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Apple's 'courage' to remove the headphone jack has created a brave new world
It was barely two years ago when we lamented the loss of the headphone jack on the iPhone. The iPhone 7 had just arrived with a gorgeous jet black color, a solid-state home button, and a dongle in place of the 3.5mm headphone jack. At the iPhone 7 introduction, Apple VP Phil Schiller talked about having the "courage" to make the change, to leave the headphone jack behind.
At the time it was kind of cringe-worthy. Rather than try to convince the audience of the benefits of wireless charging or the annoyances of wired earphones, Schiller basically told the audience that they might not understand now, but one day they will. You could hear the snickers in the auidence when he said that removing the headphone jack required the "courage to move on and do something new that betters all of us." It sounded ridiculous. All we could see was the inconvenience ahead.
But you know what? He was right.
It might have sounded like the reality distortion field on steroids, but Apple's decision to remove the headphone jack from its most popular product wasn't a flippant design whim. It was the start of a new strategy that would bring convenience, simplicity, and downright delight.
The move led to courageous sales of AirPods.
See also: Poll: Looking back now, did Apple exhibit 'courage' in removing the headphone jack from iPhones?
Related: New Moto Z Omits Analog Headphone Jack; Adds Moto Mods
Bring Back the Headphone Jack: Why USB-C Audio Still Doesn't Work
Apple on the Decline
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 09 2019, @12:23PM (2 children)
I have a good use case for wireless earphones, it's for running or any other exercises, and even then they might get lost or get screwed up in the rain, if the batteries don't short circuit in one's ears and explode. Otherwise, just fuck off. I listen to stuff ALL THE TIME on mp3 player with a 100 hour battery life. White noise, books, podcasts, music. Last thing I need is crappy BT earphones that need charging every couple of hours. Drop dead on that one.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday April 09 2019, @01:56PM (1 child)
Nonsense. Agent Smith kicked Neo's ass while wearing an earbud. If it's good enough for Smith, it's good enough for me!
I'm going to buy my defensive radar from Temu, just like Venezuela!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 11 2019, @08:04PM
An earbud that was clearly wired. Check and mate.