Now Hear This: Apple Rumored to Nix iPhone Headphone Jacks

In case you hadn’t heard, rumors are swirling that Apple might be doing away with headphone jacks. In lieu of a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, the Japanese blog Macotakara reports, Apple might be moving to a proprietary Lightning port connection. To use standard headphones, a Lightning port to 3.5mm cable will be necessary.

As an Android user, this potential hardware change doesn’t affect me, but I’m rather shocked. Turns out, I’m not the only one. iPhones boast impressive hardware, but lack two features which many consumers (myself included) value: expandable memory, and removable batteries. It looks like everything about the iPhone is migrating to a proprietary environment, with the Lightning port, and possibly Lightning headphone connection.

Forbes contributor Gordon Kelly points out that Apple’s acquisition of Beats now looks nonsensical. Why invest in a line of high-end headphones just to nix a headphone port? It’s counter-intuitive. I remember back in the day having a candybar phone with a 2.5mm jack and having a 2.5mm-3.5mm converter with standard headphones plugged into that was a PITA. It’s not just Android users decrying this as a potentially detrimental mistake. The Verge writer Micah Singleton stated that a thinner iPhone at the expense of a headphone jack is completely unnecessary and unwanted. Dedicated Apple website Cult of Mac came out and called Apple stupid to even consider dropping a headphone jack. Seriously Apple, it's only 1mm thinner. I'll gladly take an additional 1mm and not have one more cable to tote around. 

Owning many gadgets, I love when hardware manufacturers include universal ports. Being able to charge my Galaxy S4 with the same micro USB cable as my Sansa Clip Zip is fantastic. Similarly, I really don’t want to lug around a separate pair of headphones for each gadget I own, or even different converter cables. A Lightning-3.5mm cable, or Lightning port only pair of headphones is much more inconvenient than a bit of extra iPhone girth.

Would you miss a standard headphone jack on your phone? Rather eschew a 3.5mm jack for less weight? Leave a comment, or hit me up on Twitter!