“When the dust settled, Apple surprised even optimistic analysts by announcing a record-setting 78 million units in iPhone sales,” Yoni Heisler reports for BGR. “In what’s become something of a routine, every time analysts and pundits come out and predict Apple’s demise, the company will inevitably set new records for both iPhone sales and overall quarterly revenue.”
“What’s particularly noteworthy about the iPhone 7’s performance last quarter is that no one really seemed to care that the device shipped without a headphone jack,” Heisler reports. “”
“Apple’s decision to remove the tried and true 3.5mm headphone jack was met with widespread ridicule this past September. Many were quick to characterize Apple’s design choice as arrogant and proof positive that the company was out of touch with its ever-growing user base. Others, meanwhile, took the strong position that Apple was making a huge mistake and that iPhone 7 sales would experience a significant dip,” Heisler reports. “Not only did users flock to the iPhone 7 in record numbers, but more users opted for Apple’s pricier Plus model than ever before. During Apple’s earnings conference call yesterday, Cook said that the iPhone 7 Plus is the most popular Plus model Apple has ever released.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: As with far too many things these days, it ends up being much ado about nothing.
SEE ALSO:
During the 98-day 2016 holiday quarter, Apple sold 39,000 metric tons of iPhones; over 9 iPhones per second – February 1, 2017
Apple’s iPhone 7 keeps converting Android users – February 1, 2017
Apple smashes Street; iPhone, Services, Mac and Apple Watch set all-time records – January 31, 2017
No, but it really hurt the music-listening experience, which Apple says it cares about.
BT is not ready for prime time and wireless will never match a wired connection.
Also that adapter is not up to Apple standards.
Riiiiight…and stereo will never sound as good as phonographs because a single speaker is better than two…
This is not analogous.
BUt you go ahead and enjoy your LG horse collar rechargeable headphones. And do t even mention AirPods. They sound like trash.
Try the song mdr-X1000 or mdr-780DC, excellent sound with wireless. Also the jaybirds are very nice, and wired lightning headphones like mdr-10’s i have do sound significantly better than their 3.5mm counterparts. There’s no need to bash without trying it.
I’ve tried the best of the best wireless headphones that cost $500 or more, and in some cases they are very good, but then you plug the same headphone in with wires and realise you were missing something.
I’m sure most smartphone manufacturers will dump the 3.5mm headphone jack within the next year or so. Most will be happy to get rid of that extra and bulky hardware internally. Apple is just slightly ahead of the curve in this respect. You have to realize that time marches forward and there’s no major reason to cling to the past as new generations of buyers come along. It’s out with the old and in with the new. Get with the times or get left behind. Your choice.
You have done a really nice job internalize apples target messages about this topic and saying it in your words. You are Apple’s favorite kind of customer.
And you probably have never been an Apple customer. Go back to your Android shit and f**k off.
A little off topic but for a company that “cares” about music (ie sound quality), Apple sure has the lousiest sound quality on their wait-on-hold music.
People cared. It didn’t hurt sales but it hurt customers. Many of us were willing to accept the disadvantage of not having a headphone jack because of the other benefits of the phone. I’m still pissed about it though… Buying 5 lightning to 3.5 adapters was a bit annoying
You can use them more than once.
Why the heck would you buy an adapter when they include one in the box?!
Lost the first adapter, had to buy a replacement at the airport to be able to use my etymotics (my travel headphones). Got tired of having to carry the adapter around with me after forgetting several times and not being able to use my office headphones so I bought a second adapter. After a few weeks of being annoyed with this process I decided to buy an adapter for each pair of headphones that I regularly use.
Kenzo,
Some people don’t get it. They just have a one track mind. I do the same with power adapters/cords for my MBAir and iPhone – cords for home, for the car and for the office. I am in need of a second and third jack adapter also for my 7 Plus.
It fascinates me when a comment like this gets so many negative votes. I just admitted to purchasing 6 apple devices (including the phone) to solve my problem, but because I don’t fit into the very narrow use-case of being happy with a single adapter.. down-votes. I, like many other audiophiles and apple product lovers, have several pair of headphones for different uses. I use Sony MDR-10RBT bluetooth headphones for most of my casual listening. They are obviously wireless so the lack of a headphone jack doesn’t cause any problems there. I use klipsch-ones for my work phone calls (headphone jack required). I use etymotics for flying (blocks out all the baby cries). I use Ultrasone Pro 750s for serious listening and music production. With so much money invested in headphones, removing the jack ACTUALLY CAUSED A PROBLEM for people like me. I don’t know why this fact is seen so negatively in the mac community. It seems like we are growing more close-minded. Oh well.
It just sounds like you are whining…
Actually, no. He is right. The crowd here is growing more close-minded.
I don’t have the iPhone 7, but with my 6S, I have so far only been using the stock earphones that came with my phone. During the winter time, I use my bluetooth wool hat and/or bluetooth gloves, but the only wired headphones I had ever connected to any of my iPhones (started with 5) was the bundled pair, so for me, iPhone 7 would bring zero hassle.
However, that doesn’t prevent me from completely understanding people who have invested money into headphones (100s of dollars), and who aren’t quite enjoying the hassle of the adapter(s). And within the context of Apple’s zero-effort, seamless, user-friendly, intuitive ecosystem, where all causes for friction between the user and the device are carefully evaluated and eliminated, having to deal with the adapters is a hassle. And complaining about that hassle is NOT whining; it is a legitimate grievance.
Having said that, I understand Apple and their business decision; they figured that vast majority of their users are more-or-less like me when it comes to headphones (using the bundled pair, or bluetooth devices), so they simply went ahead with their plan and left behind those few who spent a lot of money for headphones they can no longer directly plug into their new phone.
You do get that you are an outlier, right? Not baggin’ on ya. I respect that you have some refined tastes. Unfortunately, for some, majority rules.
Me, I’m in AirPod heaven. LOVE em!
I also love my airpods =) Somehow I manage to really like some things from apple and dislike some of apple’s other decisions.
Ah. Makes sense. 👍👊
Wait… So you CHOSE to buy the iPhone 7 knowing full well it did not have a headphone jack, and now you’re complaining about it?
Or are you really complaining because you made a stupid purchasing decision that came with extra expenses to make it fit into your use case?
Well…. I am going to assume that Kenzo here is an Apple fan (like practically all of us who post here). He likely bought his iPhone 7 to replace an old model. According to his first post, he made decision weighing other benefits, and the compromise was in the end worth making.
That doesn’t prohibit him from expressing his opinion about the hassle. Let us not forget, in his original message, all he said was that having to buy multiple adapters was a bit annoying. There was no whining tirade over the greedy Apple who forced adapters down everyone’s throat (and we’ve seen plenty of those over the past months).
Kenzo here made an effort (over two increasingly longer messages) to clearly explain his own use-case scenario, in which it is obvious that juggling these adapters brought an additional level of hassle. In neither of them did he predict the downfall of the civilization due to the purportedly boneheaded and greedy move by Apple to rip their customers off by selling these outrageously expensive $9 adapters, etc, etc… All I saw was “a bit annoying”.
As I (and Kenzo) said, people here can really get close-minded…
They could have sold 93 million, I’m not impressed.
93 million?!!!? LMFAO Riiiiiiight. Uh huh.
He was being sarcastic. However, I’m sure there are plenty of greedy big investors who wished/hoped Apple could sell that many iPhones in a holiday quarter. That 93 million number would definitely have shut up the anti-Apple, doom-and-gloom crowd for a few days, at least.
No it wouldn’t lol. They’d be bitching that they didn’t sell 100 million right away and spin it as disappointing.
Exactamundo. Show me any number, I can show you another number bigger that will make your number disappointing.
It makes me exercise more. I keep gong to bed without that stupid adapter and then having to get up go find it… and by that time I’m wide awake so I play with the dog. Apple Social Engineering at its best.
Why not leave it connected to your headphones?
Must be a success, as Samesong is already copying the no-jack! 😉
All the negativity directed towards the new MacBook Pro didn’t seem to hurt sales either.
A few goofballs dissed the touch bar simply because Apple’s intro video had the temerity of showing emojis. (Oh stupid emojis aren’t for us professionals so why would we want a touch bar… que roll eyes). But anyone with any sense would have quickly recognized that the touch bar was going to be an incredible boon to developers and a great compliment to the UI work flow experience. Others lamented the address space limitation that was actually Intel’s problem because they had not yet come out with a low power version with greater address space.
But really the new MacBook was a solid machine from the start. We all just with a new Mac Pro had come out as well.
Apple has been monitoring jack insertion since iOS 7.
They got rid of it when they figured out they thing was on the down slope.
On this, they know what they were doing… And, for the never-ever-satisfied-customer, they included an adapter and lightning headphones. Oh, they also created these airpods : best of its category and the cheapest on the market.
Move on now
Yup
Fine. But Apple needs to make their AirPods available. The phone has been out for how long now and I still can’t get them until March. The created them, but still can’t ship em.
Apple plays the long game and always has. Long-time fans know this: Apple does not tie itself to legacy anything — hardware or software. If/when Apple sees a benefit of moving their technology onward, they will do so and never look back. It is a cost-benefit analysis: if future benefits are calculated to exceed current costs (including the discomfort of change for some), Apple will make the change. This is how Apple rolls.
Longtime Apple fans may need to remember this. And newer Apple fans need to learn it, perhaps for the first time. And everyone can stop their whining, please! Many of us want change …until something is changed. It is the price we (at least, fast adapters) pay to be on the cutting edge of technology. Yet the discomfort is only temporary, while the benefits are long term, and probably also multi-factorial.
So to all those who hate the disappearance of the earphone jack: Be Brave! This, too, shall pass…
I disagree. As an “early adopter” you will likely replace your phone before “laggers” stop complaining about adaptors.
Exploding Samsung phones drove Apple 7 sales. That was enough to overcome the dislike of no headphone jacks.
No it didn’t, some people switched because of that, but most who adhere to Samsung’s inferior products just switched to another android handset.
Don’t miss the jack at all. I use the iPhone 7plus with the Apple
watch in conjunction with AirPods. They all work together
beautifully.
The tech bloggers like all circles, live in echo chambers the love the sound of their own voice. They love to think they matter and regurgitate whatever conversations they have with each other at trade shows or whatever. It reminds me of political reporters who will regurgitate the most out there stuff and have you wonder how that got under their panties so badly as how preposterous it is. That’s every echo-chamber.
Still it’s funny to remember these donkey’s asses like Nike Patel with his drunken rant about how it was a
Crime against humanity and they would have to answer to god for.
Doomed! Doomed! Don’t buy it! He proclaimed. This was the end Apple they dared do something he disapproved of.
Hilarious!
Let’s never let morons like Nily ever forget what an ass he was, and how obviously and hilariously wrong he and the echo-chamber was.
The problem with an analysis like this article is that you can’t really know what sales would have been had the headphone jack been included. Antipathy towards Apple from former fans like myself has been building for some time now, for a wide variety of reasons. The dam may break suddenly, or Apple may go into a slow decline into irrelevance as we saw in the 90’s.
Apple no longer empowers users to be themselves. Look at how many comments on this thread basically say “Stop doing it your way, and do it Apple’s way instead.” Whatever happened to “Think Different?”