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New iPhone 7 Case Brings Back the Headphone Jack (thenextweb.com) 377

Apple removed the headphone jack in the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, forcing users to use either Bluetooth, the Lightning port or included Lightning to 3.5mm headphone jack adaptor in order to listen to music through headphones. However, one company took it upon themselves to create an iPhone 7 case with a built-in 3.5mm headphone jack. The company is called Fuze and they recently launched an Indiegogo campaign that promises to bring the audio port back to the iPhone 7. The Next Web reports: To achieve this, the company is taking Apple's Lightning to 3.5mm adapter and building it straight into a case, where you can plug your headphones with "no dongles, no adapters, no problems." In addition to the audio port, the Fuze Case will also serve as a battery pack as it adds 2,400mAh of extra battery life to the iPhone 7 and 3,600mAh to the 7 Plus. It will be available in five different colors including white, black, gold, rose gold and blue. The case is currently available for $49 to "super early bird" backers, but will increase to $59 once more people have chipped in and will eventually sell for $69 in retail. The company expects to start shipping the accessory in December later this year.
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New iPhone 7 Case Brings Back the Headphone Jack

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  • by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 30, 2016 @08:03AM (#52988233)

    Apple customers can never pay enough ... milk them as much as you can, if they're that stupid.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by MitchDev ( 2526834 )

      Apple can fly the banner "Mission Accomplished". Pay more to get basic functionality that the phone used to have...

      • by Austerity Empowers ( 669817 ) on Friday September 30, 2016 @08:35AM (#52988393)

        Pretty sure Apple has absolutely no financial interest in this product succeeding, possibly would prefer it failed.

        • by The-Ixian ( 168184 ) on Friday September 30, 2016 @09:02AM (#52988603)

          Yeah, because that is Apple's MO, right? Build something that nobody other than Apple can use?

          If the product says "Apple" or "iPhone" anywhere on the marketing material, packaging or product... they are getting license fees....

          • Yeah, because that is Apple's MO, right? Build something that nobody other than Apple can use?

            If the product says "Apple" or "iPhone" anywhere on the marketing material, packaging or product... they are getting license fees....

            Assuming they are doing the Adapter the "legit" way, Apple is getting an MFi license fee for the adapter built into the case.

          • Ding ding ding.

            That's the real reason they use "Lightning" connectors instead of industry standard mini or micro USB....

        • by Tukz ( 664339 )

          Doesn't Apple get license fee for this adapter?

        • I may be wrong, but I think if it connects to an iPhone there'll be a licensing fee involved, especially if it's marketed as an "Apple-compatible" product. I'm pretty sure that's the case with chargers and cables. So in the end, I think Apple will make money from this one way or another. It wouldn't surprise me if Apple themselves came out with something like this eventually.

      • This is tiresome.
        I get this nonsense whenever a major brand decides to ditch a technology.
        Normally Apple has been the first, however other follow suite after people realize it isn't that big of a deal.

        1. Apple is giving with their phone a converter.
        2. Most of the time when people get a second hand device they will get wireless.

        I am not trying to sound like an apple apologist but really is the headphone jack that big of a deal?

        Or are you angry that the iPhone doesn't have a 25 pin Parallel port so you can co

        • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

          > I am not trying to sound like an apple apologist but really is the headphone jack that big of a deal?

          Yes.

          Having to cart around yet-another-stupid-dongle, faster battery drain, and the inability to charge while listening to music all add up to inconveniencing the customer when the prior model didn't have those drawbacks.

        • by nwaack ( 3482871 ) on Friday September 30, 2016 @12:16PM (#52989947)
          I wish I could mod this "-1 Wrong." What you're talking about is innovation. Innovation to replace a technology with a better technology is great. But this isn't innovation, this is forcing your users into using a proprietary technology that is cumbersome and worse than the technology it replaces, and then calling it innovation.
    • At this rate why not just make a case that makes phone calls plays music and all the other things an Iphone does without actually pissing all over the end user
      • Why are people so pissed off that a third party has completely resolved the biggest issue with the iPhone 7 in less than 3 weeks?

        GOD DAMN IT I HATE IT WHEN PROBLEMS GET SOLVED EASILY. HOW DARE A COMPANY FILL AN EXISTING NEED!

        It's just ridiculous. Don't like the iPhone? Don't buy one. Like the iPhone 7 except for not having a phono jack? This solves your single issue with the product.

      • by DrXym ( 126579 ) on Friday September 30, 2016 @09:37AM (#52988759)
        That's a great idea for a kickstarter - an iPhone case with a built-in Galaxy S7 to do all the things the iPhone stops you doing.
    • They will get no satisfaction from me. I'm keeping my iPhone 6s for another few years.
  • by drinkypoo ( 153816 ) <drink@hyperlogos.org> on Friday September 30, 2016 @08:04AM (#52988239) Homepage Journal

    Subject says it all. They keep making phones slimmer so they can brag but we know beyond any shadow of a doubt that many people will pay for more battery life.

    • by ausekilis ( 1513635 ) on Friday September 30, 2016 @08:15AM (#52988303)
      This is one of my pet peeves with phones and one of the deciding factors about which one I go with. I'd gladly pay the same price or slightly more for a slightly thicker/tougher, longer lasting phone. None of this "bendgate" B.S., none of this race to paper-thin. If it fits in my pocket, can stand a couple drops from 3-4 feet and will put up with the occasional abuse from a kid, that's perfectly fine by me. As it is now, I have to get Otter cases for my phones for fear of them snapping or shattering.

      The old nokia-style dumb bricks lasted forever. Sure, I couldn't browse the web but at the time I didn't care to. The early smart phones (android 1-2) were getting there, I had one that would last 3-4 days between charges. Then I had a Galaxy S3 (if I remember right) that barely lasted a day on a single charge. Now with the iPhone 6, I'm able to go a couple days between charges... Less if I'm looking at the thing a lot or streaming music. It's not great, but its acceptable.
      • by sjbe ( 173966 ) on Friday September 30, 2016 @08:31AM (#52988373)

        I'd gladly pay the same price or slightly more for a slightly thicker/tougher, longer lasting phone.

        Agreed. I don't really see the downside to offering a "rugged" version with extra battery life. I would think corporations would buy them by the bushel. I would probably buy one too.

        As it is now, I have to get Otter cases for my phones for fear of them snapping or shattering.

        I've always thought that the Otter cases were overkill for anyone who isn't suffering from parkinson's or has a terminal case of clumsy. I use a very minimal case make by Spigen and it's managed to keep my phone intact despite an occasional drop for over a year. If you want to be able to dribble your phone like a basketball then by all means get an Otter case but I don't think they are necessary for most and are WAY too bulky to be practical for the bigger phones like the iPhone 7plus.

        The old nokia-style dumb bricks lasted forever. Sure, I couldn't browse the web but at the time I didn't care to.

        That's a rationalization if I've ever heard one. You "didn't care to" because it wasn't an option. Even the early "smartphones" like the offerings from Nokia were absolutely terrible at browsing. I know because I owned several of them. They sucked.

        Now with the iPhone 6, I'm able to go a couple days between charges... Less if I'm looking at the thing a lot or streaming music. It's not great, but its acceptable.

        That means you don't use your iPhone a lot. If you use it heavily it will last 1 day max. I routinely wind mine down to near empty because I'm using it constantly. It's a rare day I don't dip below 50% charge at some point and I typically get to 20-30% with at least one mid-day recharge. I actually keep a charge cable in my car while driving. And in case you were wondering my battery works fine - I just use the phone a LOT.

        • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

          by Anonymous Coward

          I'd gladly pay the same price or slightly more for a slightly thicker/tougher, longer lasting phone.

          Agreed. I don't really see the downside to offering a "rugged" version with extra battery life. I would think corporations would buy them by the bushel. I would probably buy one too.

          The downside is that it would be durable, useful, and popular. The entire smartphone economy is based on the assumption that no one keeps a cell phone more than 2 years, and that it would be an improvement if everyone had to replace within 1 year.

          As speed becomes less of a difference between annual models, designers are looking to make device failure a bigger factor. However, that is a hard trade-off. The glass used on modern phones is harder and more impact resistant than any mass-produced transparent m

        • by phayes ( 202222 ) on Friday September 30, 2016 @09:37AM (#52988753) Homepage

          Apple & Samsung & everyone else have performed market studies that show that other than a nostalgic vocal few, not enough people would actually buy thicker phones to justify their development. The proof of this is that If the market for thick phones was as underserved as you pretend, sales of thicker phones and these thick, reinforced battery pack cases for todays thinner phones would be a significant percentage of all smartphone buyers. This isn't the case and battery cases & external batteries exist for those who need them and suffice for almost everyone.

        • Now with the iPhone 6, I'm able to go a couple days between charges... Less if I'm looking at the thing a lot or streaming music. It's not great, but its acceptable.

          That means you don't use your iPhone a lot. If you use it heavily it will last 1 day max. I routinely wind mine down to near empty because I'm using it constantly. It's a rare day I don't dip below 50% charge at some point and I typically get to 20-30% with at least one mid-day recharge. I actually keep a charge cable in my car while driving. And in case you were wondering my battery works fine - I just use the phone a LOT.

          You might think that, but I use my phone as an iPod most days. I've got it loaded up with assorted music and podcasts that I listen to throughout the 8-9 hour workday. If i'm not getting a lot of texts and don't bother with Waze, then I'll get by using only 15% of the battery over the day. Typically I'll be closer to 50% use during the day by browsing the web, checking email, answering texts... Even lower if I use Waze or Pandora.

    • by bobbied ( 2522392 ) on Friday September 30, 2016 @08:38AM (#52988437)

      Which is why I have an Android based Note 4.... It's not that the battery last a long time, being old it doesn't usually make 10 hours actually, but I can carry a spare charged battery which I can insert ANYTIME I choose and presto, I get another 10 hours. My "battery life" is governed by how many batteries I can carry (which is one spare that fits in my wallet case), not how much capacity is built into the phone.

      It's not that I'm opposed to the Apple stuff.... But I like the endless capacity I get by having spare batteries that I can switch out on the go, so I never have to worry about not having any power when I'm out and about.

      • by berj ( 754323 )

        The idea of opening your phone to the elements just to get more battery power seems insane to me.

        I work on messy, dusty, wet, and generally gross film sets. I watched a guy try to open his phone and replace his battery in the middle of december in well below freezing temperatures on a hectic set. He dropped the battery cover in the slush at his feet and generally made a hash of it.

        But even if he hadn't been an infomercial-level klutz.. it would be crazy to me to need to turn off and open my phone in order t

        • A) A person that replaces their battery without finding a clean dry place to do it is just stupid,
          B) How is having a battery pack dangling from your phone by a cord in any way more elegant? You have made a portable device non-portable, or at least very awkward.
          • by berj ( 754323 )

            A) come to a film set some time.. you don't have many options and can't just walk away whenever you feel like it. I've been standing out in the desert for 4 or 5 hours at a time and then it starts raining and "clean and dry" is a leaking popup tent. Even the porta potty is a 10 minute ride away.

            B) nothing's dangling from anywhere. It's just sitting in my pocket charging. Since it's not major surgery to charge up my phone I don't let it get so low that I can't unplug it when I need to use it for a few mi

            • A) You don't have a vehicle? Heck, if you can't change a battery in a leaking popup tent without wrecking your phone then I guess you do need a sealed battery, but this only applies to a small percentage of the most inept people.
              B) So you have to take the phone from your pocket, unplug it, put the battery pack back in your pocket, use the phone, take battery pack from pocket, plug in phone, and then walk around with a phone and battery pack in your pocket. Yeah, elegant.
              • by berj ( 754323 )

                A) personal vehicles are generally very far away from where you're working. And crew transport vehicles drop you off and leave you there. They're not always close by either.

                B) I don't have to do anything of the sort. I reach into my pocket... pull out the plug and take out my phone. Then when I'm done I put the phone back in my pocket, grab the plug and plug it in -- an advantage of the lightning plug in my phone.. I don't have to look at it to figure out how to plug it in.

                It's far more elegant and usef

    • There are fortunately still companies that make phones with decent battery times. Yes, that means my phone is not ultra thin and I also have to pay less for it, but it runs for a week on a single charge.

    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      There are quite a few well made, high spec Chinese phones that have big batteries. They also have user friendly features like a headphone socket, dual SIM sockets, SD card, and a protective skin case in the box. The cost about 1/3 a much as an iPhone, or less.

      OnePlus do good software and updates too.

      • by phayes ( 202222 )

        Heh, OnePlus takes 6 months to a year to deploy upgrades [betanews.com]

        it can take a long time between the moment a new Android release is introduced and it being rolled out via software updates.

        Take the OnePlus 2 for example. It launched a year ago with Android 5.0 Lollipop, just before Google released Android 6.0, but it wasn't until early June that it received a software update to Marshmallow. OnePlus X, which launched shortly after the OnePlus 2, only gets its Marshmallow treatment today.

        • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          Actually, OnePlus deploy security and bug fixes fairly quickly, within a week or two of discovery. Upgrades to the next OS version take longer, but at least you are protected.

          And for the money, you really can't complain.

    • Battery cases prove SOME people like fatter phones, but they are a minority. They don't sell hundreds of millions of battery cases.

      The great thing about battery cases is that the people that don't mind a bulky phone have a solution, and the people who DON'T want bulk have a choice too. If phone makers make bulkier phones that's great for the people that want them, but you can't buy a case to make a phone thinner.

  • by burtosis ( 1124179 ) on Friday September 30, 2016 @08:06AM (#52988245)
    Next step is to include a free wire so you don't lose those wireless earbuds.
    • by plover ( 150551 ) on Friday September 30, 2016 @08:09AM (#52988253) Homepage Journal

      Next step is to include a free wire so you don't lose those wireless earbuds.

      This is Apple we're talking about. "Free"? Expect to pay $39.99 for a iWire, and have to put up with standing in line waiting for a Genius install it for you.

      • Next step is to include a free wire so you don't lose those wireless earbuds.

        This is Apple we're talking about. "Free"? Expect to pay $39.99 for a iWire, and have to put up with standing in line waiting for a Genius install it for you.

        Of course, but that's for the Apple iwire. Though these third party wires don't provide nearly the same sound quality or social status, they are cheap.

    • Next step is to include a free wire so you don't lose those wireless earbuds.

      It'll be called the iWire or iTether and it'll be $39.95 for the white version, $49.95 for the black. It'll also be super-thin so it breaks every couple of months.

  • That video... (Score:4, Informative)

    by ZorinLynx ( 31751 ) on Friday September 30, 2016 @08:16AM (#52988305) Homepage

    That video is so absolutely horrible, it actually wraps around and becomes good.

    What were they thinking?

  • by sjbe ( 173966 ) on Friday September 30, 2016 @08:19AM (#52988323)

    Apple removed the headphone jack in the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, forcing users to use either Bluetooth, the Lightning port or included Lightning to 3.5mm headphone jack adaptor in order to listen to music through headphones. However, one company took it upon themselves to create an iPhone 7 case with a built-in 3.5mm headphone jack.

    This is exactly what I predicted would happen prior to the iPhone's release. Those who want a headphone jack will get a case with a headphone jack built in. Those of us who don't really need one (myself included) won't be burdened by having a port they don't use though admittedly most of us (myself included) didn't mind it being there. Given that most people put their phones in a case anyway it is to some degree a win all around albeit an imperfect one.

    Now if someone would just make a decent waterproof battery case that doesn't use micro-usb (either lighting or USB-C would be fine) I would be a happy guy. None of the current options are very good. If the battery case had a headphone jack built in, so much the better.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward

      "Burdened". "Burdened by a headphone jack".

      Let that sink in. There are people out there burdened by a headphone jack. Luckily we have a company courageous enough to save these poor souls.

      • Apple customers were burdened by having more than one button, so it surprises you they find a headphone jack a burden?
      • by phayes ( 202222 )

        I remember people saying the exact same thing when Apple removed Floppys, serial ports & optical drives: "How could anyone be burdened with it, it's sooo small and light and I need them soooo muuucch!!!".

        This tempest in a teacup will soon blow over as well.

        • I remember people saying the exact same thing when Apple removed Floppys, serial ports & optical drives

          False equivalency. All the items you listed were blatantly obsolete when Apple removed them. Us old folks remember Microsoft shipping a box with 60 or 70 floppies to install Office from. Serial ports suck and aren't extendable. And so on.

          There's no "replacement" for analog audio going into your ears. As this thread should make it abundantly clear, an external converter of some sort is absolutely required when there's no analog output from the iPhone.

  • by Anonymous Coward

    And I can just add one myself.

    • And I can just add one myself.

      And sue the people who told you where to drill when the phone get's broken too...

      Am I the only one who saw the news stories where the idiots who actually did this where trying to sue the producer of the videos claiming you could do this? I was laughing pretty hard until I realized they where actually SERIOUS....

  • by Opportunist ( 166417 ) on Friday September 30, 2016 @08:48AM (#52988499)

    You buy a superspecialawesome phone that is ultrasuper thin. Then you stick it into a phone case, returning it to the 3-4mm you had before.

    So ... you have a phone with a crappy battery life because they can only include a paper thin battery pack, which has to be glued on and can't be exchanged "or it would get too thick", you accept that they take away your headphone jack for the sake of thinness, then you pay extra to put a case around it that returns it to brick size.

    Let me spell that in a way that you people understand:
    #idontgetit

  • How about one with an SD card? I'd buy that, it beats having to schlepp a WIFI harddisk in the pocket.

  • Apple just hired another lawyer. I can't imagine this makes it out the door.

  • This is how the Fuze case will look [tnwcdn.com]. Really? Where is the lightning port on the bottom of the iPhone in that picture? Did Apple relocate it to somewhere else on the phone, because it looks like you've glued a plastic mold to the back of an iPhone and photoshopped out the lightning port.

    To make this work you've got to connect this "case" to the existing lightning port and that is on the bottom of the phone. Which means you're going to have to have this case wrap around the bottom of the phone. And how a

    • by lazarus ( 2879 )

      Replying to my own comment. From the actual indegogo site the case contains two parts, one of which is a complete wrap-around bumper that contains the lightning jack. Picture of how they've done this is here [iggcdn.com].

  • Maybe thanks to this case, we'll see the end of those Jack stories, at last!.
  • I really like iOS, but the iphone 7 is stupid. I WANT A HEADPHONE PORT. I also think a phone is horribly flawed if a case is required to survive a drop, which everyone will do at some point.

    Make a thin and rugged phone with a headphone port. You have a winner to me. Otherwise I'll hang onto my iphone 6 for as long as I can and then go Android.

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