“Apple has a long, rich history in the fields of music and audio and its complex and highly influential relationship with those fields was on display once again at the company’s recent iPhone 7 launch event,” Bob O’Donnell writes for Tech.pinions.
“The biggest audio-related news of the event was, of course, the removal of the traditional 3.5 mm headphone jack from the iPhone 7. The impact of that one decision will be rippling through the audio industry for years to come,” O’Donnell writes. “Why? Because of the level of influence Apple and the iPhone have, both with other smartphone makers and with audio accessory and component makers.”
“Given how much time Apple spent justifying the removal of the headphone jack at their event, they’re clearly cognizant of what a momentous impact their decision represented and how poorly some might perceive the move. Yet, instead of turning that negative into a positive—as they clearly could have done—they added insult to injury by calling the development courageous. Frankly, it was a missed opportunity of potentially enormous proportions,” O’Donnell writes. “The bottom line is, for a company that talks a lot about how much they love music, Apple sure doesn’t seem to care that much about audio quality, and that’s frustrating.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: We, too, would like to see Apple offer uncompressed or higher quality music via iTunes Store and Apple Music. We’re hoping that happens within the next 6-12 months. We’re willing to wait a bit and see how the removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack plays out across Apple’s other product lines and across the CE industry as a whole. This is just the very start of a paradigm shift in music audio.
SEE ALSO:
By killing the 3.5mm headphone jack, Apple is doing something extraordinary for music sound quality – September 8, 2016
No headphone jack? No problem: How to listen to music while you sync and charge your new iPhone 7/Plus – September 8, 2016
Apple VP calls 3.5mm headphone jack ‘a dinosaur,’ says ‘it’s time to move on’ – September 8, 2016
Apple kills the headphone jack – September 7, 2016
Apple reinvents the wireless headphone with AirPods – September 7, 2016
Apple’s iPhone reveal: Death of antiquated 3.5mm headphone jack heightens anticipation – September 7, 2016