Innovation or e-waste? Apple rumored to ditch headphone jack
 

I had not really thought about this aspect of the rumor of Apple dropping the 3.5 headphone jack. But this move likely would add more tech to landfills as everyone wants the 'latest and greatest'.

http://www.theguardian.com/sustainab...headphone-jack

It's not as if Apple products have ever been environmentally friendly.
This move is a surprise how?

Without a headphone jack, Apple can make iPhones as thick as a human hair :D

I think it'll only be a bigger cost for consumers as all other devices will need that standard 3.5 headphone. Will people actually throw away their headphones if they also have, let's say, an Ipad? Or if somebody else in the family doesn't have that newest and shiniest and expensivenest Iphone, it means that you cannot use that person's device if you don't have that "old-fashioned" headphone connection.

On the contrary actually. Apple has been doing great strides for almost 10 years now to become more environmentally friendly, and Apple under Tim Cook is one of the leading tech companies world wide in this aspect.

Given how many people use the headphones that come with the iPhone, which will now likely switch to Lightning, it won't really change for the majority of people. On top of that, more and more people use Bluetooth headphones anyway. And it is not like peoples other electrical appliances with head phones ports suddenly disappear anyway. So I think the amount of waste won't change much.

Don't throw goofy indefensible imaginings out about Apple.
Which is all you have now, or in the past.

Apple cranks out pieces of gear with planned limited life spans.

The junk they throw out has sealed in non replaceable batteries. That is guaranteed to make them toxic landfill long before they should have to be. When the battery won't hold a charge anymore an iPhone or iPad or iPod is junk.

My old five inch Dell Streak is still in use. An Apple product that had been used as much couldn't be (even if they had made large screen phones that long ago) because it's been used hard and it is on its third battery.


There is no defense for Apple.
No cause they can give to counters this.
No papers they can publish.
No foundation or cause the donate to counters this in any way.

You have to judge Apple by the actual gear they manufacturer and sell. Not by their PR image.

And it will be able to last on a full charge for a good hour or so :D

Yet another reason not to buy an iPhone/iPod/whatever!

Och - that's OK - don't use headphones :D

I don't have a problem with this personally as I use Bluetooth earphones and don't use the headphone jack for any other purpose. That being said, I can see how many people might feel after being forced to buy compatible equipment.

1. There are still plenty of iPhone 4's and 5's in use. Some of those came out 4+ years ago.

2. The batteries can be replaced. There are kits you can buy, places you can visit, or Apple themselves can do it for you in one of their stores or via mail-in.

It costs, but it's much less than the price of a new iPhone. :thumbsup:

In light of that evidence though, it's just wrong to say a dead battery automatically equals the end of the devices useful life.

About the headphone jack: there would (presumably) be adapters that would allow you to use your old headphones with jack-less iDevices.

It's e-waste & PROFIT generating. The headphone required will be apple headphone with a patented chip for the phone/pad to recognize as a "genuine" apple product; else the headphone won't be able to connect to the phone even if it is a bluetooth connection.

It's like the pre-intel switch for apple. Remember that the 3.5 in diskette must be apple formatted else it won't be recognized? Or the devices like hard disk & 4 mm tape drives that must have patented roms for them to be able to talk to the macs? Apple may have reasoned it out before buying Beats for their headphones.....

It isn't innovation but back to the old days where only apple produces can be used with apple products.

Where do people get this stuff from?

Bluetooth is a open standard. Just like the current headphone jack is an open standard.

Any bluetooth device will work with any Apple device that supports bluetooth, just as any headphone with a normal headphone plug will work with any device with a headphone jack.

That not changing.

Planned obsolescence has been a business strategy for most smartphone manufacturers. I hate to see it move into third party add-ons like headphones.
If there is any good news, it is that like with desktops/laptops phone hardware is getting to the place that you don't need 8 cores and 8 gigs of ram to do basic tasks. And falling sales is starting to reflect that reality. Older phones and even even cheapo smartphones are sufficient for most tasks now. The biggest hurdle is outdated software. CyanogenMod or other OS's could help if the phones were not so locked down.

Why anyone would want a cord tethering their head to their device is beyond me. My headphones and speakers are all bluetooth. I expect Android manufacturers will remove the jacks as well in the next couple of years.