Apple To Remove Lightning Port?

[The Computer Audiophile]

So the speculation has begun about when Apple will remove the lightning port on the iPhone.

 

This would really suck on many levels, but just when I though the market for DAPs (Digital Audio Players) was circling the drain, a development like Apple removing the lightning port would ensure DAPs live on. If I had to listen to audio via wireless to headphones, I would definitely purchase a new DAP. 

 

https://www.macrumors.com/2018/06/21/apple-considered-no-lightning-on-iphone-x/

 

 

[Ralf11]

why is it bad to listen to audio via wireless to headphones?

[The Computer Audiophile]

5 minutes ago, Ralf11 said:

why is it bad to listen to audio via wireless to headphones?

I've never heard wireless headphones that sound good.

[jabbr]

4 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

I've never heard wireless headphones that sound good.

 

There's a little DAC in both the bluetooth headphones as well as the lightning to headphone cable. Presumably a higher quality bluetooth DAC would emerge, and a wired headphone could plug into this ... if it comes to that. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

1 minute ago, jabbr said:

 

There's a little DAC in both the bluetooth headphones as well as the lightning to headphone cable. Presumably a higher quality bluetooth DAC would emerge, and a wired headphone could plug into this ... if it comes to that. 

I'm not into "presumably" when it comes to sound quality. If history is a predictor of the future, as convenience goes up sound quality will go down.

[PeterG]

I have tremendous ambivalence when it comes to Apple's music offerings.  On one, I'm not sure computer audiophiledom as we know it would exist without the iPod, iTunes, and Mac platform in general.  But at every step they seem to have sacrificed sound quality for convenience and/or price--low res files, singles instead of albums, lo fi hardware...

 

Moral of the story--do not rely upon Apple for maintaining any sort of sound quality standard.

[jabbr]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-25/apple-is-said-to-amplify-its-audio-device-strategy-in-2019

[AudioDoctor]

They should also work on higher quality source material...

[asdf1000]

2 hours ago, AudioDoctor said:

They should also work on higher quality source material...

 

For us? The 1%?

 

Their music streaming subscriber numbers continue to climb, even with lower quality source material...

 

 

https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/4/16971436/apple-music-surpass-spotify-us-subscribers

[AudioDoctor]

1 hour ago, Em2016 said:

 

For us? The 1%?

 

Their music streaming subscriber numbers continue to climb, even with lower quality source material...

 

 

https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/4/16971436/apple-music-surpass-spotify-us-subscribers

 

 

My comment was mostly directed at them wanting to increase sound quality as mentioned in the Bloomberg link above.  Sorry I didn't make that clear. You are right however.  I doubt they will make a headphone that challenges a true high end headphone in sound quality, or that anyone buying an Apple Studio Quality headphone would even know the difference.

 

Apple could do so much in this market, it irritates me that they don't.

[asdf1000]

29 minutes ago, AudioDoctor said:

 

 

My comment was mostly directed at them wanting to increase sound quality as mentioned in the Bloomberg link above.  Sorry I didn't make that clear. You are right however.  I doubt they will make a headphone that challenges a true high end headphone in sound quality, or that anyone buying an Apple Studio Quality headphone would even know the difference.

 

Apple could do so much in this market, it irritates me that they don't.

 

Noted. They'll achieve increased sound quality even with the existing lower quality source material, by moving the DAC and amp components out of the phone and closer to the drivers. Note I'm only talking about improved SQ, compared with using the phone as DAC & headphone amp. Obviously not comparing with high end DAP's.

 

At the same time, it gets Jony closer to one of his end goals. "It was reported that Apple's design chief Jony Ive's end goal is for the iPhone to resemble a "single sheet of glass,"".

 

[kirkmc]

They can probably send the data out the USB-C port in more or less the same way as it goes out the lightning port, allowing for an adapter so existing lightning port headphones (the few that there are) can still work. And those adapters will work for any other devices that need to access the digital audio.