When Apple added the ability for headphones to connect to an iOS device’s lightning connector, they opened the door to stupidity. Now, Philips is the first company to embrace that stupidity with their Fidelio M2L headphones. According to the company, they:
“deliver Fidelio’s signature sound in high resolution directly to your iOS device, without distortion or crosstalk, thanks to a Lightning connector and built-in DAC.”
The problem is this: you can only use these headphones with an iOS device, and only a recent one that has a lightning connector. (It’s not clear if they work with older 30-pin devices through an adaptor, but it’s possible that they do.) So, if you’re listening to music on your iPhone, and want to switch to, say, your laptop or iMac, you can’t. You can only use them with devices that have Apple’s lightning connector. You can’t lend them to a friend with an Android phone, or a laptop, and you can’t use them with your computer, whether it’s a Mac or PC.
I understand the logic: because of the built-in DAC, and the capabilities that Apple offers, this is interesting. But it’s a huge failure if the headphones only work with a limited number of devices. Also, what happens when Apple switches from the Lightning connector to something else? Will they work with an adapter?
I think it would be foolish to buy these.