iPhone 7: 200,000 iPhone Users Sign Petition Asking Apple Not To Remove The 3.5 mm Jack


Yesterday, The Inquisitr reported about the possibility of Apple removing the ubiquitous 3.5 mm headphone jack from its upcoming iPhone 7. The next generation iPhone 7 therefore could end up losing what is now de-facto standard for connecting headphones to mobile phones around the world. According to that report, Apple is working with a company named Cirrus Logic to develop a multipurpose lightning cable slot which would also perform the duties of an audio jack. The primary reason behind the probable removal of the audio jack is its size, owing to which Apple is not able to make the iPhone any thinner than what it is now.

With the separate audio jack out of the way, you can expect an iPhone that is lot thinner – with the iPhone 7 expected to be at least 1 mm thinner than the existing iPhone models. The iPhone 7 might also coax users to adopt wireless earphones – which means paying more money for headphones. In fact, the upcoming iphone 7 model is also likely to feature full wireless charging capability – thereby making cables completely obsolete.

Many iPhone users have reacted to the development with displeasure and have expressed their unhappiness if the iPhone 7 does indeed come sans the 3.5 mm jack. In fact, according to The Vine Report, thousands of users have already signed a petition demanding that Apple reconsider its rumored decision to remove the audio jack from the iPhone 7. The petition posted at Sum Of Us was posted with a goal of amassing signatures from at least 250,000 people and has already managed to go past 227,000 signatures – signifying the fact that many people do not want Apple to ditch the audio jack on the iPhone 7.

The text of the petition reads;

“Apple is about to rip off every one of its customers. Again. Apple plans to ditch the standard 3.5mm headphone jack when it releases the iPhone 7 later this year. Only a massive international campaign can force Apple to change course now. Not only will this force iPhone users to dole out additional cash to replace their hi-fi headphones, it will singlehandedly create mountains of electronic waste — that likely won’t get recycled. According to the United Nations, up to 90% of the world’s electronic waste is illegally traded or dumped each year. Tell Apple to respect its customers and our planet. Keep the standard headphone jack.”

Users were also miffed at Apple after a 9to5mac report claimed that Apple is working on a new cord-free headphone that it plans to launch before the iPhone 7 arrives. The report said that this new headphone would be separately sold as a premium accessory. They have also been already given a name – “Airpods,” as opposed to the existing “earpods”. Apple is reportedly working with its own subsidiary – Beats Music for this new headphone model, the report added.

While reports of Apple ditching the 3.5 mm jack from the iPhone 7 remains a rumor at this point, the company does have a history of moving to a completely new standard in a very abrupt manner. Users have seen how Apple has in the past ditched its old 30-pin connector to the new lightning connector. Last year, Apple also launched the new super slim MacBook which completely ditched the ubiquitous USB port and comes only with a new USB Type C port. The company also was amongst the first to stop shipping its devices with optical drives.

Anyway, since we do not have any confirmation or denial from Apple regarding its plans with the iPhone 7, we can only hope the company takes the right decision. Do you think the iPhone 7 will indeed come without the headphone jack?

(Photo by Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images)

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