Before the iPhone 7 was officially announced, as with any other anticipated product, many rumors and leaks circulated as to what the flagship phone may look like, what new features it may come with, and so on and so forth. One of the things that caught my eye was the rumor of the iPhone 7 not having a headphone jack. I pondered and contemplated how such a thing would work, but I could only come up with the problems and frustrations that would entail not having one. Naturally, I put it aside, because at the time, it was just a rumor, and I myself honestly wasn't interested enough to speculate any further.
Fast forward a few months later, and now the iPhone 7 has been unveiled. Some rumors have been confirmed and others have been put to rest, but the one rumor that bothered me the most turned out to come true:
The new iPhone 7 does not have a headphone jack.
Now, this, as I see it, is sort of like a necessary evil: It's not all that great, but it is effective and it gets something done. I find several cons with removing the headphone jack, the main one being not being able to connect wired headphones. Of course, this problem can be easily bypassed by using Bluetooth headphones, but that only brings up another problem. Bluetooth, as of now, is not cheap, and not everyone enjoys using Bluetooth, and some people prefer using wired headphones. By doing this , Apple has severely limited the options of it's consumers. I'm aware that there is a lightning cable adapter for this issue as well, so there's a way around it, but it is still an inconvenience to music lovers such as myself.
However, once I heard the reasoning behind Apple's decision, I understood the need to remove the headphone jack. Apple was trying to move forward with it's flagship phone, and to do that, the headphone jack had to hit the road. And if you want Apple to improve the iPhone for the future, then you have to understand that the company has to take risks in order to see what works and what doesn't work. In the coming weeks, we'll see how the people respond to this change, with outrage or praise for Apple's decision, but in the meantime, unless you just really want the latest and greatest form of the iPhone, I'd hold off on buying one. And if you're really REALLY considering buying one, watch or read a review or two to see what other people's experiences with the phone was like.
