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Comment by importantbrian | Hacker News Reader

I don't think removing the headphone jack is going to be as big a deal as everyone here makes it out to be. I have a pair of bluetooth headphones I use for the gym and I love them. In fact all the headphones I see at the gym anymore are wireless. The only thing I hate is having to charge them. If battery technology keeps improving there will be no advantage to wired headphones. Even from a sound quality perspective there are some very nice sounding bluetooth headphones out there, and I suspect that will only continue to improve. The only thing I really use wired headphones for anymore is as monitors when I'm playing in the band, and that's only because our monitor setup is wired. If I could find a good wireless IEM setup I would be in heaven.

I see this as the direction the market is headed anyway. Apple has just moved to embrace it early.

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1. Removing the headphones is not what people are complaining but unable to charge the phone and use wired headphones is one thing people are complaining about.

2. USD 160 for a AirPod! thats too much and the design really is not up to the mark

Yes, and consider that you can buy an Amazon Echo for $179 ($129 at Lowes)that comes with a subwoofer, WiFi and Bluetooth, seven microphones, an AI and a sense of humor.

A pair of rigid plastic Bluetooth headphones that are easily damaged or lost for $159 is consumer price gouging. You do the math.

Talking of the rigidity of the shells on Apple headphones in general, they aren't designed for everyone's ears. I have fairly small ear canals and those things physically hurt to use. I much prefer a nice pair of Philips with gel caps.

Plus the cord to me is actually a good thing ZIMHO, it provides some weight and also helps me stop losing the things.

Courage my ass, it's them simply trying to milk more $$$ from people who can feel more superior from buying salvation at no matter what the cost. :-)

Anyway just my 2c

1. Do we know for sure you won't be able to do that? I seem to remember that being a complaint about the USB-C port on the new MacBooks but you can get an adapter that allows you to do both. I suspect there will be similar adapters for the iPhone.

2. $160 might be too much for the AirPods, but I don't know that anyone can really know that yet. Whether they are worth that or not really depends on the functionality and sound quality, and I haven't really seen any reviews on that yet. What I do know is that $160 is really on the low end as far as good headphones go. My Jaybirds were $150 when I got them and my ATH-M50xs were also around $150.

> I don't think removing the headphone jack is going to be as big a deal as everyone here makes it out to be.

> I have a pair of bluetooth headphones I use for the gym and I love them.

Yeah, that's why you don't see it as a problem. The majority of people still use corded headphones, some of which are high-quality, pricey investments that you don't just want to stop using. If you end up misplacing that little dongle, you can't listen to music privately until it's replaced. Seems like a downgrade in functionality, with almost no improvement, considering you are already using your bluetooth headphones effectively.

> The majority of people still use corded headphones, some of which are high-quality, pricey investments that you don't just want to stop using.

The vast majority of people I see in public use the standard Apple earbuds. I suspect that the percentage of people with expensive cans is very low, and that most people that buy the iPhone 7 will continue to use the stock lightning earbuds.

^ This

Are people really using high-end headphones on the go with their iPhones? I have some very nice corded cans, but they require a headphone amp to really sound good, so they only get used at home.

How much do you listen for charging to be an issue? I have the beats solo 2 and I change them like once a week for half an hour. Hardly an inconvenience and I listen to them almost every day.

It's not so much the amount of listening as it is my absent mindedness about remembering to charge them.

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