A year has passed since Apple released the iPhone 7 and at the same time "killed" the headphone jack. This move caused a wave of indignation, but there was nothing left but to accept. This is not the first time that Apple has abandoned technologies that, in their opinion, are outdated.
As soon as the network there were rumors about Apple's plans to get rid of the Mini-Jack, there was a wave of discussions. The indignation of the users was no limit: how to listen to music now, what to do with the desire to charge the iPhone and plug in the headphones, how not to lose the adapter. None of these questions in Apple did not give an intelligible answer, all put before the fact. Even Samsung began to laugh at Apple and for the second year repeating the same jokes about the connector.
However, there were supporters of such a "revolution". Some thought that without an extra hole smartphones will become thinner and more protected from water. Others - that this will give a new life to headphones with a DAC and noise reduction, connected via Lightning. None of this, alas, did not happen.
In the case of the iPhone 7, its dimensions have not changed in comparison with the iPhone 6s, although it does not already have a Mini-Jack. Surprisingly, even with the removal of the headphone jack, the arrangement of the parts inside the case remains almost the same. After disassembling the smartphone by experts from iFixit, it became clear that at the site of the connector - a plastic plug, "responsible for equalizing the pressure inside the smartphone".
Other manufacturers, following the example of Apple, the situation is no less sad. Essential Phone, Xiaomi Mi6, HTC U11, too, are deprived of a jack for headphones, but their creators have not figured out what to do with the vacant space. Is that Moto Z received a slim body, while retaining the volume of the battery. As a result, most manufacturers ignored Apple's challenge.
As an alternative, it was suggested three options: to use an adapter, to buy Lightning-headphones or to switch to wireless. Each of them contains more minuses than pluses.
Despite the fact that the Mini-Jack is outdated (in the world of Apple engineers), the iPhone 7 is still equipped with an adapter. This is an obvious half-measure, because once it was decided to abandon the connector, then let's follow it to the end (as is done with the MacBook Pro). The problem lies in the adapter itself, because it is unreliable, looks stupid and can be lost at any time. Yes, there are also wired EarPods with Lightning. This connection puts an end to the universality of headphones, now they can not be connected to other phones or computers.
In addition, Apple does not need Lightning-headphones, so no one became popularized. Connecting through the charging port really allows you to improve the sound quality in the "gags", equip them with noise reduction and amplifier, but their cost is tens of thousands of rubles, which is unacceptable for the average user. Even if we compare simple "gags" with Mini-Jack and Lightning, the price for the latter will be much higher, although technically they are identical.
It only remains to use wireless headphones, because the Lightning-connector is needed for charging. Apple has an answer on this score in the form of AirPods and Beats with a W1 processor. There are no key advantages from its existence, except that energy consumption becomes more efficient. In addition, no one forbids the use of other Bluetooth-headphones.
Their key disadvantage remains the need for frequent recharging. Even charging AirPods every four days causes its difficulties, especially as all wireless gadgets, their batteries grow old - their life cycle is limited to several years until the moment when the battery finally "dies". And this entails unnecessary waste, since the price of wireless headphones is even higher wired with Lightning.
It turns out that, having got rid of 3,5-millimeter connector, Apple does not offer convenient and, most importantly, cheap alternatives. In addition, the presence of the Mini-Jack does not interfere with the use of wireless and Lightning-headphones. So the user is simply put in the framework: he is taken the usual decision and gives him a choice of several equally uncomfortable.
Apple is not accustomed to fall under the flurry of criticism because of the desire to "move forward". Many compare "murder" with many other decisions of the company that somehow influenced the entire industry. For example, in iMac 1998, the manufacturer decided to remove the drive from the computer for 3.5-inch floppy disks (which itself was popularized as a replacement for 5.25-inch in 1984).
Apple said that the transfer of data over the network should be enough for all users. At the same time, Apple abandoned the ADB, GeoPort and SCSI interfaces and replaced them with a universal USB. It is not necessary to say what panic this caused: users simply were not ready for this.
They were also echoed by journalists who predicted the complete failure of iMac and Apple as a whole. Competitors also scoffed at this step, just as Samsung is joking now over the iPhone 7. However, this computer "awakened" Apple after a long lull and became one of Apple's best-selling computers. As a result, other manufacturers began to remove the floppy drive only at the beginning of zero.
And later, with the release of the first MacBook Air, Apple launched the process of "killing" an optical drive in its computers. The reaction of others was similar, but now it is difficult to meet a laptop with a built-in DVD-drive. And this happens with almost every global device redesign.
It is worth mentioning that then the company was led by Steve Jobs and the resentment because of certain decisions quickly died down. Now the debate over the disposal of the 3.5-millimeter connector is almost not stopped. But Apple is not accustomed to back up the adopted settings, so the return of the 3.5-millimeter connector should not be expected.
But the emergence of an increasing number of smartphones without an audio output sooner or later will definitely come. And this threatens not only the fans of iOS, as in October 2016, the organization USB Implementers Forum certified a new standard that allows you to output audio through the USB Type-C port. It makes it possible to use the USB Type-C port to connect audio devices, which will result in a rejection of the Mini-Jack. Therefore, all that remains for users is to wait for the onset of this "revolution" and already look closely at the wireless headphones.