Before Apple got around to announcing the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, there were plenty of rumors circulating that the company was planning on ditching the 3.5mm headphone jack. Those rumors were so frequent, in fact, that before the change was officially official people took it as gospel. "That's what Apple's going to do". That's not unheard of by any means, but it definitely should have tempered some of the outrage when it turned out to be true.
Of course, that didn't happen and we saw a lot of write-ups about how Apple's decision was user-hostile. I never really agreed with that sentiment, mostly because Apple included an adapter (dongle life!) in the box, but also included a pair of Lightning headphones, too. So if you wanted a wired experience there were two options in the box.
However! I can understand the frustration with losing something like the headphone jack, which has just been a standard option for so long.
That was 2016 and we've seen a lot of devices release without the headphone jack. Samsung is holding onto it, and so is LG. But we've seen Motorola, Google, and even OnePlus opt to ditch the port altogether for various reasons. And it is a bit funny to me that many companies are indirectly pointing a finger at Apple here, saying the market has moved on to wireless technologies and now "is the right time" and what not.
So here we are in 2018 and Apple isn't including the dongle in the box with the iPhone XS/XS Max or iPhone XR and that obviously has people up in arms all over again. But, I think those other companies are right at this point. I see a lot of wireless headphones out there now, especially Apple's AirPods. So maybe it's okay to say goodbye to the headphone jack now.
I may be on the outside of this, though. I've been eagerly awaiting the day I didn't have to use a wired headset. I've tried a variety of different wireless headphones over the years, finally settling with the AirPods, and aside from having to keep an eye on the battery of yet another device, I definitely prefer not having wires of any kind.
What are your thoughts on the matter as we inch ever closer to 2019, and, hopefully, even better wireless technology for our headphones? Have you moved on from the headphone jack, and, if so, which wireless headphones are you using these days? Or is a wired connection still a priority for you? Let me know!