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

Re:They haven't asked me, and I do use it

[Algan]

I got the survey request in the mail, but for my imac, not for my macbook pro. I guess they're exploring removing the jack on all their products.
And the answer to that question was no, i never use that port. I use a usb headset.

Please don't...

[cayenne8]

Geez, I actually use my MBP as my desktop for about 98% of the time, and it is hooked to my desktop speakers for listening to....

I'm supposed to fscking do THAT wireless too now?!?!

WFT....?

I use it more than any port except the charger

[j2.718ff]

I own a (older) Macbook Air, an Android phone, and a Sandisk mp3 player. I use the same pair of earphones interchangeably between these devices. (Actually, I have a few pairs for different environments.) I've never needed any kind of special dongle (unless you count the charger, though both my phone and mp3 player charge via micro USB). I really like my Macbook, but if they keep pulling crap like this, my next laptop won't be made by Apple.

Customers are routinely wrong

[sjbe]

That's right Zippy, one size fits all

Sometimes it does. There are very good reasons why we have standardized interfaces for all sorts of things. The only time to have a specialty single purpose interface is if there are no viable alternative options. Fortunately for hipsters who want to be different just to make a point there are plenty of other options for headphone jacks out there besides the offerings from Apple. If Apple's offerings don't fit your needs, do what I did and buy something else for whatever application you are working on. Trust me, nobody will mind.

Paradigm shift, from consumer is always right, to consumer will accept whatever we fucking give them.

Anyone who thinks the customer is always right has never had to deal with an actual customer. Customers are wrong all the frickin' time. Catering excessively to customers who are wrong is a great way to go bankrupt. Henry Ford put it best when he said "If I asked my customers what they wanted they would have said 'a faster horse'".

Re:Customers are routinely wrong

[BronsCon]

No, the customer is always right. If they're not paying you, they're not a customer, so if you can't bill them for what they want (and again for what they really wanted), they're no a customer.

Example:

When I used to work in a convenience store, a guy came in who I'd never seen before, demanding a free soda because "the cups cost a nickle and the soda costs two cents, why do you care? It's good customer service." My response was plainly "And I'd happily do it for a good customer, but you've never spent a cent here and aren't intending to make a purchase, so you're not a customer at all." He, then, decided to walk over and grab a pack of gum; meanwhile, I rang up the customer behind him, one of my regulars, and gave him a free soda just to make a point. The original "customer" comes back with a pack of gum and expects that his one-time purchase will entitle him to a free soda, an expectation which was met with the following: "Once I've seen you in here a few times and you happen to be next in line behind someone looking for a handout, we'll talk."

He got the message. He also became a regular and would hang out when I was on a night shift to keep me company, since they often had me working alone late at night. Yes, that did net him many a free soda, but snacks were always on him.

And this anecdote, which is more relevant to tech:

I had a client insist that a program I developed for them work one way, while their business logic was entirely different. I pointed out the discrepancy once and left the decision to them. They chose to go ahead as originally planned. I warned them that, should their decision prove to be incorrect, they'd still have to pay for my work, as well as any work necessary (which I informed them would likely be more than the original project) to correct it. They agreed, which made them a customer for both the original project and the fix, which made them right.

And right they were. I did want to implement it the way they insisted. And I did want to fix it. The fix cost twice as much as the original work; who would argue with a customer wanting to triple their billable hours?

Now, had they not agreed, up-front, to the potential cost of correcting the issue I brought to their attention should the project go forward as planned, the likelihood of them not paying at all would have shot through the roof and they'd have been neither customers nor right.

Re:But what would the adapter connect to?

[Grishnakh]

Do they really expect these users to hook up an adapter to use Bluetooth, USB, or thunderbolt for audio out to professional equipment?

If they want to keep using Apple equipment, then yes.

Who do these users think they are anyway? Why do they think Apple gives two shits about their petty concerns? This move by Apple is smart: they can save money by eliminating parts, thus improving profit margins, and then they can make even more money by selling massively overpriced adapters (or Lightning licenses). How is this not a good move on their part?

Just watch, all these "Pro" users are going to bitch and complain about this, and then they're going to run out and spend a fortune on a new MacBook Pro and a horribly overpriced adapter.

Nothing wrong with separating fools from their money.