-and-tear to cables than the average Joe. To be fair, it's rather likely, being a developer, I do connect/disconnect them very often.


     

    Well, that could be a factor. Mine generally stay plugged in in one spot and move very little. To be clear, I'm not necessarily speaking to the fraying issues (which I think are partially a by-product of them not using PVC & other harsh(er) chemicals in their plastics) but more to simply the reliability of them actually working. I've bought probably a dozen third-party chargers which generally work for a month or so before crapping out.

  • Reply 50 of 92

    agree about the lightning jack. It's already there why mess with it any further. Apple may even save a nice chunk of change ridding itself of headphone jacks altogether.

  • Reply 51 of 92
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by cornchip View Post

     

     

    Well, that could be a factor. Mine generally stay plugged in in one spot and move very little. To be clear, I'm not necessarily speaking to the fraying issues (which I think are partially a by-product of them not using PVC & other harsh(er) chemicals in their plastics) but more to simply the reliability of them actually working. I've bought probably a dozen third-party chargers which generally work for a month or so before crapping out.




    My problem is the plastic giving out, then the metal breaking down, and then having to order new ones. I've tried Anker on Amazon last week, I'll see if it's any better than the Apple ones I've been using over the years.

     



    This is irritating ;)

  • Reply 52 of 92
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by lightknight View Post

     

    This is irritating ;)


     

    No doubt. I just bought a few lightning cables (my wife's phone didn't come with one) so we could have them in a few locations, so I'm set for a while, but I look forward to your impressions of the Anker. 

  • Reply 53 of 92
    Who cares about thinner, give me thicker with a bigger battery more memory and get rid of the camera bump on the iPhone 6!
  • Reply 54 of 92

    This is getting ridiculous. I remember when the first iPhone came out and I couldn't plug my headphones into it because the jack was recessed. Adapters for everyone!  $19.99 x 50,000,000 = $999,000,000.

  • Reply 55 of 92
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    mac_128 wrote: »
    I don't think Apple would ever add an analogue output to the Lightning connector. Better to require customers to use the proper technology and invest the R&D into high quality Lightning headphones (or wireless), the former of which Apple is going to give you for free wit e purchase of a new iPhone requiring this technology. Anybody who insists on using an old pair of headphones with a new Apple product merely needs to buy a dongle with an external DAC which will arguably improve the audio quality as well. I don't see Apple being a big enough force in the industry to force accessory makers to switch to lightning, but certainly many would offer it as well.

    For several years, the smartphone makers propositioned Apple to allow them to use Apple's 30 pin connector. We know how that went. Then Samsung came up with their proprietary version.

    I would bet that if Apple licensed their lightning connector for use in other devices, not just those that connect to Apple's, and didn't charge for it, it would get adopted in a number of other devices. But it's not likely Apple would do that. They're not interested in making Lightning a standard.
  • Reply 56 of 92

    This creates a plug/jack combo that can only work if the plug is oriented correctly. Wouldn't it make more sense to shave/flatten a little off of each side of the plug so that it's symmetrical? This would prove a little more forgiving when inserting the plug into the jack.

  • Reply 57 of 92
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member

    My problem is the plastic giving out, then the metal breaking down, and then having to order new ones. I've tried Anker on Amazon last week, I'll see if it's any better than the Apple ones I've been using over the years.

    <img alt="" class="lightbox-enabled" data-id="63194" data-type="61" src="http://forums.appleinsider.com/content/type/61/id/63194/width/350/height/700/flags/LL" style="; width: 350px; height: 467px">



    This is irritating ;)

    Anker is cheap, and get bad ratings from users. They break easily.
  • Reply 58 of 92
    1983 wrote: »
    If the iPhone 6 retained the still svelte thickness of the 5S you could be talking about a solid 2 or 3 day battery life instead of what it currently has. There are a lot of people out there I think that would prefer this to ever thinner iPhones.

    by that same logic, if "a lot of people would prefer" iPhones to use Android and have Stagefright and viruses, Apple should sell an Android phone with Stagefright and viruses.
  • Reply 59 of 92
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by amperzand View Post

     

    What about two lightning ports? Or one lightning port and inductive charging.



    Inductive charging would nice.

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Larz2112 View Post

     

    This creates a plug/jack combo that can only work if the plug is oriented correctly. Wouldn't it make more sense to shave/flatten a little off of each side of the plug so that it's symmetrical? This would prove a little more forgiving when inserting the plug into the jack.


    Yeah having it be symmetrical seems like a better idea.

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by melgross View Post

     
    Take the plug, and roll it as you insert it, and it will right itself within no more than a half turn, and go in.


    That's what she said. ;)

  • Reply 60 of 92
    calicali Posts: 3,494member
    I'm a nerd who thinks about this a lot.

    1. This patent is ugly and I don't want to see it realized ever. Having to look down at a tiny connector to get the orientation right is already a failure.

    2. Lightning connectors are just too big. They're wider than the ancient 3.5" connector. In the coming years it's possible to create a slimmer version. Half the size of the current Lightning connector would be nice but a quarter of the size would be ideal. It would give it a squareish tipped shape which still isn't as great as the ancient 3.5 inch round point connector Which allows you to just plug in and go.

    3. Why not engineer a 3.5 inch connector half the length? This could definitely cut down the size of the jack. A problem I see developing is connector stability issues. They would have to engineer a locking type mechanism so it doesn't slip out while jogging etc. I've had a new iPod touch slip out of my pocket and disconnect from the headphones, causing my new 64GB iPod touch screen to shatter.

    4. Why not save the standards headache and engineer a slimmer jack? This is an obvious idea that seems to slip everyone's minds.

    5. A Lightning headphone with built in rechargeable battery that charges your iPhone while listening to music?!!

    Get Outta Here!!

    Below is an artist's (poor) rendering of a few ideas I've talked about.

    [IMG]http://forums.appleinsider.com/content/type/61/id/63204/width/200/height/400[/IMG]

    [IMG]http://forums.appleinsider.com/content/type/61/id/63205/width/200/height/400[/IMG]
Sign In or Register to comment.