General Apple Megathread

[fundmark19]

Apple just announced they will fix screens under Apple Care for 39 bucks. Not too shabby!

[DownInFlames]

Originally Posted by woob

Probably so they can give us an even THINNER phone next! Because that's what everyone is clamoring for. I mean that iPhone is a mammoth brick, isn't it??

They haven't made their phone thinner in two years. In fact the 6s and 7 are thicker than the previous version.

I'm going to wait for the anti-Apple trolls to forget about this thread in a week, like they always do, and then I'm going to discuss the new features I'm excited about. See you guys then.

[HotHotHeat]

Originally Posted by woob

Probably so they can give us an even THINNER phone next! Because that's what everyone is clamoring for. I mean that iPhone is a mammoth brick, isn't it??

Don't you mean more expensive and too closed off for power users?

[corporatejay]

Originally Posted by FlameOn

Comparing elmination of the floppy with the headphone jack is a ridiculous analogy. The successor of the floppy was already wide spread and reliable when the floppy drive was killed.

This is killing off a current, widespread technology that has good audio qualities for something that is less widespread, less reliable, more expensive, more complicated and a completely proprietary model with minimal audio quality improvements speaks of nothing but greed. This is Apple retreating behind a wall garden and making the consumer pay even more for it

So is bluetooth. Honestly who buys wired headphones anymore? A decent set of bluetooth headphones are like 25 bucks on amazon (Mpow).

[photon]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

Another claim that doesn't hold water. Apple is free to change everything they want to but I don't appreciate the falsehoods they are spreading among consumers.

Where is Apple saying that they had to change the home button and remove the headphone jack to get water resistance? You've quoted posters saying this but attributed what they said to Apple.

The only thing I've read from Apple says removing the headphone jack helped meet the water resistance standard, which is true as not having to upgrade a headphone jack to a water resistant one is easier than having to.

The home button would be similar, it's easier to not have to upgrade it at all than design one that's water resistant.

[woob]

Originally Posted by DownInFlames

They haven't made their phone thinner in two years. In fact the 6s and 7 are thicker than the previous version.

I'm going to wait for the anti-Apple trolls to forget about this thread in a week, like they always do, and then I'm going to discuss the new features I'm excited about. See you guys then.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm not an anti-Apple troll. I'm a long time iPhone user who just has never understood Apple's obsession with making everything so thin. Phones, iPads, Macbooks. MUST BE THINNER!!1111

[corporatejay]

Originally Posted by woob

Sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm not an anti-Apple troll. I'm a long time iPhone user who just has never understood Apple's obsession with making everything so thin. Phones, iPads, Macbooks. MUST BE THINNER!!1111

Agreed.

[opendoor]

Originally Posted by corporatejay

So is bluetooth. Honestly who buys wired headphones anymore? A decent set of bluetooth headphones are like 25 bucks on amazon (Mpow).

Last figure I saw was that 83% of headphones that are sold are wired. Wired gear is less expensive for a given level of audio quality, it generally lasts longer, it can be connected to virtually any device, it doesn't need to be charged, it's less taxing on the device's battery, and it doesn't suffer from the latency issues that can sometimes plague wireless audio.

And of course it's not simply an issue of headphones. People connect phones to home audio equipment, car stereos, PA systems, etc. Some of that can handle a Bluetooth signal but most that exists out there cannot.

This move has less to do with wired audio being on its way out and more with the fact that Apple owns a company that sells junk $15-20 headphones for $300 and they have a big stake in encouraging people to replace their old gear.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by opendoor

This move has less to do with wired audio being on its way out and more with the fact that Apple owns a company that sells junk $15-20 headphones for $300 and they have a big stake in encouraging people to replace their old gear.

Anyone else find it mildly amusing that this company was born out of Monster, the company that sold mediocre cables for 10x their value back in the 90's-2000's, and was widely ridiculed well...everywhere? They re-branded and suddenly they became the cool hip thing to have. But they still make mediocre crap and sell it for 10x it's value...

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by corporatejay

So is bluetooth. Honestly who buys wired headphones anymore? A decent set of bluetooth headphones are like 25 bucks on amazon (Mpow).

Most people...?

[calumniate]

Fidelity has changed very little over the years. My akg studio headphones are almost twenty years old and the core model is still sold today. The margins in their audio accessories are going to be craaazy

[DownInFlames]

Originally Posted by woob

Sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm not an anti-Apple troll. I'm a long time iPhone user who just has never understood Apple's obsession with making everything so thin. Phones, iPads, Macbooks. MUST BE THINNER!!1111

You know how annoying it is to actually want to discuss the new iPhone and having to wade through post after post of bull#### that are nothing but the same old potshots at Apple?

There are valid reasons to criticize Apple, but yours isn't one of them. Like I said, the last time they made the phone thinner was two generations before this one, so you're coming across as either grossly uninformed or trollish. If you claim you're not the latter then I hope you're fine with being the former.

[Wormius]

I am a little more keen on the new watch. I think with the GPS it will be a good standalone product for fitness. It's just the daily charging that would be a pain. Too bad they can't employ some energy harvesting. My overall disappointment with some of Garmin's offerings, I would be pretty interested in this, if it isn't skyhigh. I can still carry my phone around for running and cycling, so... I feel like I would need some persuasion to move towards a watch.

[HotHotHeat]

Originally Posted by opendoor

Last figure I saw was that 83% of headphones that are sold are wired. Wired gear is less expensive for a given level of audio quality, it generally lasts longer, it can be connected to virtually any device, it doesn't need to be charged, it's less taxing on the device's battery, and it doesn't suffer from the latency issues that can sometimes plague wireless audio.

And of course it's not simply an issue of headphones. People connect phones to home audio equipment, car stereos, PA systems, etc. Some of that can handle a Bluetooth signal but most that exists out there cannot.

This move has less to do with wired audio being on its way out and more with the fact that Apple owns a company that sells junk $15-20 headphones for $300 and they have a big stake in encouraging people to replace their old gear.

Meanwhile, actual studies are proving otherwise.

https://www.theatlas.com/charts/HJnL1WYd

PS this graph was in a link I posted earlier. But hey, facts be damned.

[HotHotHeat]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Most people...?

Wireless headphones outsold non-bluetooth headphones for the first time ever in the first half of 2016, according to consumer research firm NPD Group.

Bluetooth headphones have been around for awhile, but only recently started becoming more popular. One catalyst could be bluetooth low energy, a network that consumes less battery power than traditional bluetooth connections. Wireless headphones themselves have gotten cheaper too—30% of bluetooth headphones sold in the first half of 2016 cost $50 or less, compared with 16% in the first half of 2015.

http://qz.com/745108/wireless-headph...tipping-point/

[opendoor]

Originally Posted by HotHotHeat

Meanwhile, actual studies are proving otherwise.

https://www.theatlas.com/charts/HJnL1WYd

PS this graph was in a link I posted earlier. But hey, facts be damned.

Might want to actually read the study. It clearly states that Bluetooth headphones comprise only 17 percent of unit sales which is precisely the figure I referenced in that quote:

https://www.npd.com/wps/portal/npd/u...uetooth-sales/

That chart in your post refers to market share which is based on dollars, not units.

Bluetooth headphones are more expensive, so they naturally bring in more money, but the fact remains that wired headphones outsell Bluetooth ones nearly 5:1 right now.

[HotHotHeat]

Haha, then I'll eat crow. My only defence is the graph is titled "Market share for headphone sales in the US". Still a tipping point, though not nearly as significant.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by photon

Where is Apple saying that they had to change the home button and remove the headphone jack to get water resistance? You've quoted posters saying this but attributed what they said to Apple.

The only thing I've read from Apple says removing the headphone jack helped meet the water resistance standard, which is true as not having to upgrade a headphone jack to a water resistant one is easier than having to.

The home button would be similar, it's easier to not have to upgrade it at all than design one that's water resistant.

Yes, there are many articles where Apple representatives state what you've mentioned, that removing the jack helped them meet the IP67 water resistance rating and allowed room for the vibrator (taptic engine) that supports their new home key which is also sealed for water resistance.

They haven't said that it was outright neccessary but it was given as a rationale for their choice. These comments are being recycled among consumers and journalists to produce further arguments about why the headphone jack is antiquated because they have taken the assumption that it's technically neccessary and was not simply a design choice.

There was a good thread on the headphones subreddit last night where a poster deconstructs some of this bad journalism or consumer misconceptions that are floating around. I'm mainly against the fact that Apple's comments further these misconceptions and will segment the headphone and audio equipment market. Manufacturers are going to sink money into producing specific lightning enabled versions of headphones or headphones with built in DACs to compensate and pass those costs onto consumers whereas once they were universal.

https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/...more_nonsense/

[woob]

Originally Posted by DownInFlames

You know how annoying it is to actually want to discuss the new iPhone and having to wade through post after post of bull#### that are nothing but the same old potshots at Apple?

There are valid reasons to criticize Apple, but yours isn't one of them. Like I said, the last time they made the phone thinner was two generations before this one, so you're coming across as either grossly uninformed or trollish. If you claim you're not the latter then I hope you're fine with being the former.

Thread Title: General Apple Megathread. Not: "Apple fans only", "Discuss Apple, no negative remarks please", or "Ye who goes here shall not diss the Apple".

If you want an Apple only discussion without any detractors, jokes, or what not, I suggest you make a super serious Apple fans only thread. I am a long time Apple user who is frustrated by a few things they do and have done in the past, and as such I feel I can bring those items up in a thread called "General Apple Megathread."

[corporatejay]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Most people...?

Says who?