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mbenz1962 said:

My adapter only serves one purpose and that is for Air travel.  I have a pair of BeatsX, but of course they are wireless and have no way to interface with the airplane's entertainment system.  I have an aging pair of Apples In-Ear Headphones that I take on airplanes.  I need the adapter so that I'm not fumbling with one set of headphones (BeatsX) when I'm doing something on my iPhone and another when I'm watching a movie on the seat-back system.  I can easily use the same headphones and just add/remove the adapter as needed.  Other than that, I literally have no use for the adapter and it lives in my travel case that only is packed for trips.
Delta (and some other airlines) has been improving their in-flight systems to stream most (though not all for some dumb licensing reasons no doubt) of the films/shows to in flight apps.  Eventually streaming will completely replace expensive in-back systems and even this use case will fade away.

I used to do this as well. I use AirPods and Lightning EarPods with my iPhone, but can’t use them with the inflight entertainment systems, as there are no adapters for them. This has been my beef with Apple since they removed the headphone jack. Air travel highlights how Apple did not step up to the plate in these two respects: two people cannot share the same audio signal with BT or Lightning headphones, and Lightning headphones cannot be used with anything else, requiring users to fall back on “old outdated” 3.5mm headphones, often requiring carrying two pairs of headphones to use all equipment desired, including a Mac. Apple has not implemented any low-latency technologies in their BT solutions, ruling out that as a universal method to watch videos on non-Apple equipment.

i agree that as Airlines increasingly offer individual device streaming, this issue will ultimately go away. I mean, how much does all of those free headphones coast the airlines annually anywa?

crudman said:

mbenz1962 said:

My adapter only serves one purpose and that is for Air travel.  I have a pair of BeatsX, but of course they are wireless and have no way to interface with the airplane's entertainment system.  I have an aging pair of Apples In-Ear Headphones that I take on airplanes.  I need the adapter so that I'm not fumbling with one set of headphones (BeatsX) when I'm doing something on my iPhone and another when I'm watching a movie on the seat-back system.  I can easily use the same headphones and just add/remove the adapter as needed.  Other than that, I literally have no use for the adapter and it lives in my travel case that only is packed for trips.
Delta (and some other airlines) has been improving their in-flight systems to stream most (though not all for some dumb licensing reasons no doubt) of the films/shows to in flight apps.  Eventually streaming will completely replace expensive in-back systems and even this use case will fade away.

How does the currently bundled adapter help on a plane? The end is a male lightning connector which won’t plug into any flight entertainment system. What you’d need is the opposite of what Apple provides - a female lightning to male 3.5mm headphone jack. I travel a fair bit and in my checking this apparatus doesn’t exist as it would be expensive to create (due to multiple analog/digital/analog conversions as I understand things). Far cheaper to just carry the old 3.5mm EarPods just for the plane. That’s what I do (along with my AirPods). I’d looked at the 12South AirFly but pricing on it is a bit strep in Canada and the reviews haven’t been stellar (unless anyone here has first hand positive experience with it or another brand BT transmitter with 3.5mm jack for use on flights paired to AirPods???)

See above clarificarion. I don’t see any reason why a Lightning headphone to 3.5mm adapter can’t exist, Certainly not price alone. It also doesn’t have to be complicated ... Apple could easily design a DAC bypass such that the adapter sends the analogue signal straight to the transducers if they wanted to. It may be cheaper to carry an old pair of EarPods, but not as convenient, and does nothing for someone who has invested in a high quality pair of Lightning headphones. And carrying two such bulky pair of headphones is especially really impractical.

Add to that, Apple BT headphones can’t be used with BT transmitters with inflight video since Apple doesn’t incorporate any low-latency technology for use with anything other than Apple devices which essentially buffer the audio to account for latency issues and maintain video sync. My solution has been to buy an Aptx LL transmitter, and receiver, which allows me to plug into airline video systems and use any wired headphones I like (including noise cancelling models), while freeing up the seating area from a tangle of wires. If the passenger in the middle seat needs to get out while I’m watching a movie, I don’t have unplug anything. Now all that cost me about $50, and I have to keep two extra devices charged, but the convenience is worth every penny. 

I hate the idea that this article attributes the concept of the Newton to Gasse. Steve Jobs was working with Hartmut Esslinger in 1984 on prototypes based on concepts Jobs wanted to bring to market which Sculley refused to consider as he myopically focused on the Mac. Gasse hyper-focused on the Mac in complete disagreement with Jobs as well.

Jobs was already introducing the idea of LCD tablet devices with hand recognition long before Gasse got his sleezy hands on the concept.

https://www.designboom.com/technology/hartmut-esslingers-early-apple-computer-and-tablet-designs/

mknelson said:

I like that analogy with the early days of the iPod. I've starting noticing AirPods in people's ears on the news, etc.

The AirPods is where I'd say most of the growth is coming form. Anecdotally they do seem to be ubiquitous, much more so than the Apple Watch.  What's interesting is that Apple keeps throwing more and more into this category, and there is excellent growth, but not necessarily counting for all the products it represents equally. And I certainly wouldn't discount the value of Beats as a contributor to this sector.

Based on Apple complying with Chinese government policy, I would expect that they will likewise capitulate to Indian government mandates as well. 

tht said:

fastasleep said:

I'm still confused about this lineup. I don't understand how they're going to market the mid-sized LCD model in comparison to the other two. It appears that it'll have slightly thicker bezels, but what other differentiating factors will there be that separates it from the OLED models to the average consumer? I don't think most people are going to know or care about the difference between LCD and OLED. Plastic body like the 5c?

The LCD model is rumored to have a single back camera, no 3D Touch, aluminum frame instead of steel, the aforementioned larger bezels, and the usual segmentation in storage and maybe SoC. It will look less “pretty” for lack of a better term. 

No 3D Touch stings imo. That maybe implies no Taptic Engine, or a lessor version of it. 

I personally don’t see a single one of those things to be a deal breaker for the average consumer, especially not 3D Touch. The very idea that Apple might leave a next generation iPhone without 3D Touch suggests it’s not such a vital technology. I’d expect more people to make a decision based on the camera technology, but that’s about it from that list.