Re: Is Apple acknowledging that many users want an active stylus on their phones?

From	nospam <nospam@nospam.invalid>
Newsgroups	comp.mobile.android, misc.phone.mobile.iphone
Subject	Re: Is Apple acknowledging that many users want an active stylus on their phones?
Date	2018-08-17 17:31 -0400
Organization	A noiseless patient Spider
Message-ID	<170820181731437823%nospam@nospam.invalid> (permalink)
References	(4 earlier) <pl6vrr$fj0$1@dont-email.me> <170820181330138394%nospam@nospam.invalid> <pl72if$1n9$1@dont-email.me> <170820181442218110%nospam@nospam.invalid> <pl7b0s$pao$1@dont-email.me>

Cross-posted to 2 groups.

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In article <pl7b0s$pao$1@dont-email.me>, abcdef <abcdef@abcdef.com>
wrote:

> > 
> >>>> I would miss a headphone jack. However the wife has yet to
> >>>> complain about her iPhone not having one. Guess it's a YMMV
> >>>> thing...
> >> 
> >>> it has a digital headphone jack and includes headphones in the
> >>> box
> >> 
> >> One size headphone fits all? No thanks. YMMV.
> > 
> > most people use the headphones in the box
> 
> MOST people? So you surveyed how many millions of Apple users then? My
> GUESS is that MOST people are like my wife and don't use the included
> headphones at all.

there are four groups of users, and not only apple:
- those who use the bundled headphones
- those who do not use any headphones (i.e., use the built in speakers)
- those who use bluetooth headphones
- those who use headphones they already own, generally high end, with a
    3.5mm plug.

only the last group is affected by the change, which is why an adapter
is included.

the other three groups are not affected at all. 

group 1 can use the bundled headphones. 
group 2 doesn't use any headphones.
group 3 only needs to pair their bluetooth headphones with the phone.

apple knows what the breakdown is.

> > (or they use the speakers built into the phone)
> 
> Course. Everyone uses the built in phone speakers for Facebook etc, even
> me. But for listening to quality music (local or streaming) the speakers
> suck.

they're not that bad, but again, no need for an analog jack since you
can pair with bluetooth speakers.

> > there are also numerous third party headphones.
> 
> Perhaps. But my local stores carry STANDARD headphones in droves whereas
> the Apple aisle has only one or two.

most of which are not as good as the ones bundled in the box.

or just order online.

meanwhile, bluetooth headphones are outselling wired headphones, and
these numbers are from *before* the iphone 7:
<https://www.npd.com/wps/portal/npd/us/news/press-releases/2016/bluetoot
h-capable-headphone-sales-surpass-non-bluetooth-sales/>
  While the headphone category saw a 7 percent year-over-year increase
  in dollar sales for the first half of 2016, Bluetooth headphones saw
  double-digit growth with a 42 percent year-over-year increase in
  dollar sales for the first half of the year.

> >>> as well as an adapter for legacy analog headphones.
> >> 
> >> Having a headphone dongle dangling? No thanks. YMMV.
> > 
> > nothing dangles, other than the wires that normally would.
> 
> Yeah, the dongle really does dangle. AGAIN YMMV.

it really doesn't. 

the adapter adds about 2 inches to the cable. it's not even noticeable.

> >>> it also fully supports all bluetooth headsets and headphones.
> >> 
> >> Bluetooth? More cost, battery charge hassle, and bulk. No thanks.
> >> YMMV.
> > 
> > no hassles and no bulk, nor any dangling wires to get caught on 
> > anything.
> 
> Agreed the wires can be a pain. But the battery IMO is a bigger pain.
> And the Bluetooth headphones I've tried can't produce the volume I like.
> Simpler is often better.

then you need to try more bluetooth headphones.

some have 5-8 hours runtime and recharge in their carrying case and are
as loud as wired headphones.

> > some even fit entirely in the ear, which is as bulk-free as it gets:
> 
> Unfortunately the tiny Bluetooth models I've tried sacrifice battery
> life and are volume starved.

then you need to try more bluetooth headphones.

> > analog headphone jacks are obsolete.
> 
> Obsolete? Maybe someday. But as long as millions of phones currently
> have them, not so much. We had this discussion over 2 years ago. So far
> your prediction of the death of the audio hole has been greatly
> exaggerated...

it's not going to change overnight but it's definitely changing.

> > there are currently a *lot* of android phones with usb-c headphone 
> > jacks, including the google pixel, considered to be 'pure android',
> 
> PURE Android? Is that like PURE Linux?

google pixel phones don't have the crapware that other makers add
(namely samsung) and more importantly, get android updates as soon as
google releases them. 

other makers take their sweet time, preferring to sell you a new phone
than update existing models. 

> > the essential phone from andy rubin, who created android, as well as 
> > several other major device makers, including motorola...
> 
> Glad my Motorola phone is still holy (hole-ee, get it? Sorry.)

for now...

> > At this stage in the game, that's hardly a surprise. Most smartphone 
> > makers are ditching the traditional headphone jack to make phones 
> > thinner and to embrace the wireless-headphones revolution. Even 
> > Google, which poked fun at Apple last year for removing the
> > headphone jack, got rid of it on this year's Pixel 2.
> 
> Whatever sells the most cells (phones) will win.

phones with digital headphone jacks are selling quite well.

people might bitch about it, but they buy them anyway and then realize
it ain't as bad as they thought.

> > the Moto Z comes with a USB-C headphone adapter, which should
> > convert the audio into analog so you can plug in the headphones you
> > already have to listen to music or watch a movie or even talk on (or
> > to) your phone.
> 
> While I will miss the audio hole I won't miss the micro-USB connector.
> It will be nice to plug a cable in and get it right on the first try.

yep, micro-usb sucks, especially micro-usb 3. 

usb-c is much better.

> Fortunately that's not a big problem on my Motorola phone with its
> wireless charging and easy-to-plug-in audio jack (no dongle needed)...

people complained about wireless charging not being as fast as wired
charging. now they insist on it being there and rarely use the usb port
to charge...

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