Apple is reportedly planning to ditch the conventional 3.5mm jack in its next-gen iPhones that’ll reduce its thickness by an additional 1 mm. Japanese blog Macotakara reports that the Cupertino giant will be going for Lighting-only earpods instead of the standard 3.5mm jack we see on current iPhones. Put simply, we might not ever see the standard headphone jack in forthcoming iPhones.
The move might force headphone manufacturers to make Lightning to analog adapters for traditional headphones or simply produce wired headphones with Lightning connectors. iPhone users will still be able to connect their Bluetooth-compatible headphones, though might be forced to shell out some extra bucks for an additional accessory.
Current-gen iPhones do support Lightning-enabled headphones, though production of such headphones hasn’t started on bigger scale. Apple suggested a possible switch to Lightning-only headphones accessories at a WWDC session last year. The same year Apple introduced support for Lightning headphones under its Made for iPhone platform, with Philips and JBL now already onboard. The two debuted their new Lightning-compatible headphone models at CES earlier this year.
Apple’s decision if comes to fruition will undeniably prove slightly controversial, especially for users who’ll forced to buy new accessories simply because the company seems to be on a constant mission to make its iPhones thinner. Given the fact that how slim the iPhone 6S already is, does Apple really need to shed iPhone’s thickness any further.
The same is case with Apple Watch if users wish to wirelessly charge their smartwatch. The company sells its official charging pad for $79 which by no means is cheap. Moreover, the fact that Apple Watch users have been limited to using only those Qi chargers which get the company’stamp of approval to be used with its Apple Watch. This makes one wonder the reason behind Apple’s record-breaking year over year quarterly earnings and the amount cash the company making.
