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Comment by dkersten | Hacker News Reader

Apple's insistence that I should use wireless for my ear/headphone needs is a large reason why I'm giving up on Apple products. I love my 2016 iPad Pro and would love to replace it with the 11" 2018 model, but I also love my Sony MDR 7506 headphones and I'm unwilling to trash them for wireless earpods that cost a good bit more than I paid for my Sony headphones. No thanks. Similar deal for iPhone (and the shit keyboards + useless touchbar has already made me switch from MBP to Linux). I ignored Apple for so long and they finally won me over around 2015, only to lose me again because their products seem to be getting worse while getting more expensive.

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They hardly insist -- you can just get an adaptor to lightning if you'd prefer, which isn't much compared to the price of the iPad.

That's yet another stupid adapter you have to take with you everywhere. Even though I personally use wireless headphones, I wouldn't want to buy something new when _already_ getting a new phone or whatever.

My iPhone came with one of those adapters. I just leave it attached to my headphones. Not a big deal.

I have an iPhone X, and a new iPad. Each has a separate port type, and the iPad didn't come with an adapter. My wife's newest gen iPhone didn't come with an adapter, it had to be purchased separately.

Your wife’s phone came with headphones that didn’t work with her phone?

I don't recall if they came with the standard apple headphones, but she doesn't use those. She has a good pair of Sennheiser earbuds, and so had to buy an adapter separately.

new iPhones come with lightning earpods

It’s also one more possible point of failure. My adapter causes intermittent skipping and cracklings noises, probably because the contact points aren’t secure. So I’ve basically stopped listening to music and podcasts on my iPhone 8 Plus because of it.

Agreed, it's annoying. Ended up attaching the adapter to my headphone cable with a velcro loop, as I also need to use them in my Macbook, which doesn't have Lightning. Would be even more annoying if I had the iPad Pro and also needed USB-C dongle.

Not willing to go wireless as I use both for music making and wireless latency and compression is unacceptable. On phones I kind of understand it but IMO the iPad Pro not having a headphone socket is not excusable, there must be a way to fit it in.

Just what I need, another adapter that I have to remember to bring with me, not lose etc. Plus the one on Apples website doesn't allow you to charge while the adapter is plugged in, so its either headphone jack or charging cable. No, I do not want this.

Besides, for all of Apples space/thin-saving attempts, requiring me to use an adapter negates all of these completely.

It seems to me that not Apple is forcing you to go wireless, you just don't want change. If I look around me in the streets, I see more wireless earpieces (not only from Apple) than wired ones in use. Looks like the mainstream loves going the Bluetooth route (and ditching cables and dongles).

But why should I want change if what they had before works better for me, personally, than what they want me to want? Wireless is all well and good, but I have enough things that run out of battery or get misplaced, so while I understand that its a super convenient technology for some people, for others like me, its unhelpful. Apples previous products were close to perfect for my use cases, but their new ones miss the mark, so they can have a millimeter thinner phones, or push their expensive earphones or whatever. Plus I like my existing headphones and don't want to replace them at this time.

>Just what I need, another adapter that I have to remember to bring with me, not lose etc.

Yeah, your smartphone has only replaced a camera, a portable movie player, a portable music player, a PDA, a phone, a GPS receiver and/or maps, a watch, a gameboy, and 5-6 other devices we had to carry (or couldn't afford to even have) before.

Now it's adding a dongle for headphones we have to remember to carry? Oh, the humanity!

(Plus the fact that there are also lightning equiped headphones).

> Now it's adding a dongle for headphones we have to remember to carry? Oh, the humanity!

It's like 3 dongles if you want to be able to charge and listen at the same time. Like, for example, on a long-distance flight. And it's a completely self-imposed limitation on Apple's part!

You don't need 3 dongles if you want to use wired headphones and charge at the same time. There are 3rd party adapters that plug into a lightning port and allow you to plug in a 3.5mm headphone and lightning cable for charging directly at the same time. There are cheap versions on Amazon.

Well, there’s also stuff like this: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/03/your-...

Oh good god, that adapter.

I can’t charge and listen to music. Phone low on battery? Hey guess what! Don’t you wish you has just bought our expensive blue tooth speakers?

NO. If I want actual sound I’ll get it from people who love for sound.

Apple's insistence that I should use wireless for audio is a large reason I'm doubling down on Apple products. I don't need the tangled messes of headphone wires or the extra opportunities for water ingress. Please please let's get rid of wired audio!

Difference being that you used to have the choice between wired or wireless. Now it's wireless or nothing at all.

Not good for people who enjoy the higher audio quality or just don't want to mess about with charging yet more batteries

Not to put a too fine point on it, that’s bullshit. I can plug in wired audio on all of my Apple products, except the Apple TV. I did like the optical audio the older models had. By default, I much, much prefer wireless.

iPhone are still sold today with bundled wired headphones.

Since when proposing a sold separately wirelesses alternative is "forcing you to go wireless"?

Think about how wired audio is used in recording, production, and live audio. Removing the wire adds latency.

I've never had latency issues while talking on the phone using my AirPods.

It might be an issue with high bitrate audio like FLAC/ALAC but I've never tried - the quality is probably lost on something like airpods anyways

Try fast-paced games or any audio/music apps. Latency is quite terrible, makes GarageBand itself unusable.

why would i care about latency in a music streaming app? i dont need the play/pause button to be accurate to the ms.

GarageBand is a music production app, but, as your question was about more mundane usage, this guy's article makes the point that the audio is no longer a replacement for haptic feedback. It also crippled his app a bit.

https://stephencoyle.net/airpods

Wireless audio still has latency.

It is very noticeable in games and movies. Until they solve that problem first, wired solutions will always be needed.

What? I have a couple thousand hours on my PS4 with A Sony PS Gold Bluetooth headset, and it is an absolutely awesome setup. (No affiliation, I just like them. I’m on my second pair over the course of about 5 years.)

Maybe you are used to it? Try watching a series or movie and notice when their lips open and if the sound starts in your ears right away.

That's a problem with bluetooth protocol in general.

https://www.rtings.com/headphones/tests/active-features/late...

This. The experience was good enough for most people even for AirPod Gen 1. Battery needs improvement though, and I am sure AirPod 2 will be even better in Audio Quality and ease of use.

And hopefully someday the cost and prices of AirPod will be much lower or even included with iPhone.

>I also love my Sony MDR 7506 headphones and I'm unwilling to trash them for wireless earpods that cost a good bit more than I paid for my Sony headphones. No thanks.

I used to carry a couple of iPod Nano's paired with Shure SE215 to the gym until a few months ago. Despite my intial hesitation against wireless earphones and self-imposed rule of never taking a phone to the gym, Jabra Elite Sport + an iPhone 7 has replaced that setup for now. The sound on the Jabra is far superior, the heart-rate monitor is fairly accurate and there is also basic Strava integration, but more importantly - I am cable-free!

On the other hand, I continue to use ATH-M50x with the iPad Pro 10.5 (which has the 3.5mm jack) due to the comfort and no lag with video content.

It is not about relinquishing or discarding your trusty old gear, but making it work with new tech, wherever and whenever you can, regardless of the ecosystem.

Let me help you here: https://www.ebay.ca/i/391861141640?chn=ps&dispItem=1

Don't forget the lightning to 3.5mm as well. And a dongle that offers a headphone/usb C/Lightning splitter if you want to charge your device and listen to music at the same time (you monster).

Great. Now how do I charge my device while listening to music?

Let me help you out again: https://www.apple.com/shop/product/HLJV2ZM/A/belkin-35-mm-au...

$35 just to plug headphones into a phone, something all of my phones could do out of the box for over 15 years.

I’m using an iPhone 6s right now and this phone does everything I want and then some. The only reason I would upgrade is for bettter battery life or maybe a faster processor. Everything else it does perfectly well for me. So why would I want to replace it with a phone that forces me to use a dongle just to continue using it the way I’ve been doing for years? Especially if that dongle negates every size advantage that not having a jack might add.

As for me not wanting to stay current with tech (as someone above said), it’s because, for me, wireless earphones and dongles are a major step backwards. For you, not having a cable and having batteries might be a feature. For me, having a cable and not having batteries is a feature. I don’t want bulky or expensive dongles.

Anyway, unless Apple decides to cater for people like me again, I’m not going to buy any nore of their devices (and I’m not someone who doesn’t buy Apple anyway, I own multiple Apple devices)

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