Apple Appears Set To Discontinue Lightning-to-Headphone Adapter

Apple has stopped selling its Lightning-to-3.5mm headphone jack adapter in the U.S. and most countries, with limited stock remaining only in select European markets. The $9 accessory, introduced with iPhone 7 in 2016 (after the "courageous" move to stop including the headphone jack in iPhones), allowed users to connect traditional headphones to Lightning port iPhones. The discontinuation comes as Apple transitions to USB-C ports across its iPhone lineup.

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[Anachronous Coward]

If you're on a desktop browser, go to the home page and look at the browser tab caption.

Re: Slashdot -- news that matters.

[Kelxin]

I've been basically saying this for weeks after idiotic "elephants that get revenge" stories and shit like that. They're losing their core demographic. Only reason I haven't moved on is I haven't found a suitable replacement and I've been coming here for 20 years.

I hate it.

[Vegan Cyclist]

I sincerely hate these companies for ditching headphone jacks.

I can't find an adapter that actually works.

USB-C isn't a 'tight' fit, and so even the slight shifting of a phone being in a pocket causes it to disconnect for me on my Pixel 6A. It wasn't designed for being active. (Even 'lightly', as in a casual walk, or in a cycling jersey.)

I have the headphones I want and like (and have a headphone jack), but this has seriously diminished the experience of simply listening to music (when it keeps cutting out randomly.)

And no, I don't want to change headphones. It took me forever to find ones that fit and function the way I want. So annoying they dropped a perfectly good standard. I'm pretty much at the point where I'm looking for a separate MP3 player. Which is so stupid. But hey. "Progress."

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[flink]

USB-C isn't a 'tight' fit, and so even the slight shifting of a phone being in a pocket causes it to disconnect for me on my Pixel 6A. It wasn't designed for being active. (Even 'lightly', as in a casual walk, or in a cycling jersey.)

I hate that they are necessary, but these have worked pretty well for me over the last couple months since I replaced my Pixel 4a with a 9. They fit tight enough that I can dangle my phone by the headphone wire if I want and when I get snagged, it's usually the headphones that pop out rather than the USB-C. YMMV of course, and I'm sure this will get worse over time as the port wears in:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09Y... [amazon.com]

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[Tony Isaac]

Moto G still has an actual headphone jack.

3.5mm (and lightning) should be supported!

[firecode]

There are lot of people who have older iphone and 3.5mm in standard for professional (music-making) headphones!

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[firecode]

..is a standard.. (my typing sucks..)

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[SandorZoo]

...3.5mm is a standard for professional (music-making) headphones!

What happened to 1/4" (6.25mm) jacks? I kind of assumed professionals would use those.

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[mccalli]

Wouldn't necessarily go so far as to call myself a 'professional', but I have a lot of pro-level music production kit (mixers, synthesisers etc.). A lot use the 1/4" jack, some still use RCA (notably mixers to outboard fx processors, no I don't know why either).

On the synths it depends what you buy - there's some really good small form factor synths now and those tend to use 3.5", with some even replacing the MIDI 5-pin DIN with a 3.5" TRS connector requiring an adapter to full-size MIDI. There's also of

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[Ed Tice]

The 1/4" TRS jack is probably the most ubiquitous connector out there. The 3.5mm plugs are sucky because it's too easy for physical damage to occur. That being said, there are probably many people out there who are using 6.26mm to 3.55 adapters with 3.5mm headphones for musical applications. If the headphones belong to a studio, you can be sure they are 6.25mm but many people making music at home are likely using their favorite 3.5mm headphones with an adapter. For single-user setups, it's fine.

USB-C

[JBMcB]

The Apple USB-C headphone adapter is ludicrously good for the money. With high efficiency headphones, it compares favorably with the Topping D-10, that costs $130, and the Chord Mojo, that costs $600.

https://www.audiosciencereview... [audiosciencereview.com]

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[Ed Tice]

It's been true for a decade that there's no excuse for the DAC to not be transparent. Heck, even twenty years ago, there really wasn't an excuse for poor DACs.

only impacting Apple purists

[rkhalloran]

Lightning-to-3.5mm adapters are trivially available from any number of sources for similar or lower cost than Apple's; inexpensive wired-for-Lightning earbuds the same. This is only an issue if you're one of those who wants all-Apple accessories for your iThing.

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[602]

Agree. I use the Belkin adapter in my car and it works great. Available on Amazon.

Courageous?

[lsllll]

Courageous is not what I would call the move to stop including the headphone jack. Dim-witted is more apt here. With a wired headphone, I don't have to worry about it running out of juice and can be sure I'm receiving the highest quality, only limited by my headphones and the DAC in the phone. In addition I can use my phone as source for any audio device that has an aux in. The only good thing about the wireless headphones is the elimination of the wire. It's inferior in every other way.

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[organgtool]

Courageous is not what I would call the move to stop including the headphone jack. Dim-witted is more apt here.

I'm not sure Apple is the one who is dim-witted. Shortly after removing the headphone jack, Apple released wireless Airpods. Those sold extremely well and sales of the jackless iPhones didn't seem to suffer much at all. Apple seems to know exactly who their customers are and how to extract the maximum amount of money from their wallets.

Buwahahah

[charlesTheLurker]

Just another attempt to make sure you pay for every listen.