iPhone Headphone Jack Will Disappear, But Headphone Makers Aren’t Worried — Here’s Why

The iPhone headphone jack may be a thing of the past when the iPhone 7 is released later this year. While many individuals who have grown up on the wired headphones are having trouble with the concept of a wireless headphone or not being able to listen to wired headphones while charging their iPhones, the manufacturers of headphones are not sweating the change. Why, you may ask?

The Consumer Electronics Show is currently taking place in Las Vegas and, as the Verge points out, many companies are talking about the change to Apple’s most popular and highest-selling device.

“I’ve spoken with many of them during this year’s CES and none feel threatened by or unprepared for Apple’s rumored removal of the headphone jack,” Verge writer Vlad Savov wrote. “There are two reasons for this: one is that almost every headphone manufacturer, major or minor, has some sort of wireless product to offer prospective iPhone 7 owners. Only the truly premium, audiophile-class vendors — whose products aren’t intended to be used with mobile devices anyway — don’t have a Bluetooth variant to offer. The big names like Sennheiser and Audio-Technica are already working on entire portfolios of high-end wireless headphones, and others like Bose have been developing the technology for years. Nothing new on this front.”

He said the other reason, he said, is because many companies are already working on headphones that are wired and use Apple’s proprietary Lightning connection on iPhones for power, and will now use it for the iPhone headphone connection.

Quartz reports Apple is currently working on its own wireless headphones to connect with the new iPhone 7.

“The earbuds, which should be able to pick up calls and activate Siri, are unlikely to ship with the iPhone 7,” Gurman notes—probably because of the premium price.

“Comparable cordless headphones like the Bragi Dash cost $300,” Quartz reported.

But the idea that Apple would be developing its own premium wireless iPhone headphones is not a complete surprise. The company now owns the popular Beats headphones company, and has continued looking for ways to diversify its core business at a time when its stock is currently under $100 per share, the first time since August. The company, reports say, is suffering from a drop in iPhone sales, which make up a large chunk of its core business.

Now, even though Apple is working on its own premium iPhone headphones, the Verge reports the company could actually provide a boost to other headphone manufacturers who have not been able to compete in recent years due to Apple providing iPhone headphones with each of its new units, therefore keeping people from investing in other more high-end headphones.

And even if companies have old inventory on the shelves that are not compatible with the Lightning connection on the latest iPhone models coming out later this year, the Verge says many of the companies will do something quite simple to remedy the problem and move old inventory off the shelves — include converters, or just focus on Bluetooth.

“Some of them throw a 3.5mm to 6.25mm adapter in the box and move on to more important matters. Apple’s dispatch of the headphone jack makes things interesting for these companies, but only in the sense that it could spur more sales. Most have told me that integrating an amp and digital-to-analog converter into their headphones — which would be required when hooking up via Lightning — would be relatively straightforward. Others are just really keen to sell more Bluetooth headphones.”

What do you think about the conversion to wireless and Bluetooth instead of the traditional iPhone headphones? Tell us in the comments section below.

[Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images]