The reason wireless earbuds took off is that phones with headphone jacks stopped getting made.
Consumers didn’t prefer wireless earbuds. They preferred thinner and more water-resistant phones.
Comment on The Circle of iLife
merc@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks agoYou know what’s easier than a cable? No cable.
I’ll give you sound quality, but the whole reason that wireless earbuds took off is the hassle of wires.
superkret@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 5 days ago
other way round, manufacturers realized people don’t particularly care about aux jacks and so they went ahead and got rid of them so they could get said benefits.
hikaru755@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I personally switched to wireless back when my phone still had a headphone jack. It’s just the better overall experience for me, and I suspect that I’m not alone in that. I’m going to continue arguing for manufacturers to keep including a headphone jack, but it’s not because I prefer wired headphones personally.
CaptPretentious@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Lol, people downvoting you like they weren’t manipulated into spending 10x as much for a product that can’t be repaired, all in the name of profit.
Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 5 days ago
you do realize cheap phones exist, right? and second hand ones, and phone repair shops exist.
CaptPretentious@lemmy.world 5 days ago
Apple has gone out of their way to make it near impossible or impractical to repair their phones. I’m not spending my time making a list you’re not going to read. If you’re actually interested in learning, seek out Louis Rossmann on YouTube. Here’s just videos JUST Apple www.youtube.com/@rossmanngroup/search?query=Apple
You know how many people I know that have a cheap phone. One. Do you think my nieces and nephew would “settle” for cheap phones in grade school… LOL no. And if you’re like “Well it’s the parents…blah blah blah” then you’ve completely clocked out on the 8 hour bully sessions kids can receive, so don’t start.
You vastly underestimate Apples marketing and influence. I’ve argued with so many people that “well I like my AirPods” despite the fact phones UNTIL Apple killed the 3.5mm jack, had Bluetooth audio. The entire reason to remove the jack was to push sales of over priced e-waste.
Don’t @ me with this “you do realize” BS.
spicehoarder@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
You really think that’s a dunk? “Wireless” just means you plug it in when not in use. There’s nothing hard about plugging in a 3.5mm audio jack. I’ve never been sufficiently convinced to actually use wireless headphones. They seem like more of a hassle for a worse listing experience.
Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 5 days ago
what universe do you live in? wireless is obviously more convenient since you just put the buds in your ears and click play, with wires you have to also put in the wire and you have a physical cable that can get caught on things or get in the way.
just get a pair of cheapo wireless earbuds and genuinely try using them, you’ll most likely realize that it is actually way more convenient and that actually you just wanted to be a reverse hipster.
spicehoarder@lemm.ee 5 days ago
My experience comes from previous attempts at using wireless headphones. It’s just easier for me to plug in and not have to do literally anything else for a premium listing experience.
merc@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Wireless means you plug it in occasionally, maybe once a week.
If you don’t value the convenience of wireless headphones, that’s great for you. For a lot of people, the cable is a real pain in the ass. It gets tangled up when it’s off. It gets caught up on things when it’s on, etc.
i_dont_want_to@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 weeks ago
I definitely have to give it to wireless sets, they are really convenient. I’m clumsy and it’s nice not having to be aware of the cable. (The sudden yank out of my ears… Aaaaaaargh.)
But I’m also forgetful (I don’t always remember to charge it…) and I have a low tolerance for connection problems so I do prefer wired in some scenarios.
I don’t get some people’s obsession with hating on wireless earbuds and headsets.
jecxjo@midwest.social 3 weeks ago
i switched when phones dropped the jack but just recently went USB to 3.5mm. Sadly both are crap.
Honestly I’m going to look into a media device again.
brbposting@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Mm & also how about respecting the electronics and (maybe a little bit obsessive-compulsively) wrapping the entire cord up and zipping it into a case… every single time
(Skill or rather personal policy issue, ya, that one might be on me)
But don’t even have to put my head against the phone for a quick call when a single earbud is right in my pocket ready to be slipped out and stuck back in, blind ‘n’ fast
Juliee@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
Omg you people are some literal dinosaurus rex. New bad
Vanilla_PuddinFudge@infosec.pub 3 weeks ago
Horrid quality and batteries are rarely replaceable. Pointless.
jaybone@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
I feel like I’d forget to charge them. Or drop them in a public place and not want to put them in my ears because I’m a germaphobe. I know someone who dropped theirs in a toilet.
merc@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Yeah, it’s a risk. But, there’s also a risk of getting your wired earbuds cord caught on something. I’ve had that happen and it yanked the phone off the table and sent it crashing to the floor. I’ve also had the buds get yanked out of my ears multiple times.
If I lived somewhere where winters were mild, I might still use wired headphones. When you only have to worry about a t-shirt or something managing the cord isn’t too bad. But, when you have to manage a hat, scarf, coat, etc. there are just too many things to get in the way of the cord.
LandedGentry@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
[deleted]dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
We’d love to, but manufacturers keep trying to force them down our throats. And when we express a different prererence or use case a bunch of trolls feel the need to pop out of the woodwork and tell is that no, we’re actually wrong and our use cases don’t actually exist.
How about you all don’t worry about what headphones other people wre using?
myrrh@ttrpg.network 3 weeks ago
We’d love to, but manufacturers keep trying to force them down our throats.
…that’s not where they’re supposed to go…
jaybone@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
THATS WHAT I SAID IN THE PARENT POST LOLLLLLLLLLL11??!01
hikaru755@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I feel like I’d forget to charge them
I thought that to but turned out to be a non-issue. Since most earbuds come in a case that holds multiple full charges for the earbuds themselves, and the case begins to complain about low battery early enough, even if I forget the first one or two times I notice the low battery state I’ve so far never run into a situation where I wanted to use them as had no charge left
hOrni@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I finally went wireless a week ago. I realized their advantage when the cable on my headphones broke for a millionth time.
merc@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
I don’t remember what did it for me, I switched a while ago. But, I do clearly remember one time when I had the kind of moulded earphones that go really deep in your ear, and I caught the cable on something, and they got yanked out of my ears. That was pretty painful.
0ops@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
This is what did it for me a decade ago. So many wasted wired earbuds, I was literally buying a new set every 3 or 4 months because all it took was one bad yank to destroy them. I’d wear the cable under my shirt and tuck the slack into my pocket, but the fucker still got caught on… well pretty much everything it seemed like. The countertop, chairs, my hand, somebody else, vegetation, my bike. Sometimes their own momentum was enough to yank them out of my ears when I was skating or something. I still use wired at my PC and with my roku, but if I’m not sitting still then wired are simply too fragile and annoying for me to use. As annoying as a spotty Bluetooth connection can be, a failing wired connection is way worse.
ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
You know what’s easier than no cable? Not losing your ear buds
Haven’t been able to use ear buds outside of the house ever since they got rid of the jack
merc@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
I’ve never lost one in at least a decade of using them. But, I don’t use the kind that just balance on the edge of your ear.
Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 5 days ago
LPT: pull up on your ear while inserting earbuds, this will let them squeeze further into the ear canal which has been the difference between them refusing to stay in the ear, and being rock solid in there. Better seal against outside noises as well.
spicehoarder@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
[deleted]merc@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Why are you so deep in your own bubble that you don’t believe that someone could simply prefer wireless? If that’s the case, you should get out more, meet more people, expand your horizons.
Robbity@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
No, what did it was removing headphone jacks and selling only crappy non-repairable headphones.
freddydunningkruger@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I guess if I listened to crappy music I wouldn’t care about the sound quality.
merc@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Ooh, BUUURN! BUUUUUUUUUURN!!!
peteyestee@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
Fight! Fight! Fight!
Blakdragon@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
For me personally, I got wireless earbuds because they removed all the damn phone jacks and I didn’t have a choice.
dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
And also no latency. Even expensive Bluetooth headphones and earbuds have crap latency. The systems that don’t are either proprietary and not widely supported (e.g. aptX) or expensive 'phones-and-dongle arrangements that must always travel in a pair and still don’t compete on latency with a pair of dollar store earbuds.
merc@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
If you’re listening to podcasts or music, latency doesn’t really matter.
NikkiDimes@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Unless you’re using them for gaming or some other interactive medium, latency doesn’t really matter though. For music, latency is irrelevant and for video, your device will take care of syncing the audio and video playback so it’s a non issue. Audio quality is an entirely different matter of course.
dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Your video player “can” account for latency if you configure it correctly which I imagine the majority of people don’t do, and simply put up with it. Ditto with your music playback always lagging 1-2 seconds behind your control inputs. I have never used a media player on any platform that automatically figured out audio latency. Maybe the iDevices do if you pair them with Airpods, I don’t know; I don’t own anything Apple and I never will.
It also matters for music production, and makes life a lot more pleasant for audio/video editing. Plus, latency is just annoying in any setting.
NikkiDimes@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Windows and Android do this automatically out of the box, don’t know about other platforms.
Since music isn’t an interactive medium, this doesn’t really matter
Well of course, if you’re doing that A) you’re probably not on a phone if you take it seriously and B) this is not an application for wireless audio solutions so…uh…duh? 😅
uniquethrowagay@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
If you have 1-2 seconds of audio delay with bluetooth, something is wrong. SBC bluetooth audio has like 200ms max.
Which is noticable if you make an effort, but for non-interactive media, it’s negligible imo.
hikaru755@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
There’s nothing to configure with modern android and Windows devices, it just works from my experience. Watching a video on YouTube or on the native media players at least you get a fraction of a second where it’s out of sync and then it pauses the video for whatever time necessary to get back in sync, and no issues from there on out.
The only instances where I notice it doesn’t work are games and video editing software, but yeah, those are just not use cases where wireless audio is appropriate
brbposting@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Yes indeed, Apple’s had acceptable latency (e.g. for YouTube) since no later than 2017.
I’ve only thought about it when specifically wondering how they pulled it off (and I assumed the phone did something slightly fancy to add a delay on the visual side)
Glad you’ve never paid their tax in any case!
Natanox@discuss.tchncs.de 3 weeks ago
I can find over 600 aptX capable headphones as well as over 850 phones, also any laptop I ever had supported it (Linux though, so probably not always “official” lol).
Low latency is a thing, you can get this as low as ~30-50ms either through aptX LL / Adaptive, whatever the manufacturer apps do or by manually meddling with the settings for SBC. Will get rather unstable though since you effectively get rid of the buffer. Really depends on your usecase what you prefer. Personally I love having ANC headphones that support bluetooth but also got a headphone jack in cases where I sit in trains, buses or planes for hours and want to play some games or listen to music with a DAC.
brbposting@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Almost always Bluetooth for me.
Might plug into the car to get higher quality audio. Will use a cable with a mic at home, but even then I might use AirPods for listening and only use the cable to speak into.
It stands to reason there can’t be that many audiophiles who could tell the difference between Bluetooth and aux while listening to their little Spotify playlists, but oh boy-
So many more people can tell when you’re speaking over spanking-new $200 AirPods versus the old dinky pair of stock EarPods from the bottom of the junk drawer. Cable reins supreme, no competition. (and with the best dictation software, simply whispering into the hardwired mic is sufficient for ~95(+)% accuracy)