Hobbyist Gives iPhone 7 the Headphone Jack We've Always Wanted (engadget.com)

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Hobbyist Gives iPhone 7 the Headphone Jack We've Always Wanted (engadget.com)

Posted by BeauHD on Friday September 8, 2017 @10:00PM from the dream-come-true dept.

intellitech shares a report from Engadget: For those of you who miss the iPhone headphone jack, you're definitely not alone. But Strange Parts creator Scotty Allen missed it so much that he decided to add one to his iPhone 7. He just posted a video of the project's entire saga, with all of its many ups and downs, and in the end he holds what he set out to create -- a current generation iPhone with a fully functional headphone jack. It turns out, real courage is adding the headphone jack back to the iPhone. The project took around 17 weeks to complete and throughout it Allen spent thousands of dollars on parts including multiple iPhones and screens and handfuls of lightning to headphone adaptors. Along the way, Allen bought a printer, a nice microscope and fancy tweezers. He had to design his own circuit boards, have a company manufacture multiple iterations of flexible circuit boards and at one point early on had to consult with a chip dealer that a friend hooked him up with.

The final product works by using a lightning to headphone adaptor that's incorporated into the internal structure of the phone. However, because the headphone jack is powered via the phone's lightning jack with a circuit board switching between the two depending on whether headphones or a charger are plugged into the phone, you can't actually listen to music and charge the phone at the same time.

194 comments

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Not impressed by nospam007 · 2017-09-08 22:03 · Score: -1, Troll

Lose: Any warranty whatsoever, ability to listen while charging, lots o hard-earned cash
Gain: Ability to use a 5$ headphone
1. Re:Not impressed by thegarbz · 2017-09-08 22:16 · Score: -1, Troll
  
  Lose: Any warranty whatsoever
  Who the fuck cares
  
  Gain: Ability to use a 5$ headphone
  Also gain: ability to use $900 headphone.
  So what's your point?
2. Re:Not impressed by Stormwatch · 2017-09-08 22:20 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Gain: tons of Youtube views and bragging rights for proving Apple was lying
  
  --
  Circumcision is child abuse.
3. Re: Not impressed by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-08 22:41 · Score: 0
  
  I give him an E for effort.
4. Re: Not impressed by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-08 22:44 · Score: 0
  
  You crybabies will never stop whining about the lack of a headphone jack, will you? Grow up and by a different phone if it bothers you that much.
5. Re:Not impressed by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-08 23:11 · Score: 0
  
  Not to mention the lawsuit that will leave him broke and homeless.
6. Re:Not impressed by phayes · 2017-09-08 23:12 · Score: 1, Insightful
  
  You can already use $900 earphones that only have a Jack for input on an iPhone 7 using Apple's dongle that Apple bundles with the iPhone.
  Anyone who buys $900 headphones and doesn't use an external DAC is an ignorant fool.
  TFA's mod dissassembles Apple's Lightning-Jack adapter & reuses it's puny DAC, destroys the phon's resale value and STILL cannot be used while charging.
  It's the playtime project of someone who has enough money to purchase & destroy multiple iPhones. It'd be easier and of better value to add a lightning port & a better quality DAC in the earphones.
  
  --
  Democracy is a sheep and two wolves deciding what to have for lunch. Freedom is a well armed sheep contesting the issue
7. Re:Not impressed by phayes · 2017-09-08 23:22 · Score: 0
  
  TFA's mod destroys the iPhone's water resistance, weakens it's Lightning jack and still cannot use the jack and recharge the phone at the same time.
  As such it's piss-poor proof of anything.
  
  --
  Democracy is a sheep and two wolves deciding what to have for lunch. Freedom is a well armed sheep contesting the issue
8. Re:Not impressed by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 00:19 · Score: 0
  
  Haha! Stupidaphile you are. Do you care what toilet I shit in? You do! Welcome and clean it, since it is now YOUR business! Welcome!
9. Re:Not impressed by ls671 · 2017-09-09 00:25 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  TFA seems to confirm popular belief that Apple users don't care about how much it costs.
  
  --
  Everything I write is lies, read between the lines.
10. Re:Not impressed by TheFakeTimCook · 2017-09-09 00:25 · Score: 1
  
  Lose: Any warranty whatsoever, ability to listen while charging, lots o hard-earned cash
  Gain: Ability to use a 5$ headphone
  You forgot:
  Barometric sensor
  Water Resistance
11. Re:Not impressed by TheFakeTimCook · 2017-09-09 00:27 · Score: 1
  
  Lose: Any warranty whatsoever
  Who the fuck cares
  
  Gain: Ability to use a 5$ headphone
  Also gain: ability to use $900 headphone.
  So what's your point?
  You don't care about the warranty on a $1k purchase?
  Liar. Or idiot.
12. Re:Not impressed by Dunbal · 2017-09-09 00:28 · Score: 1
  
  There's another better solution.
  
  --
  Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
13. Re:Not impressed by eclectro · 2017-09-09 00:29 · Score: 1
  
  It's the playtime project of someone who has enough money to purchase & destroy multiple iPhones. It'd be easier and of better value to add a lightning port & a better quality DAC in the earphones.
  This was my thought, kinda. Nothing really was accomplished by doing this mod as he was still using the crappy adapter to get audio, albeit dissembled and crammed into the case.
  
  --
  Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
14. Re: Not impressed by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 00:31 · Score: 0
  
  Wow, stop whining and let people do what they want. Seems you're the only crybaby here.
15. Re:Not impressed by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 00:43 · Score: 0
  
  I bet you own a bunch of Monster cables and vinyl because "they sound so much better and warmer than a CD or even a live performance".
  Anybody who thinks an external DAC is somehow magically better than an internal DAC shouldn't be near audio equipment of any kind.
  Here's a hint: A DAC is a DAC is a DAC.
16. Re:Not impressed by Jahoda · 2017-09-09 01:21 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  > It's the playtime project of someone who has enough money to purchase & destroy multiple iPhones. It'd be easier and of better value to add a lightning port & a better quality DAC in the earphones.
  
  Somehow, you managed to be modded "insightful" on slashdot, for shitting what is literally a geeks's-geek's-geek technology hobbyist project. I'm not really sure you are clear as to what slashdot is.
17. Re: Not impressed by DontBeAMoran · 2017-09-09 01:41 · Score: 1
  
  Let's assume you're an Android user. Let's assume all future Android phones also remove the headphone jack per requirement of Google.
  Would you also be a crybaby?
  
  --
  #DeleteFacebook
18. Re:Not impressed by DontBeAMoran · 2017-09-09 01:45 · Score: 1
  
  Well, yes and no. That's like say a 5% resistor DAC is the same as a 1% resistor DAC.
  In IC DACs, there's differences in SNR, power noise, etc. Not all DACs are created equal and there's tons of variations in PCB design.
  
  --
  #DeleteFacebook
19. Re: Not impressed by DontBeAMoran · 2017-09-09 01:47 · Score: 1
  
  How about a C for courage?
  
  --
  #DeleteFacebook
20. Re:Not impressed by DontBeAMoran · 2017-09-09 01:49 · Score: 1
  
  Only if you like carrying a potential fire hasard on you. I prefer this much better solution.
  
  --
  #DeleteFacebook
21. Re:Not impressed by phayes · 2017-09-09 01:51 · Score: 0
  
  You may admire the artist who canned & sold his own shit, I don't.
  TFA's project is of disappearingly little value as it doesn't correct the _one_ minor irritation point on the removal of the jack: charging and listening to music at the same time and has major financial & functional handicaps.
  
  --
  Democracy is a sheep and two wolves deciding what to have for lunch. Freedom is a well armed sheep contesting the issue
22. Re: Not impressed by fortfive · 2017-09-09 01:52 · Score: 1
  
  Return NaN
  (not a nerd)
23. Re:Not impressed by thegarbz · 2017-09-09 02:00 · Score: 0
  
  You can already use $900 earphones that only have a Jack for input on an iPhone 7 using Apple's dongle that Apple bundles with the iPhone.
  Hurrah Dongle!
  
  Anyone who buys $900 headphones and doesn't use an external DAC is an ignorant fool.
  Dumb comment. The modern integrated DAC chips have excellent performance. Beyond absolute trash sources in headphones 99% of the sound improvement is to be gained in the device producing the sound, in speaker setups less so as doing things with higher power is hard. Not to mention the idea of carrying around a DAC when people were critical enough of having to carry around a dongle is just plain stupid.
  
  destroys the phon's resale value
  Debatable.
24. Re:Not impressed by thegarbz · 2017-09-09 02:03 · Score: 0
  
  You don't care about the warranty on a $1k purchase? Liar. Or idiot.
  On a disposable device like a phone? Not at all. Hell when my last phone died on me I just threw it away and used another smartphone I had laying around for the 3 months until my contract expired. If I wanted it fixed I could have paid some Chinese dude $50 to fix it for me.
  Or are you saying that you don't get a new phone every time it comes out? If so you really are a very fake Tim Cook.
25. Re:Not impressed by phayes · 2017-09-09 02:03 · Score: 1
  
  I have musician friends who hook their phones up to multi-thousand dollar sound systems where the difference between Internal DACs and the iPhone dongle ones is flagrant. That's why they use external DACs you ignorant AC fool.
  For an Anonymous Coward's ears like yours even the cheapest DAC is overkill. Just plug in your local 110/220 AC directly.
  
  --
  Democracy is a sheep and two wolves deciding what to have for lunch. Freedom is a well armed sheep contesting the issue
26. Re:Not impressed by KozmoStevnNaut · 2017-09-09 02:08 · Score: 1
  
  The DAC in previous iPhones and in the Apple Lightning adapter is actually very good, it measures far beyond what's needed for audible transparency.
  
  --
  Eat the rich.
27. Re:Not impressed by Z80a · 2017-09-09 02:30 · Score: 1
  
  I think his main point was that apple can do it, but didn't did on purpose, as well, he can fucking do it.
28. Re:Not impressed by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 02:34 · Score: 0
  
  Lose: Any warranty whatsoever, ability to listen while charging, lots o hard-earned cash Gain: Ability to use a 5$ headphone
  By actually still using the adapter you got with the iPhone for free that allowed you to do that anyway.
29. Re:Not impressed by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 02:34 · Score: 0, Insightful
  
  I hope beyond hope by "threw it away" you mean recycled it.
30. Re: Not impressed by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 02:36 · Score: 0
  
  Let's assume you're an Android user. Let's assume all future Android phones also remove the headphone jack per requirement of Google.
  Would you also be a crybaby?
  Well, there are no USB headphones, and there are few adapters. But when you use Android you are screwed anyways.
31. Re:Not impressed by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 02:42 · Score: 0
  
  You can already use $900 earphones that only have a Jack for input on an iPhone 7 using Apple's dongle that Apple bundles with the iPhone.
  Chances are you also need an adapter because $900 earphones don't come with a .25" connector, not a 3.5 mm.
32. Re: Not impressed by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 02:44 · Score: 1
  
  Triggered? By this? Sad. People complaining vocally about consumer-hostile moves by companies isn't a bad thing. There's no reason Apple couldn't have included a (waterproof, even) headphone jack and their precious barometric vent in the same area of the phone. Might have raised the price by $5.
33. Re:Not impressed by caseih · 2017-09-09 02:45 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Are you serious? Oh how the mighty have fallen. This kind of maker thing used to epitomize slashdot.
  Sure it's of no practical value, but the experience and sheer geek joy he got from the project are priceless. This is slashdot where we used to glory in cool hacks like this. Have you hacked a board together from breadboard prototype all the way through to finished, miniature circuit board? Pretty neat stuff. This modern age of makers and youtube blows me out of the water. There's something about making something that is satisfying and always educational.
  I thoroughly enjoyed the video and it was neat to see how manufacturing of those circuit boards works.
34. Re: Not impressed by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 02:45 · Score: 0
  
  Seriously good point. Every morning I get to work, plug in the phone power - straight usb micro to usb power port, plug in my headphones to the phone aux, and get to work.
  I switched to android years ago. Why would I switch back?
35. Re:Not impressed by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 02:54 · Score: 1
  
  Who cares about the warranty when the first update by apple will slow down your phone anyways.
36. Re:Not impressed by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 02:58 · Score: -1
  
  I'm not really sure you are clear as to what slashdot is.
  Slashdot is an anti-Apple site, where you trash Apple for not building in a headphone jack when a nerd proves you can easily do so - not mentioning what the results of him just removing parts from the phone, and moving others around actually is. Because that doesn't matter.
37. Re: Not impressed by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 03:07 · Score: 1
  
  A. For Captin Ahab
38. Re:Not impressed by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 04:04 · Score: 1
  
  Hopefully he chopped it into a fine powder and dumped the powder in the headwaters of a stream in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. Lot of work, but worth it, just for people like yourself to get in a knot about.
39. Re:Not impressed by that+this+is+not+und · 2017-09-09 04:07 · Score: 1
  
  Correction, the LAST update by Apple. They decide when that EOL update is rolled out for each model of gadget.
40. Re:Not impressed by dgatwood · 2017-09-09 04:08 · Score: 1
  
  You can already use $900 earphones that only have a Jack for input on an iPhone 7 using Apple's dongle that Apple bundles with the iPhone.
  Chances are you also need an adapter because $900 earphones don't come with a .25" connector, not a 3.5 mm.
  Actually, that changed some time around the mid-1990s. These days, even recording-grade headphones use an 1/8" plug, not a 1/4". They come with an adapter to plug into all the equipment that uses 1/4". The reason for that change is robustness. As someone who has used adapters in both directions over the years, I would never touch any headphones that come with a 1/4" plug these days.
  An 1/8" jack to 1/4" plug adapter puts a weak connector into a strong connector, and because it is easy to make a weak jack, you can make the adapter fragile so that if anything is going to break, it's the adapter. They bravely sacrifice themselves en masse to protect the equipment, and everybody just keeps a drawer full of spare adapters.
  A 1/4" jack to 1/8" plug adapter is almost impossible to make fragile. The 1/4" plug can't fit inside the 1/8" plug, so the body of the adapter acts like a giant lever. And it's hard to make the plug part weak enough to not damage the jack when there's a giant lever attached like that. With those adapters, if anything is going to break, it's the 1/8" jack inside the device.
  Worse, even if you did somehow manage to make a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter fragile enough to not destroy the gear, the weakest point would still be the 1/8" part of it, which means the tip would break off inside the device and would often be hard to remove. I quickly concluded that adapters in that direction, unless in the form of a cable, are more trouble than they're worth (and even cable-based adapters only help if the 1/4" plugs aren't L-shaped).
  
  --
  Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
41. Re:Not impressed by that+this+is+not+und · 2017-09-09 04:09 · Score: 1
  
  Which sticks straight out of the darkening ("lightening") jack, preventing it from being practical to carry the phone in your pocket while using the donglekludge accessory.
42. Re:Not impressed by dgatwood · 2017-09-09 04:23 · Score: 1
  
  Could somebody please tell me why the h*** a phone needs a barometer? Are people really going to be trying to tell the weather on the phone? Downloading the latest barometric pressure data for the nearest airport so they can crudely approximate their altitude?
  It seems like a useless novelty toy in search of a reason for existing, and in exchange for that useless novelty, they removed something that a decent percentage of users use every day.
  I just got an Android phone as my work phone, and I've started using it. I don't like it as much as I like my iPhone, but I can plug headphones into it. For people who do music editing in the field, watch TV shows during lunch, and various other activities, being able to have one set of headphones that seamlessly connects to multiple devices matters. A lot.
  And if and when the Android vendors eventually follow Apple's lead and remove the headphone jack, I will have long since upgraded my MacBook Pro to a USB-C version, and I'll still be able to use a single pair of headphones with my Mac and an Android phone, whereas that will still not be true for my Mac and my iPhone.
  For a company that supposedly designs their ecosystem to be highly interconnected, IMO, Apple screwed this up massively. They need to either ditch the stupid Lightning connector in favor of USB-C or they need to put a Lightning connector on Macs, and you can probably tell which one I think is a better idea from the way I worded that....
  
  --
  Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
43. Re:Not impressed by garote · 2017-09-09 04:51 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  What is "flagrant", is your grasp of language.
  Your audiophiles with their setups are listening in a pristine environment and have trained their ears on hundreds of repeated listens to the same tracks to detect subtle variations in that
  A. Do not represent "quality", but only difference from their own setup, which they assume is of the highest quality.
  B. Simply do not matter in a typical listening environment.
  The DAC in the iPhone dongle is good enough to drive a pair of Sennheiser HD 650s at high volume, converting from 48khz 24-bit lossless. Stick your audiophile friends in some random room and give them a double-blind test with those same headphones on their own amp and they WILL FAIL IT HALF THE TIME. I absolutely, 100-percent, GUARANTEE IT.
  Here's a nice collection of similar studies done over the years:
  https://www.head-fi.org/thread...
  Your "musician friends" are just messing with you.
44. Re:Not impressed by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 04:55 · Score: 1
  
  Bullshit. The only difference is the amp. You hook up a good external amp and there will be no problem. All a DAC does is digital to audio conversion, which is a pretty much perfected and inexpensive technology since the days of the original Covox.
  Little kids like you don't understand the technology, just the brand name and price tag attached. Popular and expensive always means better in your mind. I'll let you get back to sorting your $1000 Denon ethernet cables now.
45. Re:Not impressed by phayes · 2017-09-09 04:58 · Score: 1
  
  You can already use $900 earphones that only have a Jack for input on an iPhone 7 using Apple's bundled dongle
  Hurrah Dongle!
  Because using a free dongle is ___SUCH___ an enormous hardship that it merits destroying multiple iPhones to integrate it into an iPhone...
  My dongle lives on the end of the headphone cable I use on the iPhone. No hardship.
  
  ability to use $900 headphone.
  Anyone who buys $900 headphones and doesn't use an external DAC is an ignorant fool.
  Dumb comment.
  Claiming (as you did) that it is impossible to use a $900 headphone on an iPhone because it lacks a jack is a Dumb comment because it is trivially proven false.
  
  The modern integrated DAC chips have excellent performance. Beyond absolute trash sources in headphones 99% of the sound improvement is to be gained in the device producing the sound, in speaker setups less so as doing things with higher power is hard. Not to mention the idea of carrying around a DAC when people were critical enough of having to carry around a dongle is just plain stupid.
  Phones have many exacting design/construction criteria but reduction of noise on the analogue outputs isn't generally one of their most important. Just plug one into a real sound system, turn up the sound and listen to the static. It's the reason my professional musician friends call all the integrated DACS in phones POS and there are excellent DACS for less than a tenth of $900. Thus anyone relying on phone DACS for something costing close to a grand should have spent their money on an external DAC.
  
  destroys the phone's resale value
  Debatable.
  Yeah well you come on back and let us know when someone attempts to resell one of these FrankeniPhones so that we can tell but so far the resale value is $0
  
  --
  Democracy is a sheep and two wolves deciding what to have for lunch. Freedom is a well armed sheep contesting the issue
46. Re:Not impressed by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 05:00 · Score: 0
  
  The DAC is not the weakest link, your amp and drivers are.
47. Re:Not impressed by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 06:04 · Score: 0
  
  No, it's like saying that expensive external sound card produces better quality PCM audio than the one built into your motherboard.
  Except it doesn't. You might get some added side features having the expensive external card, but as far as playing an MP3, FLAC, WAV, etc., you won't get any better quality except in your imagination (Gotta justify the price after all).
48. Re: Not impressed by Strider- · 2017-09-09 06:17 · Score: 1
  
  Could somebody please tell me why the h*** a phone needs a barometer?
  
  The barometric sensor also gives you altitude. For things like HealthKit, it's how the phone counts flights of stairs. It also gives the phone a way of knowing what floor you're on for location manager. GPS gives you this in the open, but the other positioning techniques used indoors don't.
  
  --
  ...si hoc legere nimium eruditionis habes...
49. Re:Not impressed by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 06:40 · Score: 0
  
  Could somebody please tell me why the h*** a phone needs a barometer? Are people really going to be trying to tell the weather on the phone?
  People? No. But can you imagine the resale value of barometric maps as fine-grained as the net of iPhone users?
50. Re:Not impressed by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 07:07 · Score: 0
  
  > Anyone who buys $900 headphones is an ignorant fool.
  FTFY
  Same goes for anyone who didn't realize Apple has been in the business of treating it own customers like ignorant marks since Steve Jobs founded them with the same vision he used to rip off his own business partner.
51. Re:Not impressed by juancn · 2017-09-09 07:36 · Score: 1
  
  You forgot that the phone is no longer water proof.
52. Re:Not impressed by joemck · 2017-09-09 08:20 · Score: 1
  
  There are exceptions. I've had shitty onboard audio that sounded muddy and very noticeably weaker than even a cheap USB sound card. Some other laptops and boards I've had produced some quiet noises that sounded kind of like coil whine in their outputs. Others sound perfectly fine and I can't hear any difference between them and a hi-fi amp when using good IEMs.
53. Re: Not impressed by PmanAce · 2017-09-09 09:19 · Score: 1
  
  Two assumptions makes you doubly an ass? You do know that android is not like iPhones and makers can choose to do whatever they want like adding physical or virtual buttons,so they are free to decide on keeping headphone jacks.
  
  --
  Tired of my customary (Score:1)
54. Re: Not impressed by DontBeAMoran · 2017-09-09 09:55 · Score: 1
  
  You push the assumptions of my argument aside to make them void. That's not how intelligent discussions work.
  If you want an iPhone, you have no choice but to buy what Apple makes.
  What if only Google made Android phones and also removed the headphone jack from their smartphones?
  
  --
  #DeleteFacebook
55. Re:Not impressed by DontBeAMoran · 2017-09-09 09:57 · Score: 1
  
  I know I can hear the difference between my Mac mini's built-in headphone jack and a one-dollar-bought-on-eBay, made-in-China USB soundcard. Guess which one sounds better*?
  * I'm 45, so take my "sound better" judgment with a grain of salt. It sounds better to me.
  Hint: it's not the $600 computer built-in DAC.
  
  --
  #DeleteFacebook
56. Re: Not impressed by Tourney3p0 · 2017-09-09 10:11 · Score: 1
  
  Has anyone ever noticed that all of these "Android is shit but here is no evidence whatsoever" posts are always from AC? It's literally every single time.
57. Re:Not impressed by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 10:16 · Score: 0
  
  Just so you know, your argument is basically the exact same as the whole "PC vs Mac" debate has been for the last 20 years.. but for the PC side. "I don't care that it's shitty despite being an easily-solved problem. It's not that bad." Funny how the tables have turned.
58. Re:Not impressed by Tourney3p0 · 2017-09-09 10:19 · Score: 1
  
  First off, I would never own a $900 pair of headphones. But if I did, and I truly cared about using them, I'd probably take the gamble between probably being able to use both compared to definitely not being able to use one.
59. Re: Not impressed by Gabest · 2017-09-09 12:35 · Score: 1
  
  Windows Phones to the rescue!
60. Re:Not impressed by mikkig · 2017-09-09 13:46 · Score: 1
  
  who cares, apple will use it, make it theres on all future models and bank!
  
  --
  thank you meme
61. Re:Not impressed by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 15:00 · Score: 0
  
  Some of us wont accept the compromises involved to use apple products
62. Re: Not impressed by Brockmire · 2017-09-09 15:28 · Score: 1
  
  Yes there fucking are USB headphones. The Microsoft LifeChat product line is popular.
63. Re: Not impressed by Brockmire · 2017-09-09 15:37 · Score: 1
  
  If it was under warranty, why not get it fixed for free? Your reply doesn't make sense.
64. Re: Not impressed by dgatwood · 2017-09-09 15:55 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  The barometric sensor also gives you altitude. For things like HealthKit, it's how the phone counts flights of stairs. It also gives the phone a way of knowing what floor you're on for location manager. GPS gives you this in the open, but the other positioning techniques used indoors don't.
  Seriously? That's kind of insane. There are many possible ways to map your position in a building that will actually work reliably, such as proximity to wireless networks, Bluetooth devices, etc. Air pressure is not one of them. Not even remotely. Heck, even outdoors, air pressure isn't a very good way to measure altitude, because the pressure can shift drastically over the course of a day and over the course of fairly short distances, so you have to have a recent reference barometer reading from fairly close to where you are or else you can be off by hundreds or even thousands of feet. For example, during Hurricane Rita, the barometric pressure at sea level was equivalent to roughly what would normally be recorded at the top of Backbone Mountain (Maryland's highest peak).
  Indoors, barometric pressure is complete crap. Air pressure inside a building is so highly variable that I would expect it to be nearly useless even under the best of circumstances. The air pressure inside a building is set by the inflow and outflow rates of the air handlers, and is thus not entirely dependent on altitude. In many commercial office buildings, opening a door can easily reduce pressure by half an inch of mercury or more, which is like being suddenly catapulted upwards by about five commercial-height stories. And the hardware engineers at Apple ought to know this. After all, unless they've fixed it recently, the air handlers in the Infinite Loop buildings produce positive pressure so intense that it frequently holds the exterior doors open for minutes at a time. I'd bet they see shifts of 10+ stories there.
  So again, I ask, why the h*** does a phone need a barometer? SMH.
  
  --
  Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
65. Re: Not impressed by thegarbz · 2017-09-09 20:24 · Score: 1
  
  I didn't say it was under warranty. I said phones are disposable and just because they cost $600-1000 doesn't mean I'd shed a tear if it broke as I have spare phones just laying around, and when the contract is up I get a new one automagically anyway.
66. Re:Not impressed by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 23:04 · Score: 0
  
  You must be fun at parties. I woudn't know though, I never go to them because they suck.
67. Re: Not impressed by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-10 08:59 · Score: 0
  
  You are the idiot. The iPhone dac is very good. If you disagree, prove it with facts. DAC tech is very mature and you would have to purposefully screw up to make one with audible deficiencies.
68. Re:Not impressed by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-10 09:19 · Score: 0
  
  If I was meant to recycle shit like that, then my city would have well known places where I could recycle them. They don't so I don't.
69. Re: Not impressed by PmanAce · 2017-09-10 12:02 · Score: 1
  
  But that is not the case, what is the point of discussing something that won't happen?
  
  --
  Tired of my customary (Score:1)
70. Re: Not impressed by stooo · 2017-09-10 23:18 · Score: 1
  
  >> Let's assume all future Android phones also remove the headphone jack per requirement of Google.
  Bad assumption.
  It doesn't FORK that way.
  
  --
  aaaaaaa
71. Re:Not impressed by TheFakeTimCook · 2017-09-11 04:54 · Score: 1
  
  You don't care about the warranty on a $1k purchase? Liar. Or idiot.
  On a disposable device like a phone? Not at all. Hell when my last phone died on me I just threw it away and used another smartphone I had laying around for the 3 months until my contract expired. If I wanted it fixed I could have paid some Chinese dude $50 to fix it for me.
  Or are you saying that you don't get a new phone every time it comes out? If so you really are a very fake Tim Cook.
  Nope. I am still rockin' a 6 Plus (with a cracked screen, no less! My prior (and first) iPhone was a 4s. I am waiting to see if the new phones are worth upgrading-to. So, it will either be this version, or the next, before I upgrade again.
  BTW, my laptop is a 2012 non-retina MBP.
  But if I had Tim Cook's money, I'd be on that Upgrade train, you betcha!
72. Re:Not impressed by TheFakeTimCook · 2017-09-11 05:09 · Score: 1
  
  Could somebody please tell me why the h*** a phone needs a barometer? Are people really going to be trying to tell the weather on the phone? Downloading the latest barometric pressure data for the nearest airport so they can crudely approximate their altitude?
  It seems like a useless novelty toy in search of a reason for existing, and in exchange for that useless novelty, they removed something that a decent percentage of users use every day.
  Honestly, I don't know what smartphones use the baro sensor for; but they all (or mostly) seem to have them. And considering that they are a bit of a pain to use, there must be a legit reason for the added cost and development effort.
  
  I just got an Android phone as my work phone, and I've started using it. I don't like it as much as I like my iPhone, but I can plug headphones into it. For people who do music editing in the field, watch TV shows during lunch, and various other activities, being able to have one set of headphones that seamlessly connects to multiple devices matters. A lot.
  And if you do music editing in the field, watch TV shows during lunch, and various other activities, Apple has INCLUDED a short little adapter cable; so you plug in your phones just like always. And if you are worrying about losing it, additional adapters are only $9; so you can have a spare or two lying around.
  
  And if and when the Android vendors eventually follow Apple's lead and remove the headphone jack, I will have long since upgraded my MacBook Pro to a USB-C version, and I'll still be able to use a single pair of headphones with my Mac and an Android phone, whereas that will still not be true for my Mac and my iPhone.
  On this, we sort of agree. I would be very surprised if Apple doesn't switch to USB-C on the next iteration of iPhones. I believe the current devices were already in "Standards Testing" (so the hardware design had to be frozen), and gazillions of Lightning connectors were already on order, by the time that Apple even thought of changing the iPhone over to USB-C; and so this iteration just missed the boat. Happens.
  
  For a company that supposedly designs their ecosystem to be highly interconnected, IMO, Apple screwed this up massively. They need to either ditch the stupid Lightning connector in favor of USB-C or they need to put a Lightning connector on Macs, and you can probably tell which one I think is a better idea from the way I worded that....
  As I said, this was just the result of conflicting development cycles. It will work itself out. Apple is not dumb.
73. Re:Not impressed by dgatwood · 2017-09-11 15:37 · Score: 1
  And if you do music editing in the field, watch TV shows during lunch, and various other activities, Apple has INCLUDED a short little adapter cable; so you plug in your phones just like always. And if you are worrying about losing it, additional adapters are only $9; so you can have a spare or two lying around.
  And remove it every time I plug those headphones into the laptop. It isn't the adapter that's the problem. It's the fact that my laptop won't take Lightning headphones, and my phone won't take real headphones. That completely unnecessary bifurcation is by far the most un-Apple-like experience I've seen since SJ returned in the 1990s.
  
  On this, we sort of agree. I would be very surprised if Apple doesn't switch to USB-C on the next iteration of iPhones. I believe the current devices were already in "Standards Testing" (so the hardware design had to be frozen), and gazillions of Lightning connectors were already on order, by the time that Apple even thought of changing the iPhone over to USB-C; and so this iteration just missed the boat. Happens.
  Apple started rolling out USB-C on the MacBook in April of 2015, 17 months before the iPhone 7 came out. If the first time they thought about moving to USB-C was really in mid-2016, their management missed more than the boat. They missed the entire freaking ocean.
  
  Apple is not dumb.
  If it were one bad decision, I would give them the benefit of the doubt, but it isn't. It's an ever-growing string of serious product design mistakes. Since 2011, Apple has:
  
  Removed the headphone jack
  Put the power button directly opposite the volume controls (did anybody TEST these things!?!)
  Made the phone so thin that it requires camera bumps, is hard to hold without a case, and if you're unlucky, gets bent in your pocket
  Limited all the interesting camera features (unnecessarily) to their super-sized phablet
  Pissed off half the software developer community by removing the escape key from the model they all use (except in last-year's model at the low end)
  Ruined the MacBook design by providing only one USB-C port, failing to realize how many students use their laptops to charge their phones
  Botched the Apple TV design by providing a USB-C port on the back that can't charge its remote
  Ruined MagSafe with MagSafe 2 (doesn't stay attached nearly as well)
  And on and on and on. At some point, all those seemingly small mistakes start to add up and take their toll on the Apple brand. There has always been something of a bubble of groupthink at Apple, but it seems to have gotten much, much worse over the past couple of years. Lately, the mistakes are much, much more obvious—the sorts of things that would have caused SJ to say, "We're not shipping this piece of s**t," followed by throwing the prototype across the room. These days, instead of being about hitting a quality bar like it used to be, it seems to be solely about hitting a target date. And IMO, that is why Apple's quality is slipping so badly. They really should have just skipped the iPhone 7 entirely and waited until they had something new and exciting. Instead, they shipped a meh product to hit an artificial deadline.
  What should Apple do to fix their problems? Ditch the one-year release cadence. Forget about it. Figure out what you want to build, figure out how long it will take, and target that date. Try not to let it slip too much, but if it has to slip, let it slip. Better to be late than crap. Forget purchasing cycles, forget release cadences, forget all the Agile bulls**t that has been shoved down your throats since 2011, and make a promise to yourselves that you will ship a product only when it is fully baked, and no sooner. This is the one true path to quality.
  --
  Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
backlash from apple by lkcl · 2017-09-08 22:17 · Score: 2, Insightful

all we have to do now is sit back and wait to hear that apple tracked down his phone id, then his phone, and bricked it for carrying out "unsanctioned" modifications...
1. Re:backlash from apple by geekmux · 2017-09-08 22:23 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  all we have to do now is sit back and wait to hear that apple tracked down his phone id, then his phone, and bricked it for carrying out "unsanctioned" modifications...
  If Apple did choose to "attack" a customer like this (who knows damn well they're voiding their warranty), it will be interesting to sit back and watch the backlash from Apples own engineering and design staff, who likely share much of this same maker/hobbyist/hardware hacker mentality.
  Creative minds, make creative products.
2. Re: backlash from apple by Jesus+H+Rolle · 2017-09-08 22:43 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Creative minds, make creative products
  Your comma offends me.
3. Re: backlash from apple by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-08 22:49 · Score: 0
  
  Your comment, offends me.
4. Re: backlash from apple by Stormwatch · 2017-09-08 23:01 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Maybe that was an imperative sentence: "Creative minds, I command you to make creative products."
  
  --
  Circumcision is child abuse.
5. Re:backlash from apple by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-08 23:08 · Score: 0
  
  Their engineering and designers are paid to do a job. If they don't like it they can seek employment elsewhere.
6. Re:backlash from apple by TheFakeTimCook · 2017-09-09 00:41 · Score: 0
  
  all we have to do now is sit back and wait to hear that apple tracked down his phone id, then his phone, and bricked it for carrying out "unsanctioned" modifications...
  If Apple did choose to "attack" a customer like this (who knows damn well they're voiding their warranty), it will be interesting to sit back and watch the backlash from Apples own engineering and design staff, who likely share much of this same maker/hobbyist/hardware hacker mentality.
  Creative minds, make creative products.
  You're an idiot.
7. Re: backlash from apple by DontBeAMoran · 2017-09-09 01:50 · Score: 1
  
  Creative: minds make, creative; products.
  
  --
  #DeleteFacebook
8. Re:backlash from apple by DontBeAMoran · 2017-09-09 01:51 · Score: 0
  
  If you're Fake Tim Cook, are you fake gay? What does it imply? You're a straight metrosexual?
  
  --
  #DeleteFacebook
9. Re: backlash from apple by thegreatbob · 2017-09-09 02:49 · Score: 1
  
  Creative! Minds! Make! Creative! Products! - Yahoo!
  
  --
  There is no XUL, only WebExtensions...
10. Re: backlash from apple by danomac · 2017-09-09 03:22 · Score: 1
  
  You forgot the "with headphone jacks" at the end of that sentence.
11. Re: backlash from apple by that+this+is+not+und · 2017-09-09 04:11 · Score: 1
  
  Creative Nomad. Wireless! More storage space!
12. Re: backlash from apple by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 04:12 · Score: 0
  
  OTOH, creative mimes are just annoying.
13. Re: backlash from apple by Cito · 2017-09-09 04:45 · Score: 1
  
  your offense, comments me
14. Re: backlash from apple by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 13:27 · Score: 0
  
  Creative minds, make creative products
  Your comma offends me.
  Think different, Lee.
15. Re:backlash from apple by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 20:49 · Score: 0
  
  He didn't really do anything special other then enclose a lightning jack inside the phone with an auto switch.
  Apple isn't going to attack anyone for voiding their warrantey.
  Everyone is crazy.
16. Re: backlash from apple by Stormwatch · 2017-09-10 01:10 · Score: 1
  
  And blackjack, and hookers. In fact, forget the headphone.
  
  --
  Circumcision is child abuse.
17. Re:backlash from apple by TheFakeTimCook · 2017-09-11 04:50 · Score: 1
  
  If you're Fake Tim Cook, are you fake gay? What does it imply? You're a straight metrosexual?
  No.
  There is no such thing as a Straight Metrosexual.
That's Apple for you by Opportunist · 2017-09-08 22:23 · Score: 1

Spending lots of bucks to get what you have for free in every other contemporary phone.

--
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
1. Re:That's Apple for you by TheFakeTimCook · 2017-09-09 00:44 · Score: 1
  
  Spending lots of bucks to get what you have for free in every other contemporary phone.
  Um, not EVERY...
  Apple wasn't even the first to delete the ancient 3.5 mm jack.
2. Re:That's Apple for you by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 04:31 · Score: 0
  
  True, apple copied that too.
3. Re:That's Apple for you by joemck · 2017-09-09 08:44 · Score: 1
  
  >Apple wasn't even the first to delete the ancient 3.5 mm jack.
  True. A few Android phones have done it, usually following rumors Apple was going to. 10-15 years ago many feature phones required an adapter to connect headphones. Nintendo tried it too, with the GBA SP. And every time it's gone about the same way: consumers quickly lost or broke the adapter if one was included, assumed you simply couldn't use headphones with the product if one wasn't, and almost universally hated the missing feature.
4. Re:That's Apple for you by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-10 07:31 · Score: 0
  
  He spent lots of bucks making a YouTube video doing something interesting which may well earn more than he spent on it. If the iPhone 7 had a headphone socket he would have had to find some other project to pursue for his video.
5. Re:That's Apple for you by TheFakeTimCook · 2017-09-11 05:11 · Score: 1
  
  >Apple wasn't even the first to delete the ancient 3.5 mm jack.
  True. A few Android phones have done it, usually following rumors Apple was going to. 10-15 years ago many feature phones required an adapter to connect headphones. Nintendo tried it too, with the GBA SP. And every time it's gone about the same way: consumers quickly lost or broke the adapter if one was included, assumed you simply couldn't use headphones with the product if one wasn't, and almost universally hated the missing feature.
  They didn't hate the adapter. They hated the entire PHONE.
Fffffffff by dohzer · 2017-09-08 22:28 · Score: 2

Holy $hit just show some photos of it FFS!
That vid goes for like 20min.
1. Re:Fffffffff by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 00:18 · Score: 1
  
  Please, try to develop an attention span. It was great to watch and not that long. Life is more than a 140 character Tweet sometimes.
2. Re:Fffffffff by Entropius · 2017-09-09 00:54 · Score: 2
  
  > Life is more than a 140 character Tweet sometimes.
  Not if you're the president.
3. Re:Fffffffff by thegarbz · 2017-09-09 02:04 · Score: 1
  
  Please, try to develop an attention span.
  My life is limited, my time is limited. If I wanted someone to bore me for 20min with completely irrelevant details while I waited to get to some form of conclusion I'd talk to my mother.
4. Re:Fffffffff by ItsJustAPseudonym · 2017-09-09 04:11 · Score: 1
  
  Sad!
5. Re:Fffffffff by that+this+is+not+und · 2017-09-09 04:14 · Score: 2
  
  "They showed icky details, including the parts WE DON'T NEED TO SEE like the scary circuit boards 'n' stuff."
  "Mommy, Make Them Stop!!"
6. Re:Fffffffff by dohzer · 2017-09-09 16:17 · Score: 1
  
  Basically this!
  If you want to look at datasheets, go to the GitHub link. Personally I'd just like a block diagram or a photo.
7. Re:Fffffffff by thegarbz · 2017-09-09 20:26 · Score: 1
  
  "They showed icky details, including the parts WE DON'T NEED TO SEE like the scary circuit boards 'n' stuff."
  "Mommy, Make Them Stop!!"
  The circuit boards were the only good thing. Now some Chinese nerd in a beard driving though wherever the hell he was driving (I'm sure he said in the video) is a complete fucking waste of time that could have been better spent by showing more pictures of the "scary" details.
8. Re:Fffffffff by that+this+is+not+und · 2017-09-10 04:56 · Score: 1
  
  I would agree that the whole video was mostly a 'YouTube Celebrity' attempt. Most stuff on Youtube is, even highly tech stuff. The guy played at being a know-nothing 'regular guy' at first but then designed a circuit board, etc.
  He's had his 15 minutes. Now he'll have to see what he can engineer that fame into.
I'm all for modifying things but... by Presence+Eternal · 2017-09-08 22:41 · Score: 1

If I'm reading the summary correctly, this whole project merely created an internal version of the existing adapter. I'm sure a lot of difficult technical challenges were overcome, but so what, there'd be a lot of difficult technical challenges implanting a retractable microsd card into my pinky finger.
1. Re:I'm all for modifying things but... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-08 23:04 · Score: 1
  
  I imagine that the internal converter plus jack would take up more space than just supporting the jack in the first place, so unless some parts of the iPhone had to be sacrificed it shows that Apple's excuse about needing to drop the jack to save space has no merit.
  Aside from that, a hobbyist modded his phone so that he didn't need to carry around a converter.
2. Re:I'm all for modifying things but... by ls671 · 2017-09-09 00:39 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  ... there'd be a lot of difficult technical challenges implanting a retractable microsd card into my pinky finger.
  Just choose a less challenging and more cost effective location instead.
  Inspire yourself from that guy with his headphone jack; you already have an easy adaptable port located in your lower back.
  
  --
  Everything I write is lies, read between the lines.
3. Re:I'm all for modifying things but... by TechyImmigrant · 2017-09-09 03:44 · Score: 1
  
  Aside from that, a hobbyist modded his phone so that he didn't need to carry around a converter.
  Technically he's carrying the converter around inside his phone.
  As an exposition of hardware hacking, the video is superb.
  
  --
  I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
4. Re:I'm all for modifying things but... by that+this+is+not+und · 2017-09-09 04:17 · Score: 1
  
  Yes, but he had to remove the 'secret hooga hooga altivec scsi risc' plastic unit, that Apple ENGINEERED into the gadget's design to make it complete.
5. Re:I'm all for modifying things but... by Cito · 2017-09-09 04:50 · Score: 1
  
  Existenz already inspired me to take advantage of the port on my lower back ðYoe
  https://youtu.be/W1fkINKMwHA
  any local gas station attendent can do it!
  hehe
6. Re:I'm all for modifying things but... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 14:29 · Score: 0
  
  That was probably apples NSA chip .
no way by AndyKron · 2017-09-08 22:46 · Score: 3, Interesting

My Samsung has a wireless charger and a standard phone jack. Awesome camera too. As always: Fuck Apple.
1. Re:no way by michelcolman · 2017-09-09 00:10 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  My Samsung has a wireless charger and a standard phone jack.
  You mean you can plug a landline into it? That's an odd feature for a cell phone...
2. Re:no way by ls671 · 2017-09-09 00:42 · Score: 1
  
  Mine has one too, but it can only be used to connect to a dial-up Internet connection.
  
  --
  Everything I write is lies, read between the lines.
3. Re:no way by DontBeAMoran · 2017-09-09 01:54 · Score: 2
  
  Your Samsung phone is awesome. Unfortunately it has one major flaw: Android. if you don't believe me, go look at Slashdot's own recent topics since last week as proof that it sucks.
  
  --
  #DeleteFacebook
4. Re:no way by that+this+is+not+und · 2017-09-09 04:19 · Score: 1
  
  Standard phone jacks are also 1/4", since we're being pedantic.
  Switchboard operators use them to patch lines together so Susie-Ruth can talk to Bobbie-Mae. (While Jenny listens in on the party line unbeknownst to either of them)
5. Re:no way by that+this+is+not+und · 2017-09-09 06:42 · Score: 1
  
  By your definition, Linux is a major flaw, too.
  Stick to your locked down gadget. Its SAFER THAT WAY!
6. Re:no way by DontBeAMoran · 2017-09-09 09:58 · Score: 1
  
  Linux is safer. The proof is the majority of websites on the planet. Android, on the other hand, is a pile of garbage built on top of Linux.
  
  --
  #DeleteFacebook
The only question now is... by jez9999 · 2017-09-08 22:54 · Score: -1

... why?

--
== Jez ==
Do you miss Firefox? Try Pale Moon.
1. Re:The only question now is... by wonkey_monkey · 2017-09-09 00:12 · Score: 1
  
  Why not? Do you spend all your time only engaging in activities that purely benefit the entirety of mankind? Or do you sometimes do dumb stuff that doesn't really "help" but that you find enjoyable?
  
  --
  systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
2. Re:The only question now is... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 00:56 · Score: -1
  
  Dear sir, I totally agree with what you are saying. Here is important advice about Christopher Dale Reimer:
  I am Nancy Guerrero and I am Director of Special Education for the Santa Clara County Office of Education. We use Chris' (a.k.a. creimer,cdreimer) picture in our document because he is the hardest case we have ever had to handle:
  http://www.sccoe.org/depts/stu...
  Our artists were inspired by the low carb diet that Christopher follows scrupulously for the small lunch box and by the picture linked below for the rest. I am sure that you will notice the similarities such as the bump on the side of his chest and more:
  https://www.cdreimer.com/slash...
  Please be easy on Christopher although, I am aware that some of our staff handling Chris post joke comments here and obvoiusly, the Santa Clara County Office of Education disapprove that behavior vehemently:
  https://school.discoveryeducat...
  But it isn't Chris' fault if he is the way he is. We do the best we can do with him and he is partially integrated into society. We try to cure his abnormal need for attention but he is kind of stubborn and won't listen to anybody.
  Thank You dear users,
  -Nancy Guerrero
3. Re:The only question now is... by jez9999 · 2017-09-09 01:13 · Score: 0
  
  Why not? Because it's a total waste of manpower fixing something that never needed to be broken in the first place and rewarding the company that did it, rather than switching to phones by companies that didn't.
  
  --
  == Jez ==
  Do you miss Firefox? Try Pale Moon.
4. Re:The only question now is... by wonkey_monkey · 2017-09-09 05:09 · Score: 1
  
  Because it's a total waste of manpower
  Well, then, what are you doing here commenting on Slashdot? Why aren't you out curing cancer, you lazy git?
  
  fixing something that never needed to be broken in the first place
  That is rather exactly the guy's point, surely.
  
  --
  systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
Waste of money and time by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-08 23:03 · Score: 1, Insightful

Here's another brilliant guy with no common sense. Spending countless hours, and loads of money to basically come up with a lousy solution. Which isn't any better then just using the lightning adaptor in the first place. Personally if I wanted a headphone jack that bad, their are some really good Android phones or just buy a older iPhone that still has one? Why did the person buy a new iPhone knowing it did not have a jack? .....Idiot
1. Re:Waste of money and time by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 00:18 · Score: 0
  
  Some day when you grow up, you'll too realize that doing something that you deem is "necessary" can invoke happiness - as opposed to the raging shit you need to take on someone else's.
2. Re:Waste of money and time by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 00:21 · Score: 0
  
  Here's another brilliant guy with no common sense
  I know, imagine just fucking around all day and making a load of money off it through advertising on youtube etc., what an idiot!
The PTB rely on HUMAN FLESH in the FOOD SUPPLY.... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-08 23:09 · Score: -1

The PTB rely on HUMAN FLESH in the FOOD SUPPLY to maintain their human appearance
Human flesh exists in a lot of foods today. Sometimes it makes the news. These are PTB slip ups, and/or conditioning this reality.
They rely on the consumption of human flesh to retain their human appearance. They all have the same scent. They exist from the bottom to the top of the pyramid. Some are bums, some are middle/upper class, some are those dancing for you on TV, in a web of deceit to keep your mind and body occupied.
If you want to try and let one of them know that you know what they are, you might say to them:
"This hamburger is really quite human"
(inhale deeply) "This planet is filled with creatures which all smell the same"
"I hope you enjoyed your flesh burger"
"How long did your last regeneration period last?"
"What office do you work for?"
Coward by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-08 23:23 · Score: 0

Well, if removing the headphone jack is *brave*, presumably putting it back is *cowardly*?
Either that, or Apple did a dumb thing and removed a commonly used port, confusing "Job's" decision to remove the floppy drive, long after it was redundant, with removing the port. As if they want to be Jobs and don't have a clue?
Perhaps they could do something radical like make a workable phone that's 3 inches high and slips into the tiniest of pockets and yet has an interface that makes it work? Just an idea for what to do next.
Is there no bluetooth? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-08 23:30 · Score: 0

This wouldn't require any wires, for example being more convenient and preventing damage by pulling to hard on the plug.
Or is bluetooth something too standard for Apple to implement?
1. Re: Is there no bluetooth? by Frankzy · 2017-09-09 02:09 · Score: 1
  
  Bluetooth is far too basic for Apple
2. Re: Is there no bluetooth? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 03:04 · Score: 0
  
  And far too standard. They need magical proprietary apple bluetooth
American trying to be Asian... Fail by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-08 23:34 · Score: 0

The problem of not being able to charge and listen to music hasn't been resolved... Just leave the iPhone official adapter connected to your headphone cable and you have the exact same solution as this idiot
1. Re:American trying to be Asian... Fail by dgatwood · 2017-09-09 04:31 · Score: 1
  
  Times the number of headphones you own. Plus some sort of adapter keeper so that when you use the headphones with your Mac, you don't lose the adapter.
  
  --
  Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
solid proof by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-08 23:41 · Score: 5, Insightful

The guy falsified Apple's claim that the iPhone 7 has no the headphone jack because there wasn't room inside.
His mod has weaknesses because he used off the shelf circuits; Apple would have used purpose-built circuits without his compromises.
1. Re:solid proof by UnknowingFool · 2017-09-09 04:51 · Score: -1
  
  And when did Apple claim that the iPhone 7 has no room for a headphone jack? What Apple said is that they wanted to free up room inside by eliminating an additional connector because space is at a premium.
  
  --
  Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
2. Re:solid proof by redmid17 · 2017-09-09 05:28 · Score: 1
  
  It's not at a premium if this guy can cram more shit inside to enable an audio jack to work (albeit partially).
3. Re:solid proof by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 05:31 · Score: 1
  
  Are you honestly attempting to argue that Apple didn't claim there wasn't room for a jack, they only claimed that: it is important to keep unused spaces inside the iPhone and the purpose of sacrificing the jack was to ensure that some space inside the phone body remained unused?
  If you can keep a straight face while making such a blatantly false claim, then you should leave the corporate PR department and hit the campaign trail.
4. Re:solid proof by joemck · 2017-09-09 08:28 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  It's the only logical reason to remove something as basic as the headphone jack. The only other reasons would be:
  1. "Courage." Because taking away something that tons of people use, calling it a feature, and charging more for it takes real balls.
  2. It interferes with waterproofing. Samsung managed to make theirs more waterproof and still has the 3.5mm jack.
  3. To sell AirPods.
5. Re:solid proof by UnknowingFool · 2017-09-10 02:34 · Score: 1
  
  Are you honestly going to ignore all the things the jack REMOVED and MODIFIED from his iPhone 7 to get a jack in? That's like you saying you falsified Honda's claim that they couldn't add a Turbo charger to your Honda. All you had to do is removed the A/C and replace the water pump.
  
  --
  Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
6. Re:solid proof by UnknowingFool · 2017-09-10 02:35 · Score: 1
  
  And how many things did this guy remove again to get an iPhone jack in? It wasn't that he just added a jack. He had to make some changes and remove parts.
  
  --
  Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
Now I understand by OpenSourced · 2017-09-09 00:03 · Score: 5, Funny

Reading the ordeal and expense that is putting a microphone jack in an iPhone, I must say that now I understand the reason why Apple took it away. It's simply not worth it!

--
Rome taught me patience and assiduous application to detail. Virtues which temper the boldness of great, general views.
1. Re:Now I understand by thegarbz · 2017-09-09 02:07 · Score: 1
  
  Reading the ordeal and expense that is putting a microphone jack in an iPhone, I must say that now I understand the reason why Apple took it away. It's simply not worth it!
  What a stupid comment. This ordeal and expense is entirely the result of doing something with a device that it wasn't designed to do. If you're at the design stage of the device this would have been incredibly trivial. Hell they would likely just have copied and pasted this part of the schematic from the previous iPhone and called it a day.
  But it does really call out all of Apple's bullshit excuses such as no space for a headphone jack, trying to make it thinner, etc.
2. Re:Now I understand by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 04:38 · Score: 0
  
  It was actually very funny comment. Look up humor in the dictionary (could also be "humour" depending on the dictionary).
3. Re:Now I understand by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 06:31 · Score: 0
  
  What a stupid comment.
  How is an iPhone headphone jack like a joke?
  Scotty Allen missed the iPhone headphone jack; you missed the joke.
4. Re:Now I understand by Szeraax · 2017-09-09 06:47 · Score: 1
  
  I think you missed the sarcasm on that post. Of course it doesn't cost them $900 to put in a headphone jack on all of the previous models of iPhone. We've seen articles that put it around $0.50 or something to add in the headphone jack.
5. Re:Now I understand by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 17:31 · Score: 0
  
  Whooosh whoooosh....a million times whooooosh!!!
Re:Not impress by TheFakeTimCook · 2017-09-09 00:38 · Score: 2

Gain: tons of Youtube views and bragging rights for proving Apple was lying
But Apple WASN'T lying, you tool.!
He simply traded the barometric sensor and water resistance for the ability to avoid taping an INCLUDED adapter to his favorite headphones. Even if he wanted to have the choice of multiple headphones/earbuds for different occasions, an additional adapter or two would take care of that, too.
You can buy a LOT of $9 Lightning to 3.5 mm adapters for what this guy spent,must so he could THINK he was going neener neener neener to Apple.
Yeah. That is one logical and practical thinker, there. Apple should snap him up before the competition does!
all the problems in the world and this is what by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 00:46 · Score: 0

he chooses to spend his time, considerable talent and energy on ?
NO wonder "nerd" is often a pejorative
1. Re:all the problems in the world and this is what by ChrisMaple · 2017-09-09 01:55 · Score: 1
  
  I'm sure you spend all your spare time making the world a better place.
  Oh, wait! You're making sarcastic and degrading posts on slashdot.
  
  --
  Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
Inclusion by fluffernutter · 2017-09-09 00:47 · Score: 1

If Apple had just included a dongle that could both charge and use normal headphones at the same time, it would suck to have to carry the dongle, but most of this would be beside the point.

--
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
Headphone jack? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 00:55 · Score: 0

Nobody uses those anymore. What a ridiculous notion. Plenty of wireless headphones available.
Sad that people on Slashdot are mired in the past. Let me guess you still think LPs sound better too? Do your computers still use vacuum tubes? Does your main car still have a carburetor? I bet you're still watching a 4:3 CRT television right? Your fridge is just an icebox with no compressor?
Why don't we all just take the autogyro to Siam while we're at it.
1. Re:Headphone jack? by boudie2 · 2017-09-09 01:13 · Score: 1
  
  Somebody's been watching too much Simpsons. Autogyro to Siam? And I suspect you know nothing about vacuum tubes, carburetors or hiding your ignorance. Wireless headphones? Now that was funny.
2. Re:Headphone jack? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 02:25 · Score: 0
  
  You're going to walk around with an Apple iPhone, but use some other 3rd party headphones? Shame on you. Buy Apple AirPods.
  
  Compared to a wired headphone, they're: Expensive, easy to lose, made of uncomfortable hard plastic, require charging, require their OWN charger, have a battery life of only about 1-2 hours, are not available at any corner drugstore, have a limited lifespan of about 3 years, cannot be repaired, cannot be recycled.
  
  It seems to me that adding a simple wired interface to something that should have had it all along is a HUGE CONVENIENCE.
3. Re:Headphone jack? by thegreatbob · 2017-09-09 03:23 · Score: 1
  
  Each of those things you use to try to lump everyone who disagrees with you as 'mired in the past' has some sort of significant advantage over modern replacements that enabled the technology to persist far, far beyond their popular use. Headphone jack doesn't even qualify in the same way, as the concept predates (in common usage) most of these technologies, and has also outlived a number of them. In the case of the standard headphone jack, its ubiquity is a major feature. What's next on the chopping block for you? The wheel? Shoes? What semi-or-completely-proprietary corporate controlled solutions do you have in mind for those? Hell, an ice-filled cooler is like a wireless fridge, so I guess you can throw out your refrigerator now.
  
  --
  There is no XUL, only WebExtensions...
4. Re:Headphone jack? by fluffernutter · 2017-09-09 04:04 · Score: 1
  
  Everyone realizes there are significant advantages to wires headphones. They'll keep on trolling no matter what you say.
  
  --
  Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
5. Re:Headphone jack? by dgatwood · 2017-09-09 04:47 · Score: 1
  
  Sad that people on Slashdot are mired in the past.
  Everything on your list, with the possible exception of the CRT, has advantages in certain situations, and thus is still manufactured in one form or another today. What you call "mired in the past", I call "having specific needs that aren't met by newer technology".
  
  Let me guess you still think LPs sound better too?
  No, but I think that record players sound better at playing your existing collection of LPs than CD players do. If you've ever tried to cut the center out of an LP and stick it in a CD player, you know what I'm talking about....
  
  Do your computers still use vacuum tubes?
  No, but my guitar amp does.
  
  Does your main car still have a carburetor?
  No, but most lawnmowers do.
  
  I bet you're still watching a 4:3 CRT television right?
  Nope. The last one I owned died a year ago. Hardware eventually does that. And given the higher power consumption, poorer image quality, dangerous voltages, audible noise, EMI, and other problems associated with CRTs and their near complete lack of redeeming qualities, out of your entire list, this is the only one for which I say, "Good riddance."
  
  Your fridge is just an icebox with no compressor?
  No, but I have a smaller ice chest with no compressor for when I want to carry food or drinks with me and keep them cold.
  Like I said, different people have different requirements in different situations. Expecting a single design to be good enough for everyone is pretty much the height of naïveté.
  
  --
  Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
6. Re:Headphone jack? by joemck · 2017-09-09 08:59 · Score: 1
  
  The CRT has its advantages too, at least in monitors: 144 Hz LCDs are pretty expensive, but CRTs have been doing 120 Hz for ages. Color accuracy, true black and contrast are better than almost any more modern display (minus AMOLED). Pixel response time is better than many LCDs. And they look equally good at any resolution, instead of superior at one res and absolute crap at any other (minus anything with sufficiently high PPI). Yes, you could beat CRT in every way with a 144 Hz high-density color-calibrated AMOLED with low pixel response time, but good luck finding all those features in one monitor.
  I was going to say CRT color TVs are entirely without merit, but there is one reason to own one in 2017. 8-bit game consoles look like rubbish on anything else, and games using light guns only work with CRTs.
7. Re:Headphone jack? by dgatwood · 2017-09-09 14:59 · Score: 1
  
  And they look equally good at any resolution, instead of superior at one res and absolute crap at any other (minus anything with sufficiently high PPI).
  I would have said equally bad, rather than equally good. CRTs are still phosphor-based just like LCDs, which is to say that they still very much have a fixed native resolution, and everything else is fuzzy. It's just analog-fuzzy (bleed) instead of digitally-resampled-fuzzy, which means it looks better than a sufficiently bad scaler algorithm.
  
  8-bit game consoles look like rubbish on anything else
  To the extent that certain games look like rubbish, I would argue that it's because they actually look like rubbish, not because the CRT is somehow better. That said, at this point, it should be possible to trivially do an adequate transformation with any moderately powerful GPU. Who wants to hack a smart TV? :-)
  
  and games using light guns only work with CRTs.
  There are hardware hacks that can make them work now, but unmodded, that's true.
  
  --
  Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
Just don't buy it by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 01:05 · Score: 0

Just don't buy an iPhone you iTard morons, problem solved!
1. Re: Just don't buy it by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 01:51 · Score: 0
  
  Difficult for people who have a lot of money in the iphone ecosystem.
2. Re:Just don't buy it by TechyImmigrant · 2017-09-09 03:55 · Score: 1
  
  Just don't buy an iPhone you iTard morons, problem solved!
  If you've been on the Apple upgrade program and don't like the 7 because of the headphone issue and don't care enough to spend several hundred dollars to fix it right now, then it's going to take a year to get to the point where you replace with an android that has a headphone jack and USB-C like nature intended.
  That year isn't up yet. I'll be switching back to Android early next year probably.
  
  --
  I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
Shadow Fight 2 Game by coreldraw2233 · 2017-09-09 01:05 · Score: -1

Shadow Fight 2 is a fighting video game developed and published by Nekki and released on May 1, 2014 for iOS and Android, and on January 27, 2015 for Windows.
or... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 01:12 · Score: 0

Or you could, you know, just buy a phone with a headphone jack.
1. Re:or... by DontBeAMoran · 2017-09-09 01:59 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah! Like that guy's modded iPhone 7!
  Hurry, supplies are extremely limited!
  
  --
  #DeleteFacebook
Re:Not impress by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 01:19 · Score: 1

oh bullshit. You really want me to believe that the 3.5mm jack can't possibly be waterproof?
You fool, you're proud that you're getting extorted for $9
This just in: hobbyist give youtube FFWD feature by gosand · 2017-09-09 01:22 · Score: 1

sheesh... you could have gotten your answer in the time it took you to post.
Unless complaining just to be heard in order to inflate your own ego was your objective all along.
It's ok, you could be president one day!

--

My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.
Hard to take serious... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 01:42 · Score: 0

Hard to take serious an adult how refers to himself as Scotty.
kudos for trying by drewsup · 2017-09-09 02:20 · Score: 1

would rather see a micro sd slot added, now THAT add all sorts of functionality to an iphone , and would likely gets apples attention
Apple may may sue you... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 02:25 · Score: 0

Yeah just beware of their lawyers..
Re:Not impress by unixisc · 2017-09-09 02:47 · Score: 1

But Apple WASN'T lying, you tool.!
He simply traded the barometric sensor and water resistance for the ability to avoid taping an INCLUDED adapter to his favorite headphones. Even if he wanted to have the choice of multiple headphones/earbuds for different occasions, an additional adapter or two would take care of that, too.
You can buy a LOT of $9 Lightning to 3.5 mm adapters for what this guy spent,must so he could THINK he was going neener neener neener to Apple.
THIS!!! Absolutely this! Also, after all his 'engineering', this is what he came up w/:

The final product works by using a lightning to headphone adaptor that's incorporated into the internal structure of the phone. However, because the headphone jack is powered via the phone's lightning jack with a circuit board switching between the two depending on whether headphones or a charger are plugged into the phone, you can't actually listen to music and charge the phone at the same time.

Wasn't that the main issue w/ the absence of a 3.5mm slot - that one couldn't charge and listen via a wired headphone/speaker at the same time? One still can't!
Or the other thing he could have done for a lot less money was buy an iPhone SE, or even an iPhone 6s/+, if the camera resolution and phone size were important to him
Re:Not impress by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 02:59 · Score: 1

Spreading your typical bullshit. Either apple lied or they where out engineered by Samsung and every other company with a waterproof headphone jack. Actually in this case both statement are probably true. apple only wanted to sell their stupid looking iearpods and everyone knows it.
Just use Bluetooth headphones by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 03:07 · Score: 0

Actually I don't even own headphones, I just thought I'd say that to piss everyone off some more.
I only listen to my phone through my car's stereo over Bluetooth.
Apparently the headphone jack on my OnePlus 3 is on the bottom. Just looked for it, and there it is, new, virgin. It will die a virgin.
1. Re:Just use Bluetooth headphones by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 04:01 · Score: 0
  
  Actually I don't even own headphones, I just thought I'd say that to piss everyone off some more.
  I only listen to my phone through my car's stereo over Bluetooth.
  Apparently the headphone jack on my OnePlus 3 is on the bottom. Just looked for it, and there it is, new, virgin. It will die a virgin.
  If you try to force the jack into the charging put, remember to use lube.
I'd be more impressed if... by mark-t · 2017-09-09 03:52 · Score: 1

... he had added a second lightning port.
While you'd still need either lightning headphones or a dongle to connect to regular headphones, you could then at least still listen while charging (plus you might even gain the ability to charge twice as fast if both lightning ports were plugged in at the same time, but I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't some important logistical reasons why that wouldn't happen... I'm bringing it up only because I can imagne it as a possibility)
Without the ability to listen while charging , the mod is basically worthless. It saves only the difference in price between lightning headphones and a regular set, which is more than lost by the monetary investment of completing this mod.

--
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
Bluetooth Case by sycodon · 2017-09-09 04:11 · Score: 1

For that amount of money he could have designed a Bluetooth enabled Otterbox type of case...with a headphone jack.

--
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
Re: Not impress by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 04:13 · Score: 1

A 3.5mm jack can *absolutely* be waterproof. My last two phones (a Sony Xperia Z2 and a Sony Xperia XZ Dual) both included waterproof, exposed 3.5mm jacks and I submerged both many times without any harm. So, too, does my Sony Xperia Z4 tablet, which I have submerged many times. (Most recently, I washed it under a tap two nights ago when a glass of wine over it.) The only reason Apple removed the jack was so it could force you to buy expensive new headphones, and take either a cut of (or all of) the profit from that, too.
...and by krray · 2017-09-09 05:07 · Score: 1

...and then he gets mugged...
Re:Not impress by CptLoRes · 2017-09-09 07:53 · Score: 1

So you are basically admitting that Apple makes inferior products compared to for example a Samsung phone, who has all the same thing that Apple has plus a stereo jack, wireless charging and USB charging that can be used while playing music using the jack. Oh and also they still manage to make their phones water resistant with stereo jack and all btw.
'improved' iPhone? by unixisc · 2017-09-09 08:04 · Score: 1

I said nothing about Apple v Samsung. I was commenting on the piece of 'Engineering' done by this guy. Usually, Engineers look for cost effective ways to improve a product in ways not available elsewhere: this guy blew thousands to make an iPhone 7 something like an iPhone 6 w/o actually achieving it. Anybody who wants what he wants should just shop for an iPhone 6s w/ the configurations similar to the 7 that one's targeting, and buy that. Only thing lacking might be camera resolution.
1. Re:'improved' iPhone? by joemck · 2017-09-09 08:35 · Score: 1
  
  "this guy blew thousands to make an iPhone 7 something like an iPhone 6 w/o actually achieving it" -- You're forgetting what he gained from all this: Internet fame, Youtube ad bucks, and probably an inbox full of offers from recruiters, along with a few rich Apple fanboys looking for something to set their iPhone 7 apart from their friends'.
2. Re:'improved' iPhone? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 14:38 · Score: 0
  
  Blind apple worshippers are blind.
So Apple lied? by viperidaenz · 2017-09-09 08:42 · Score: 1

Didn't they say there was no room for a headphone jack?
Did they only do it to give their up-coming Air Pods a sales boost?
Too much money by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 10:47 · Score: 0

Should have saved his money and just drilled it out like this guy. https://youtu.be/2OyHmJz84og
God's work by no1nose · 2017-09-09 10:53 · Score: 1

This young man is doing God's work on Earth.
Simpler solution? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 11:57 · Score: 0

Would a far simpler solution be to find a phone that features a jack. If Apple do not make such a phone, then they lose a sale. This is how natural market forces are supposed to work.
It is very clever of this guy to hack on a jack, but he fed Apple money for multiple (destroyed) phones and any warranty is voided. Other than to prove a point, why? What is the purpose?
Idea for the next challange by Gabest · 2017-09-09 12:38 · Score: 1

USB ports on a macbook.
Re:Not impress by robbak · 2017-09-09 13:25 · Score: 1

Entirely correct. A 3.5mm jack can be made waterproof, and the functions of the air-pressure balancing diaphragm built into the jack's molding. This shows that the decision to drop the jack was made late in the design process, and left empty space in the device. Nest phone will be designed from the start not to have the jack, and won't have that space.

--
Prediction for end of Universe #42: Fencepost error in Quantum_bogosort.cpp
GET A LIFE ALREADY! by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-09 17:16 · Score: 0

17 weeks of his life and thousands of dollars?!
Golly Gee!
Re:Not impress by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-10 13:27 · Score: 0

The latest feature list just came out for the iPhone 8 and seems to be only 2 years behind the latest Android. Your argument falls on the simple fact that their screens are so much larger than their predeceasing models. Yet did the feature list go up all that much? yeah it got a bigger screen and they forced you to use an adaptor and you got a better camera (all things sized the same) but other than that no not really. The space wasn't needed. No builtin guided lazers or iPhone "drone edition". Nada. Just the same old but a little bit better.
As for the the extra screen size this means bigger PCBs that can be made to sit behind the screen and therefore more components. For you to be right you'd have to consider how bad of a decision taking the jack out at such a late stage really is. Because since they're near the end of the process it also means most of the work has been done. Taking the Jack out wasn't posed with a viable trade (in laymens terms) and 90% of the people saw through it.
This guy has proven Apple could have done it and its still not enough for you. So I guess when Apple releases the iPhone with a custom port at the bottom that no other manufacturer uses you'll know why ... no wait ?!? didn't they already do that?
Just use Android by stooo · 2017-09-10 23:17 · Score: 1

>> fully functional headphone jack
>> you can't actually listen to music and charge the phone
Nope.
It's not fully functionnal. It doesn't work when charging.
Just use Android.

--
aaaaaaa
No room? Why not a magnetic headphone jack? by erapert · 2017-09-11 03:42 · Score: 1

Apple don't seem too shy to create proprietary connectors.
Why not a magnetic headphone jack for their phones that's similar to the magsafe on their laptops?
This way they would need less interior space for a plug to intrude into the guts of the phone while making it easier and safer to connect your ear buds.