[neotek]

I hear people saying this a lot, but I'd be willing to bet that at least 90% of consumers would be incapable of telling the difference between Bluetooth and wired audio in a blind test.

Also, given that the vast majority of earbuds people use are sub-$20, I bet the audio quality isn't that great to begin with.

[tribby]

if 90% of consumers are incapable of telling the difference then why would apple use such an expensive DAC in their phone? I can't speak for everyone, but it's a pretty noticeable difference to me especially considering my hearing isn't very good to begin with.

[neotek]

Because (a) Apple doesn't like to half-arse things, and (b) Apple knows its consumer base includes people who like to use very expensive headphones.

[brokenmachine]

Not everyone uses crap headphones.

Some people even use quality headphones, and also don't want another device to charge.

[neotek]

Cool, so use the free adapter.

[brokenmachine]

Please explain to me how having to use a dongle that is inconvenient and will probably break or be lost an advantage over just having my good headphones plugged into a headphone jack?

Anyway, I won't be buying a phone without a headphone jack, or these airpods.