It has been nearly two years since Apple released the iPhone 7 without a headphone jack, forcing users who still use wired headphones to plug them into the Lightning connector using an adapter included in the box.
Apple also includes the adapter in the box with the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X, but more evidence has emerged today that suggests that trend will soon end.
Cirrus Logic, a supplier for the adapter, has apparently "confirmed" that the dongle won't be bundled with Apple's widely rumored trio of new iPhones expected next month, according to a Barclays research note.
Barclays already
anticipated this would be the case earlier this year.
"Reported a beat but gave mixed guidance with revenue below but earnings ahead. Cirrus didn't update its FY19 guide… but they did finally confirm the dongle loss, adding more support for our below estimates," the research note reads.
Apple routinely says it is pushing towards a "truly wireless future," and the headphone jack adapter has always been a stopgap amid that transition, so if Apple chooses not to include it in the box, it shouldn't really come as a surprise. Rumors suggest new iPads will also
lose the headphone jack and adapter.
Not everyone prefers wireless headphones, like AirPods, however, so if true, the removal of the adapter will almost certainly generate some controversy.
Apple will likely continue to
sell the adapter as a standalone accessory for $9, which is cheap by its standards, so customers at least won't be forced to pay too much extra for the adapter if it is indeed removed from the box this year.
The adapter is also available at resellers such as Best Buy, where nearly two years later, it is the retailer's
second-best selling Apple product in terms of units, so an argument could be made that Apple is removing the adapter too soon.
In a little over a month, we should find out for sure.
Top Rated Comments
(View all)Really not a big deal. Most never use headphones with their phones anyways.
I have a pile of these things sitting around, along with all the chargers and headphones from previous phones and test phones. Not all that useful.
Reference the Bolded: I think that’s a heavily lopsided opinion, as many still do use Wired headphones with smart phones today, even though Bluetooth has grown exponentially.
On one hand, you’ve had 2 years to get wireless headphones or you can use the Lightning EarPods they provide
On the other, you’re having to pay $10 to restore basic functionality that other phones provide for free
Why Should Apple have to give anything ‘free’, let alone some wireless headphones? Because they deleted a 3.5 mm Jack or are no longer including the lightning adapter? I don’t understand why you think Apple should do something for free because of what exactly?
Are you seriously defending a now Trillion dollar company with massive profit margins? It probably costs them pennies to include the adapters in the package of the phone people are paying well over $1000 for. It’s not free, it’s built into the cost of the phone.
My family switched to bluetooth five years ago and never looked back. I can imagine some of the audiophile purists thinking of something snarky to say after finding out this was inevitable.
I would say for me it's not a matter of being an audiophile but is more about not wanting to spend comparatively more money on a pair of equivalent headphones only to have to worry about the battery life of yet another device
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