So you’ve set your sights into acquiring Apple’s new pride and joy, the iPhone 7, but are not prepared for the consequences of what this new phone lacks.
In case Apple product launches isn’t your thing, they’ve recently released this year’s update to the ubiquitous iPhone, but this year, Apple decided to do something differently – remove the 3.5mm headphone jack that’s been around since forever.
Once again, since the revamped Macbook launched with only a single USB Type C port, Apple fans have found themselves having to make the hard choices because of Apple’s decision to remove stuff from their products.
Understandably, this is divided opinion, but regardless of which side you are on, we’re here to help.
This is how you survive life after the headphone jack.
Adapters
We start with the worst possible solution for the any new iPhone 7 owner.
We’re talking about adapters – to be more specific, one that converts the lightning port to a headphone jack. While Apple defied expectations by including it in the box with every new iPhone and not making it an optional feature, the plain fact is that people WILL lose it.
If you do lose one, prepare to shell out S$14 for another.
If you prefer a less elegant, and more expensive solution, Belkin has got your back. For a penny under US$40 you can have this lightning port splitter, so you can use a lightning cabled headphone, AND a port free for charging.
Lightning Headphones
This option is one that early adopters would definitely have come to terms with, even back when the rumours of Apple removing the headphone jack were still swirling.
You may disagree, but I think that the EarPods are actually decent pair of earphones for casual listening, so Apple including one that connects directly to the Lightning port is definitely a plus.
But what if you want to up your audio game with a decent pair of cans?
Even before the iPhone 7 was launched, some manufacturers have jumped the gun early by releasing a slew of Lightning-optimised headphones, and because of this you can take your pick, albeit from few, of in-ear or on-ear head phones.
There’s JBL, Philips, Libratone, and Audeze at the moment in terms of third party options.
Go Fully Wireless!
Yes, this would mean that you will have another piece of tech to charge daily, but you will be freeing up that Lightning port for charging when you require it.
Together in the same keynote for the iPhone 7, Apple also introduced the AirPods – a lazy yet brilliant attempt at their very first wireless earphones.
With the elephant in the room out of the way (the AirPods looks like EarPods with its cables snipped off), the AirPods is actually a nifty bit of tech, with touch gestures to activate Siri, and its own processor and wireless chip that aims to improve audio quality yet increase its battery longevity.
But as with any Apple accessory, is only works for devices in its family, and is also rather pricey.
The Bluetooth Option
If you want something that’s friendlier to a vast array of devices that you might have in your possession, then Bluetooth is definitely the way to go.
Any modern Bluetooth headsets, from the budget to the exorbitant, will be able to pair with your iPhone.
Some Bluetooth headphones even come with 3.5mm audio cable for the times when you need to plug into a headphone jack. For example, when working on your laptop, or when you’re in a plane and don’t want to use the crappy airline headphones.
Take your pick from the many Beats models in the Apple Store, or buy your favourite brands anywhere else – whichever works for you.
Can’t decide which to get? Check out Amazon’s list of best sellers. Expect the usual suspects, like Beats, Sennheiser, Bose and many more.
Don’t Buy An iPhone Then?
In the short term, it may be a viable solution, but even on the Android camp, there is a slight shift to phones without a headphone jack.
The honour of the first mass market modern smartphone to not come with a headphone jack actually goes to Motorola. Announced earlier in June, the Moto Z Force only comes with a single USB Type C port, nothing else.
While they did not receive the backlash of the same magnitude as Apple, as trends in mobile devices tend to go, this kind of disruptive releases will generally favour Apple, and eventually, everyone else will, in some form, follow suit.
Guess the only advice to be given now is: Start saving up for that pair of Bluetooth headphones.
