For the better part of 2016, Apple watchers have been obsessing about one little hole smaller than the size of a green pea. It's been rumoured that the ubiquitous 3.5mm headphone jack is being given the boot on the upcoming iPhone 7, expected to launch today at Apple's event at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco.
It's strange that rather than talk of new industry-defining features, the preoccupation has been with the banishing of the headphone jack. For one thing, with several rounds of iPhone launches having gone by without any major changes, fans have become accustomed to the idea that the perfect phone can't just reinvent itself every year. And in any case, next year will be the tenth anniversary of the iPhone which is when Apple will give everything it's got to a new device. It's rather unlikely that Apple would hold back technology that it's ready with -- not amidst stagnating sales and an anything-but-easy landscape in China and India -- so one can only assume that the Cupertino giant is still working on whatever it is.
Whatever Apple is going to reveal, you can bet that the world watching the event will be on tenterhooks until they know for sure whether the headphone jack stays or goes.
Why the almighty fuss? The 3.5mm socket is so long established that you can always rely on whatever electronic device you have sporting one. Why fix it if it ain't broke? It conducts music without doing damage to the quality. Bluetooth or wireless earphones in which the two ear pieces are not even wired to one another, will on the other hand, impact the quality appreciably.
With the 3.5mm jack gone from the iPhone, Apple would be forcing a change in consumer behaviour and have the industry racing to adapt. If the connection is to be via the Lightning port and it doubles up for charging as well as music, audio companies will have to start supplying devices that fit. If it's to be through a USB Type C port, then again, it means a modification in audio products meant to work with Apple devices. And if the iPhone is to work only with wireless headphones, there's going to be a struggle to get music to sound as good as it can. For now, the rumours also say that Apple will supply an adaptor.
Exploring Better Sound : There is also that other camp that believes losing the 3.5mm socket is a good thing. It's been dominant for far too long and it's time to explore other connections. Some tests have shown the Lightning port to be better at retaining music quality compared with the old jack.
The suspense should be over at Apple's launch event today.