Proprietary Apple Headphones

[JeffBobula]

Has anyone else noticed you HAVE to use Apples headphones? I have noise cancelling and the Shure earbuds and neither of them work. Is anyone else upset that you have to use Apples phones? I know its a marketing tactic, and I think its smart, but also annoying as the Apple phones fit horribly in my ears.

 

[Bluesy1]

Well you could always get this:

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?mco=DBA24138&nplm=TN546LL/A

 

[jbaraga]

Has anyone else noticed you HAVE to use Apples headphones? I have noise cancelling and the Shure earbuds and neither of them work. Is anyone else upset that you have to use Apples phones? I know its a marketing tactic, and I think its smart, but also annoying as the Apple phones fit horribly in my ears.

I have a set of Shure e2c, and I bit the bullet and bought one of those belkin adapters at the Apple store. I wasn't about to let a $120 pair of ear buds collect dust. IMO, that's one of the few design flaws of the iPhone, and one that Apple should have found a way to avoid. The fact that aftermarket products like FM transmitters & headphones don't work = an entirely separate aftermarket for the iPhone from other devices.

 

[sorcereur]

Has anyone else noticed you HAVE to use Apples headphones? I have noise cancelling and the Shure earbuds and neither of them work. Is anyone else upset that you have to use Apples phones? I know its a marketing tactic, and I think its smart, but also annoying as the Apple phones fit horribly in my ears.

Perhaps it has to do with the unique headphones/microphone function they have to fulfill... Not so much proprietary, but necessary.

 

[TrippalHealicks]

Well you could always get this:

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?mco=DBA24138&nplm=TN546LL/A

Just ordered mine. Thx for the link.

 

[420greg]

IMO, that's one of the few design flaws of the iPhone, and one that Apple should have found a way to avoid.

It is not a flaw. One of the man reasons iPods would come back in their first year (under warranty) was the headphone jack would get pulled out because it was at surface level.

Also if you dropped your iPod and it landed on the headphone jack it would snap right off.

They recessed the headphone jack to make it stronger.

 

[velvetropeparty]

It is VERY easy to fix this if you have a Dremel tool or similar device around the house.

The housing for nearly every headphone PLUG has lots of extra plastic on it. I have some Bose QC3 headphones that I love. I was not about to buy an awkward extension to put on the end of the right angle QC3 plug. I simply put a sanding disk on the dremel and removed a VERY small amount of plastic material and it works perfectly in the iPhone now. I took my time (about 1 minute) and my girlfriend could not tell it did not come that way from the factory.

I then proceeded to 'fix' a pair of Shure headphones that I use once in a while, as well as a plug in my car. All total, it took me less than 10 minutes to modify all three plugs from 3 different manufacturers, no detriment to the plugs robustness either.

 

[UltraDean]

Since I travel often, being able to use my Shure E3C's with my iPhone is essential. Rather than get an adapter that I'd have to keep track of (or keep attached to the phone at all times), I simply took a knife and stripped away a small section of the plastic near the plug. It fits great and looks great.

 

[jbaraga]

Since I travel often, being able to use my Shure E3C's with my iPhone is essential. Rather than get an adapter that I'd have to keep track of (or keep attached to the phone at all times), I simply took a knife and stripped away a small section of the plastic near the plug. It fits great and looks great.

You're braver than me. At some point I may find a set of headphones I like better than my Shure, in which case I would likely sell my e2cs. I don't think I'd be able to command a premium in the resale market for a "modified" set of $100+ ear buds.

 

[Mr. Texas]

Has anyone else noticed you HAVE to use Apples headphones? I have noise cancelling and the Shure earbuds and neither of them work. Is anyone else upset that you have to use Apples phones? I know its a marketing tactic, and I think its smart, but also annoying as the Apple phones fit horribly in my ears.

It's not a marketing tactic, it's because the iPhone Headphones include a microphone and music controls, Apple, thinks that you will have for control over your phone if you use it's headphones.

 

[UltraDean]

You're braver than me. At some point I may find a set of headphones I like better than my Shure, in which case I would likely sell my e2cs. I don't think I'd be able to command a premium in the resale market for a "modified" set of $100+ ear buds.

LOL. I think you're right about that. Although maybe when the time comes, I can sell them to another iPhone owner

 

[JeffBobula]

It's not a marketing tactic, it's because the iPhone Headphones include a microphone and music controls, Apple, thinks that you will have for control over your phone if you use it's headphones.

Good point, I forgot about the answering phone calls part of the deal. I just actually performed this function for the first time today, and was quite pleased!

Thanks to everyone with their comments and suggestions!

 

[oembios]

I only use Apple accessories designed for Apple products.