Apple’s at it again
Updated: Apr 10, 2020
Now that summer is coming to an end we can start to look forward to Apple’s long-awaited release of the iPhone 7. A lot of media coverage has covered the rumours that the latest editions of the world’s most popular handset will not have a headphone jack. Instead, sheep – I mean buyers – will receive a pair of bluetooth headphones to listen to all of their favourite tunes through.
A lot has been made of this and the reaction from consumers will be huge if it turns out to be true. But can we really be surprised by Apple’s latest mission?
These are the same people that have pioneered the online music industry, cloud computing, waved goodbye to unnecessary orifices in their products such as disk drives, HDMI and VGA ports. The fact they’ve taken this long to get rid of the headphone jack is a mystery!
But is this really a big deal? Firstly I’d remind people that these phones are only bought by those who can really afford them, in my experience the mass market doesn’t have access to these products for around 9 months to a year, so you have plenty of time to stock up on bluetooth goodies! Secondly, I’d point you to how we watch and listen to a lot of our entertainment these days. It seems that every device I own has a Spotify application on it and, especially when i’m gaming, I don’t actually headphones as much as I used to.
Innovations in streaming services such as Google’s Chromecast have made mini, micro and standard HDMI ports redundant. Who needs cables everywhere when you have a healthy internet connection?
Personally I find it exciting, even if there will a group of iPhone elites looking down at those still using wires! But let’s not forget that wireless headphones are hardly a new trend. Beats, Sony, Bose have been selling wireless products for the past 5 years and the market is only growing, especially in sports wear.
Either way, Apple are renowned for their technological innovations and futuristic thinking, you have to admit that their success rate is impeccable and there are countless examples where iPhones have influenced the rest of the market. Even if a lack of headphone jack is a step too far.