Over 220,000 people petition for Apple to keep the headphone jack for the iPhone 7

Over the past few weeks, there have been more and more reports concluding that Apple is set to get rid of the standard 3.5mm headphone jack from its upcoming iPhones.

By removing the port, it is expected that Apple can make the iPhone a tiny bit slimmer and, of course, they can boost their own bottom line as the new headphones will have to connect either wirelessly or via the proprietary Lightning port.

Apple fans are not happy about the rumored move (possibly because they already own expensive Beats headphones with a standard 3.5mm jack and have petitioned to stop Apple from dumping the connector.

The petition has 227,000 signers as of writing. That is a large figure given that the iPhone 7 is, at least, six months away from even being announced, but a tiny figure compared to the 100 million-plus iPhones the company is expected to sell in 2016.

If accurate, this would not be the first time Apple has double-dipped on its own customers. In 2012, the company got rid of its old proprietary 30-pin connector and replaced everything with the Lightning connector. Anybody who upgraded their phones and tablets then had to buy new charging cables and USB connectors.

Source:
Sum of Us Petition

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 9 Jan 2016 10:20

zxe45

haha the other story is that Apple are working on Wireless head phones, so why shouldn't they remove the head phone jack. I think its a good idea, do through the lightening connector is a good idea, remember some one will produce a connector phone jack to lightening, so no worries

9.1.2016 13:46 #1

YummyCS

yea, i already have several wireless headphones/earbuds and my earbuds were like $20. Headphone jacks are going to be a thing of the past.

9.1.2016 17:24 #2

audvare

I also do not see the point of this petition. Whether or not Apple makes an adapter (lightning to headphone jack), the market for that, and bluetooth converters, will be very big and companies will make them.

I also look forward to better wireless headphones as time goes on.

9.1.2016 20:49 #3

pensfan12

Not a fan of Apple, but this is the right move and way over due. Bring it on I say.

10.1.2016 06:42 #4

Bozobub

Sadly, wireless headpones are still crap at the moment; there's no such thing as a good Bluetooth codec, at least not yet.

Even more of a loser is a Beats wireless headphone. The only comparably overpriced dreck is Skullcandy.

People who pause for a modicum of thought will realize that the lack of a headphone jack lets Apple further limit you to their product ecosystem; the tiny difference in thickness means diddly.

12.1.2016 01:03 #5

Dragon3000

"Sadly, wireless headphones are still crap at the moment; there's no such thing as a good Bluetooth codec, at least not yet."

Firstly it's clear that Apple don't give a S*** what their customers think, as history tells us. But on the point that wireless headphones are still crap? well I bought one called Sonixx X-Touch and I've got to say they are pretty impressive, reasonably priced and the function to change track and volume by touching the side of the headphones is sweet. I often Bluetooth it to my phone and PC, it works a treat!.

ZX Spectrum 128K

15.1.2016 02:57 #6

SomeBozo

I think it is a great idea to pay back loyal apple customers, they like apple let them pay more!

15.1.2016 20:03 #7

Bozobub

Originally posted by Dragon3000: "Sadly, wireless headphones are still crap at the moment; there's no such thing as a good Bluetooth codec, at least not yet."

Firstly it's clear that Apple don't give a S*** what their customers think, as history tells us. But on the point that wireless headphones are still crap? well I bought one called Sonixx X-Touch and I've got to say they are pretty impressive, reasonably priced and the function to change track and volume by touching the side of the headphones is sweet. I often Bluetooth it to my phone and PC, it works a treat!.
I never said Bluetooth headphones don't work; rather, I said they're crap.

This is because Bluetooth's bandwidth is rather low, so audio must be compressed significantly before it is sent by the transmitter, and the all current Bluetooth codecs are VERY lossy. In other words, listening to an MP3 (somewhat lossy audio compression) over a Bluetooth connection (VERY lossy compression) is quite simply doomed to inferior results. As for listening to a lossless codec, such as FLAC, over Bluetooth, you're going to have worse results than listening to an MP3 over a wired connection. vFurthermore, Bluetooth will also use more battery power than a wired headphone.

They have their uses, but don't kid yourself; Bluetooth headphones cannot compete with wired models for actual sound quality, and won't be able to for a long while.

On further digging, the higher-end Beats Bluetooth headphones (US$245-275) actually perform pretty well, compared to similar Bluetooth headphones, which is unusual; Beats has a terrible reputation. Their lower-end sets are pretty universally trash.

16.1.2016 16:33 #8

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