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Over 200,000 people petition Apple to abandon rumored plans to ditch the 3.5mm headphone socket

headphones

Reports that Apple plans to ditch the 3.5mm headphone socket on the iPhone 7 in favor of Lightning headphones have been growing in number, and a recent poll found that 70% of you expect Apple to go this route. However, it appears some 200,000 people aren’t very happy about it.

A somewhat hysterically-worded petition calling for Apple to retain the 3.5mm socket had attracted some 204,000 signatures at the time of writing. The opening paragraph sets the tone …

Apple is about to rip off every one of its customers. Again.

Apple introduced MFi specs for Lightning headphones last year, and a few models are already available. The latest report, from Fast Company, suggests that Apple will also be introducing noise-cancelling technology, which it will be encouraging third-party headphone makers to adopt.

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Comments

  1. ilyasyurdaon - 8 years ago

    I think those 200,000+ people are wasting oxygen!

  2. Lorenzo Gielissen - 8 years ago

    Can we create a petition in favor for removing the headphone socket and for Apple to keep innovating? I like my bluetooth headphones and i can imagine that lightning audio could have better sound quality.

    • shareef777 - 8 years ago

      Right, because you don’t like it we should all get used to what you like and don’t like. I fail to see how keeping the headphone port would stop you from using your bluetooth headphones.

      • Avieshek (@avieshek) - 8 years ago

        You join them, the petitioners and we just want to have our own team

  3. Luis Alejandro Masanti - 8 years ago

    If we take into account that first weekend sales of last iPhone was like 13M… 200000 out of 13M is like 1,67%.
    If we take into account that last 2014 quarter of sales was like 73M… 200000 out of 73M is like 0,002738%.

    Do we remember when iPhone’s price was dropped in 2007? Look out for Steve’s quote.

    • shareef777 - 8 years ago

      Right, because ONLY 200k people care about the headphone port. You do realize the petition would be only a small sampling size of the actual potential iPhone purchasers.

    • The quote is “Our early customers trusted us, and we must live up to that trust with our actions in moments like these”

      But I don’t really see how that’s relevant.

      Your math isn’t very relevant either, as those 200000+ customers are not the only ones who disagree with that removal.

      I’m one that would understand, Apple needs to go forward, and they will encourage Bluetooth manufacturers to make better products, but personnally, for now, I need an adapter. I have bluetooth headphones, but I also have in-ear customs, and I love to use them with my iPhone. They have to understand that a lot of people are concerned with good audio, especially Apple customers. And today an audiophile (which I’m not) doesn’t necessarily find what he wants in Bluetooth headphones.

      • shareef777 - 8 years ago

        I’d imagine there’s quite a bit of people that simply don’t want another device to keep charging! Would suck to be on the train listening to music when your headphones die. What then?

  4. I’m still upset they got rid of 8 tracks…

  5. El_nino_tech11 - 8 years ago

    Are people afraid of change? Did people do this when Apple changed to lightning cable for charging?

    • Different matter, totally. they just changed their proprietary hardware to another kind of proprietary hardware? Plus, the benefits were obvious. But people did get mad though if you recall, because they had lots of cables and docks in their house that suddenly became obsolete.

      • misterron - 8 years ago

        Actually, I’m still kind of ticked off about the Lightning chargers. Ever try plugging one of those into an iPad with a magnetic cover at night in the dark? There’s a bunch of scratch marks on the area around the Lightning port of my iPad.

  6. cor_du_j - 8 years ago

    With any measure of change people are going to fuss about it. Especially in the world of technology change is inevitable and if a company doesn’t think about the future than they are destined to fall victim to it. My gut reaction is to think ‘oh no’ with the news of Apple’s possible decision but depending on what the trade-off is, losing the headphone jack could be worth it.

    People are like children. They will fuss and fight and maybe throw a tantrum or two but you we all know they will likely buy the phone anyway.

    • shareef777 - 8 years ago

      Except those same reports that say they’re ditching the headphone port state it’s because they want to make it thinner. That has NOTHING to do with technology. It’s all about aesthetics. I’m all for technology changes (looking forward to going to a pure USB-C laptop), but removing functionality for aesthetics is NOT moving forward.

      • mockery17 - 8 years ago

        The move to USB-C on the new MacBook was all about aesthetics. So was the decision to remove the CD-ROM drive on the MacBook Air. And the floppy disk drive on iMac.

        Technologies evolve. We now have Bluetooth which delivers great audio quality without cables. If you want even better audio quality you’ve got Lightning. In a few years you’ll think keeping the headphone jack is silly, as you would if we still kept USB-A, CD-ROM drives and floppy disk drives in today’s computers.

      • acslater017 - 8 years ago

        Thinner might be an added benefit, but Apple wouldn’t do it just for thinness. The iPod Touch is already 6.1 mm, for example, and it still has a headphone jack.

        But it COULD help enable waterproofing, wireless charging, Hi-Fi Audio, the removal of the physical home button, more/better speakers, and shrinking of the bezels/making the body lighter.

        Who knows what they’re cooking up. But does that help paint a better picture of the potential design tradeoffs?

      • tylerallen86 - 8 years ago

        Actually it’s about water proofing, and the ability to add a better / dual speakers.

  7. northmccormick2014 - 8 years ago

    I think that if you’re upset, move to android. Lets be honest if you’re going to let an old standard that really needs to be re-thought make you this upset, you should probably just do everyone a favor and not own an iPhone. Of course you’ll miss out on all the benefits of owning an iPhone, but again, if an out-dated headphone jack causes you to do this… so be it lol

    • There’s nothing that needs to be re-thought about the mini connector. In it various incarnations, whether it be 3.5mm, 2.5mm or the larger phono connector it’s design simplicity. They got it right the first time which is why it’s lasted this long. Compared to so many connectors since, it’s a wonderful and easy one to use. Contrast with the abomination of Sony’s TOSlink optical connection – try plugging one into a component without looking at it. HDMI is a decent standard, but the connector spec and application is atrocious. USB-B? OMD, don’t get me started on that one. USB-A? Now that’s a connector that needed replacing. VGA? Thankfully the entire range of D-sub connectors is long gone on all consumer gear.

      But the 3.5mm connector deserves a high place high up on the pedestal of ultimate design.

  8. mockery17 - 8 years ago

    How does Apple “rip off every one of its customers” if they won’t be buying the iPhone 7 because of the lack of the headphone ports? They won’t be customers anyway. Just replace “its customers” with “people who refuse to adapt to change,” and it will instantly make a lot of sense.

  9. Petition or no petition, good idea or bad idea, at this point it’s all irrelevant. The design of iPhone 7 is locked down and it’s not going change significantly before it ships. If they’ve made changes eliminating the space required by a headphone connector there’s simply no way to add one to the BOM. The only thing possible in such a case is including a free adapter in the box.

  10. Avieshek (@avieshek) - 8 years ago

    Typical fanboys of Apple, behaving like Apple.. Too seriously

  11. Torrey Huerta - 8 years ago

    Idiots. If they don’t like it, then don’t buy the new phone. I’m looking forward to the innovation.

  12. lookerjdc - 8 years ago

    just buy an adapter to continue using ‘legacy’ headphones – you know someone will make a Lightning to 3.5mm socket adapter…. it could be you

  13. Robert Latterman - 8 years ago

    This is really D-U-M-B……. Apple has a ton of $$$ invested in design migration and a pettion will not change anything….. kinda like all those petitions each year to the Obama that never go anywhere….. It’s only a matter time until the old style headphone jack goes bye bye…..

  14. mahmudf2014 - 8 years ago

    Reading this while listening music and charging my iPhone 6s Plus at the same time. Btw, to the person who thinks Android has the old technology, Android had NFC long before iPhone did, there are Android phones with better camera, better screens with OLED tech and 1440p resolutions. Apple is the one who was behind until this year with their 8MP camera since the 4S. They’ve been saying that it’s not the megapixels but the size of the sensor, the quality of the lens, and the f stop. They did change nothing but put the same size 12MP into the 6s and the quality of the photos stayed the same with the iPhone 6. They didn’t release a bigger phone until the end of 2014. Even then, iPhone 6/6 Plus had big bezels on top & bottom. And 6s/6s Plus still have it. Do i need to continue? Plus, no other phone manufacturer in the world creates a battery case for their phone. I love Apple but i’m not blind. You guys are just too fanboy to accept those things…

    • mahmudf2014 - 8 years ago

      Why can’t i edit my post 9to5mac?? WordPress kills me. I see some grammatical errors in my first post and because i can’t edit, there is no way to fix them. Sorry about it.

    • Luis Alejandro Masanti - 8 years ago

      You are right! Apple is a late coming company!
      But when you speak of Android’s phones having NFC, big cameras and so one… Could you tell us also the quantity of phones sold?
      Because Android covers from lower than $50 to +$600 models. And I’m sure that not all of them have the big cameras… not to speak of the last OS version.

      Like in the old days of Windows and Mac OS wars… it is not good to compare apples to oranges!

    • o0smoothies0o - 8 years ago

      I’m not going to comment in regards to anything but your false claim that Apple is the only smartphone manufacturer to make a battery case. Do a little research before you claim things as fact.

  15. Mac McIntire - 8 years ago

    It seems to me every one of my Lightning cables eventually fail. I would be pissed if I spent $100 on a pair of Lightning headphones just to have the cable fail in 6 months.

  16. Thomas Marble Peak - 8 years ago

    Let’s petition to get rid of the 3.5mm.

  17. while I don’t have any Bluetooth earphones, I do have a JBL Bluetooth speaker, which I have been using a lot more not than my regular 3.5mm earphones. So I am welcoming this change! What I would really like to see from Apple is a set of earphones, that have the removable, squishy inserts that you can change the size of. because the regular Ear Pods don’t fit in my ear due to a birth defect, however, earphones that have that removable squishy insert, do fit.

  18. o0smoothies0o - 8 years ago

    Wow people are so totally incompetent it’s sad. Hey future we’ll see you in 200 years. They purchase products that specifically exist due to innovation, and continue to want more features, and yet they reject an old technology that needs to go.

  19. mytawalbeh - 8 years ago

    I have no issues with ditching that socket. As it’s benefits would be for internal space, battery, waterproof, design ..
    then what’s wrong with using a tiny adapter or Bluetooth headphones!?

  20. Jake Becker - 8 years ago

    “And all the techies and bloggers will look up and shout, ‘Save us!’…And I’ll look down and whisper, ‘No.'” – Tim Cook

  21. miqdadremtula - 8 years ago

    I have a feeling they will create a Bluetooth music controller that has a 3.5mm jack to cater for those with headphones.

  22. darwiniandude - 8 years ago

    Couldn’t care less.
    I have Car Play in the car.
    Bluetooth Speaker in the workshop for use whilst working on the car, controlled from Apple watch.
    Blue tooth ear muffs protective hearing things when mowing lawn or using the brush cutter.
    I have Appgee Lightning interface for audio IO for music creation duties.
    All we need is a lightning to 3.5mm cable for those who are using legacy headphones.

    I have seen multiple friends who have snapped headphone plugs off inside that jack requiring expensive repairs though…

  23. kcwookie - 8 years ago

    Next people will want iPhone 7s to have floppy disk ports. They complain that Apple doesn’t innovate, but when they do, they complain they are changing things.

  24. Adrian Dolata - 8 years ago

    Right! Let’s keep every piece of old technology on our devices until the end of time!

  25. André Hedegaard - 8 years ago

    To the backwards people here complaining about this, would you rather the world stopped innovating and still use tapes and gramophones?
    Really, get over yourselves.

    The switch will just take a few months, everyone will have lightning and we can all get on with our lives.
    You people need to get a grip on yourselves, seriously!
    Or go use an Android for 3.5mm jack.

  26. Christopher Scott Knell - 8 years ago

    200,000 idiots.
    Using the Lightning plug makes the phone slimmer.
    An adapter might even come with the phone.

  27. brycedoesroblox - 8 years ago

    I have signed the petition & shared it on my social media accounts

Author

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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