Why Apple Removed The iPhone's Headphone Jack

In 2016, Apple introduced iPhone 7 which generated controversy thanks to their decision to remove the headphone jack. It came as a shock to many, who felt the feature was essential. So why did Apple do it? Well, the reason actually had more to do with iPhone X than the iPhone 7.

[epiphanyemerson]

Imagine being a company that makes too many weird decisions that there’s a whole YouTube channel that does nothing but try to explain them

[onkelklaujo]

Apple: Hello, I like money
Interviewer: What convinced you to remove the headphone jack?
Apple: Money!

[Phantomworks]

There is no way you have not explained this before… I could have sworn you covered this topic!

[LindonSlaght]

There are multiple holes in this argument.
1. Water resistance with a headphone jack can't be as hard as they say, since my phone is IP68 and has a headphone jack. (not to mention only cost 400$ before sale with good specs)
2. Assuming it was such a big issue to fit the headphone jack under the display controller, can you not just move the headphone jack to the top? Especially with apples engineering it would take up little space in the phone and offer valuable functionality.
3. Finally, I don't think it's as hard as they say to fit a headphone jack under the display controller. There's quite a few android phones that do it successfully.

[RukaIXR]

I'm calling BS. Removing the jack was purely to sell wireless headphones, removing it for a phone that had no benefit doing so to prepare people for the phone that needed to do it is a ridiculous claim. Apple has some of the greatest engineers and designers in the world and you are saying they couldn't come up with a way to have a edge to edge display without removing the jack? Not to mention this all happening conveniently as they start releasing wireless earbuds at the exact same time? Yeah, sure

[theadorablezaqc]

i will cover this in nine words
they removed it to boost the sales of airpods

[ACArsyady]

So they were forced to remove the headphone jack but managed to keep the charging port at the same side of the phone? And why don't just move the jack to the top side of the phone?

[justindesrosiers]

This decision still infuriates me to this day

[iQueeneth]

It’s funny how other companies make fun of Apple then copy them 😂😂

[riteshgarg]

Not all facts were true behind the removal of headphone jack. There is plenty of space inside iphone X for a headphone jack and samsung had water resistance of IP68 against Iphone X’s IP67 with a headphone jack. Infact, sealing a headphone jack is far more easier than USB port or speaker grill.

[Jake.brazier]

Just gonna point out the headphone Jack was removed nearly 6 years ago now🥴

[caoimhin]

After switching from a 7 Plus to a 13, I greatly miss the small amount of real estate on the front. This trend towards having no "bezel" at all is frankly dumb. It leaves no area to grab a device, whether it be smart phone or tablet, without inadvertently activating some function on the screen!

[lucash]

thank you for informing me this 6 years after apple removed the headphone jack

[joveymcjupi]

There have been (and still are) edge to edge phones with headphone jacks back in the day, though. Maybe it was an easier way of achieving it on the iPhone? Although to be honest, it being just a test/prep for the 10 would also basically explain why there was just an useless piece of plastic in the jack's place on the iPhone 7.

But truth be told even though I'm using a Redmi Note 7, a phone that *does* have a headphone jack, I always use my pair of bluetooth earphones instead, mostly cause of the fact that I'm not that much of an audiophile as long as my songs 'n whatnot don't sound like a compressed mess with just mids and nothing else. The slight disadvantages that come with it like a tiny bit of latency and having to recharge the buds every 5-6 hours or so in the case mainly aren't a big issue for me, especially when compared to the positives such as not having to deal with tangled wires and the cable starting to degrade overtime.

I just would've preferred Apple not making weird excuses for it like "courage" or something, is all. :P

[TwilightRealm]

"Courage."
Still remember it like it was yesterday :D

[ASWINGAMER]

The actual reason is that all non apple products which plug in through the lightning connector needs to me MFI (Made For Iphone) certified, in order to get the certification the manufacturers need to pay apple for it. If the product isnt MFI certified the phone will just refuse to charge, play music through wired headphones, etc. It was basically a way of making mire money.

[ProbirMustafi]

But, what about the charging port? Charging port is also a problem for the display panel.

[mrunankBathe]

I use an old Samsung and on this phone it has a teardrop small notch and really small chin. But it also has a headphone jack at the TOP. Why not do that instead??

[AHeriocWatermelon]

The answer is very simple: create a problem and sell the solution

[legacyfn]

how tf do you find excuses for everything apple do its actually impressive