Effectively, it is official. The worst-kept secret of the iPhone 15 launch occasion has been confirmed: Apple will lastly be ditching its Lightning connector in favour of the extra widespread USB-C connection.
After months of hypothesis and all-but-confirmed-rumours from Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, Apple’s adoption of USB-C in each the brand new iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Professional and AirPods Professional 2 earbuds’ charging case has been introduced and the brand new fashions will likely be in your fingers come twenty second September, when all three merchandise will go on sale.
Whereas that is the least stunning replace, its inclusion within the new iPhones does have implications for each music lovers and audio manufacturers. As a result of as a lot as we like wi-fi earbuds, they nonetheless do not fairly evaluate to a pair of nice wired headphones. However to make use of wired headphones – and get greater high quality audio – with the iPhone, you may want an exterior DAC.
The iPhone 15’s new USB-C connection ought to provide sensible benefits reminiscent of quicker speeds in terms of charging and knowledge transfers, however we’re extra involved with the prospect of a better path (i.e. the necessity for fewer adapters) in terms of utilizing wired headphones and/or DACs to spice up our smartphone listening. It is not only a query of higher audio, it is a matter of comfort, and a path to getting extra folks to get pleasure from higher high quality audio general. And with the elimination of the Lightning connector, that path simply turned simpler.
When you’re one of many many individuals who use an iPhone as your principal music listening supply and wish higher audio high quality than what you are getting over Bluetooth (which solely helps fundamental AAC codec), then a transportable DAC/headphone amp – reminiscent of a neat dongle kind just like the iFi Go Hyperlink or the Astell & Kern HC3 – is a sure-fire option to enhance the audio high quality when utilizing a pair of excellent ol’ long-established wired headphones. It is also the one option to even hearken to hi-res tunes in your iPhone.
We have beforehand documented simply how a lot of a faff it’s making an attempt to play hi-res audio on an iPhone, particularly with having to make use of the Apple’s further Lightning-to-USB digital camera adapter when wanting to make use of any exterior DAC, which normally has a USB-A or USB-C output. Many manufacturers like A&Okay and iFi do provide an additional Lightning adapter bundled into the field, however is not it a lot neater and less complicated with simply the one USB-C cable?
With the brand new iPhone 15s, you do not have to fret about whether or not you will have the proper adapter (and even have to purchase a separate one), because the DAC’s USB-C connector can immediately slot into the USB-C-toting cellphone.
That is nonetheless admittedly much less handy than if Apple’s iPhone and AirPods Professional merely supported a higher-quality codec that allow you to hearken to Apple Music’s big catalogue in 24-bit lossless audio high quality wirelessly. And whereas we would love for Apple to enhance the standard and file restrict of its personal inside DAC and output stage (it is restricted to 24-bit/48kHz) to make hi-res audio listening worthwhile with out the necessity for further package, the excellent news is that even finances USB DACs (just like the £59 / $59 / AU$99 iFi Go Hyperlink) will deal with hi-res audio and provide higher sound high quality to your wired headphones than the iPhone’s present inside DAC will.
We all know there’s an urge for food for customers to hearken to their digital library this fashion. If negating the necessity for further adapters implies that the adoption of utilizing exterior DACs – and even the curiosity of reaching higher-quality audio – is all of the extra handy and simple to do from the get-go, then it is a step in the precise course.
One other attention-grabbing bit of stories from the launch is that the essential wired Apple EarPods with Lightning connector will even be up to date with a USB-C connection. Which means you may immediately plug a pair of wired EarPods straight into your new iPhone 15 – bear in mind when utilizing wired headphones along with your cellphone was that simple?
There is a matter, nevertheless. The wired Apple EarPods aren’t precisely bastions of sound high quality. We gave them three stars in our evaluate from 2016 after we examined them at £29 – the EarPods now a extra acceptable £19. Whereas we praised their readability with voices and general strong, weighty sound, they fell behind when it got here to a bloaty bass, poor timing and fewer element and dynamics than a pair of much more succesful SoundMagic E10C.
If the EarPods did not sound nice with the Lightning connection, will they be any completely different with USB-C? It is laborious to offer a definitive reply, however we would wager an even bigger overhaul with the EarPods’ drivers and acoustic structure – maybe impressed by the efficiency leaps made with the wonderful AirPods Professional 2 and AirPods 3 – will provide that much-needed soar up in audio high quality over a mere change in cable connection.
The inclusion of USB-C itself will not essentially provide a step-up in audio high quality, however it ought to make it simpler to attach present merchandise which might be capable of enhance your iPhone’s audio high quality – at the least till Apple’s ecosystem totally embraces hi-res audio itself.
MORE:
The Apple AirPods Professional 2 are lastly getting USB-C – however not lots else
There’s one big audio announcement that Apple did not point out on the iPhone 15 launch
Apple formally unveils the iPhone 15 and 15 Professional, each with dynamic island and USB-C
The AirPods Max 2 have been a no-show on the iPhone 15 launch – and that is a large disgrace
