Apple Explores the Idea Of Killing Headphone Jack On the MacBook Pro (thenextweb.com)

Less than two weeks after Apple unveiled its headphone jack-less iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, the company is already exploring the idea of doing the same on its flagship computing lineup. An anonymous reader shares a report on The Next Web: Apple might be going all-in with the wireless revolution as the company is now allegedly considering killing the headphone jack on the MacBook Pro. Users are reporting that as of recently Apple has been asking them to fill in a survey about the way they use their MacBook Pro and one of the questions pertains particularly to the headphone jack. Shared by Blake A. via Twitter, the question reads "Do you ever use the headphone port on your MacBook Pro with Retina display?", suggesting Apple is exploring going jackless with its laptops in the future. Given the Cupertino company just ditched the audio jack on the iPhone 7, the change is likely to eventually come to other Apple products too -- the real question is when.Several Slashdot readers have also confirmed that they have participated in a similar survey with some noting that Apple also asked them about the removable of headphone jack on some of its other computing lineup including the iMac.

Comments

Bluetooth pairing

[wafflemonger]

Most of the Bluetooth headphones that I have used only like to be paired to one device at a time. A lot of Mac Book users also have an iPhone that now does not have a headphone jack. You will get all the adventures of pairing your headphones each time you switch devices.

Re:I use it all the time

[Anonymous Coward]

That is just a selection bias on your part, and most likely a fabrication. The production houses I work at, as a professional editor, use windows and premiere. Not sure why anyone would "break out in hives". Windows is just as easy to use as OSX and offers much more user control. It's just an operating system. And there has been a mass exodus from apple hardware since the mac pro was announced. It's simply not functional in a production environment, and costs $3,000+ over an equivalent windows machine. You can't even get modern hardware options like current GPUs.

But what would the adapter connect to?

[dfm3]

Maybe they could get away with this on the base Macbook or Macbook Air, but it's just asinine to remove the 35mm jack from a Pro device. Unlike phones, these are widely used for content production and A/V presentation in venues like concerts, schools and churches. Do they really expect these users to hook up an adapter to use Bluetooth, USB, or thunderbolt for audio out to professional equipment? You might not notice any reduction in sound quality while using bluetooth or a dongle to listen to music in your car, but you WILL notice it when amplified on a speaker system in a venue that seats 1000 people.

Re:But what would the adapter connect to?

[BronsCon]

3.5mm (AKA 1/8") comes in TS, TRS, and TRRS variants, just like 1/4" (AKA 6mm); all three formats are also made in a 1/16" size (AKA 2.5mm).

TS is actually the more common 1/4" on a lot of consoles; two lines, one for the left channel and one for the right; TRS usually only exists on consoles as a headphone output. One reason for this is that, quite often, a stereo pair is actually split into two monaural channels to record, for example, two different instruments, two different vocal tracks, or one person's separate vocal and instrument track, none of which typically need to be recorded in stereo (save for a very few instruments, any stereo effect is typically added in mixing). We don't see a bunch of monaural inputs on mixers because there is also often the requirement for a stereo pair, but we do see those stereo inputs split out into two monaural jacks for the above reason.

I've seen a 1/4" TRRS in the wild, commonly used on broadcast headsets. Hell, I've even seen TRRRS connectors, for quadraphonic audio, in both larger sizes.

Every single high-end pair of headphones, as well as most low-end "studio-style" headphones and headsets, includes an adapter from 1/4" TRS to 1/8" TRS; whether the adapter is 1/4" > 1/8" or 1/8" > 1/4" will depend on whether the headphones ship with a 1/4" or 1/8" TRS plug, but the adapter will be there. It is the single most common audio adapter in the world. TS adapters of this type will be somewhat less common in home audio, but you are virtually guaranteed to find a box, bin, basket, or drawer-full of the things sitting on or near any mixing console. TRRS and TRRRS adapters that go from 1/4" to 1/8" are going to be less common, but the need for them is virtually nonexistent, so that's fine; 1/8" to 1/16" TS, TRS, and TRRS adapters are also fairly common, one or more of them typically being included with equipment that utilizes 1/16" jacks. I'm sure there's a 1/16" TRRRS out there somewhere as well, but I've never heard of such a beast.

Here's a breakdown for you:
TS - Tip/Sleeve - Carries one monaural audio signal. Common in 1/4", 1/8", and 1/16". Adapters available between all sizes, commonly found for 1/4" to/from 1/8" and 1/8" to/from 1/16".
TRS - Tip/Ring/Sleeve - Carries one stereo or two monaural audio signals. Common in 1/4", 1/8", and 1/16". Adapters available between all sizes, commonly found for 1/4" to/from 1/8" and 1/8" to/from 1/16".
TRRS - Tip/Ring/Ring/Sleeve - Carries one stereo and one monaural audio signal, or three monaural audio signals. Commonly used in headsets to provide stereo audio and a monaural microphone. Common in 1/8" and 1/16". Adapters available between all sizes, commonly found for 1/8" to/from 1/16".
TRRRS - Tip/Ring/Ring/Ring/Sleeve - Carries one quadraphonic audio signal, two stereo audio signals, one stereo and two monaural audio signals, or four monaural audio signals. Commonly used on quadraphonic headphones and stereo headsets providing a stereo microphone. Uncommon in all sizes, available in 1/4" and 1/8". Adapters available for 1/4" to/from 1/8".

Re:But what would the adapter connect to?

[BronsCon]

No, the industries which most commonly use these plugs have just simplified the means of referring to them The 2.5mm and 3.5mm variants are truly 2.5mm and 3.5mm, with 1/16" and 1/8" being the closest common imperial measurements to those metric sizes. The 1/4" variant is truly 1/4", which is 6.4mm, but we simplify it to 6mm because there isn't another 6.x mm size we need to differentiate.

So, if you're more comfortable with metric, you have 2.5mm, 3.5mm, and 6mm, while everyone else has 1/16", 1/8", and 1/4", and it's all been simplified to the point that both groups can understand each other when asking for a certain size in either system of measurement.