Is removing the headphone jack really stupid?


Nilay Patel at the Verge wrote a piece claiming that removing the headphone jack from the iPhone is stupid and not user-friendly. This, of course, is all speculation based on rumors of the next iPhone. Assuming this is all happening, I'd agree customers haven't been asking for the removal of this port and the decision is suspect. I don't care about futurisms like eventualities or roadmaps. I think people should be focus on the device their buying now and will use in its life cycle.

Ultimately to me, it just's a matter of what customers want and what do they prioritize. The problem, which has apparently turned into a blogger slap-fight, is we don't know what removing the headphones will give us, nor do we know what at least Apple thinks customers want. Every design is a trade off and a good design is judged based on making the best choices for the user. Simply, we'll have to wait and see what the next iPhone delivers before evaluating this supposed change with the headphone situation.

Patel probably summed it up best himself, which may prove why the headphone jack thing could be a good idea:

No one is asking for this

Raise your hand if the thing you wanted most from your next phone was either fewer ports or more dongles.

I didn't think so. You wanted better battery life, didn't you? Everyone just wants better battery life.


So, no, no one is asking for this, but they are asking for other things. What if removing the jack and requisite silicon allowed for better battery life? That would probably make people happier. We pay Apple to make these decisions for us and so far no one could argue they haven't done a good job. So, while I'm not at all happy about the prospects of dealing with dongles, spending more time managing Bluetooth batteries, and perhaps buying new headphone, I'll stay curious to see what happens.