The trusty headphone jack has been a staple in consumer electronics since it was designed in the 1950s. The jack is functional across devices and form factors, making it a must-have but Apple disagreed. At the iPhone 7’s launch. Apple claimed they needed to lose the headphone jack in order to waterproof the iPhone 7, and even said it took “courage” to be among the first phone makers to take this step.
Fast-forward to 2020, Apple stopped bundling the charger and earphones inside the box.The company said that its removal of in-box iPhone accessories is all about the environment. However, in reality, it was a money-making move. First, the company is saving money by not packaging the iPhone 12 charger or the EarPods in the box. Then, it’s saving more money by making the box smaller and spending less on shipping fees.
Finally, it stands to then earn additional revenue by selling the charger and EarPods separately for $19 each. And don't forget the MagSafe that wirelessly charges the phone, There’s no MagSafe charger in the box, either, and buying one of those will set you back $39. So Apple’s motivations aren’t about the environment at all. It was all about the money. And now the company has decided to take this money-laundering scheme to an even greater level and remove the charging port entirely.
One of the iPhone 13 variants will have absolutely zero port to charge the phone. The rumor originated early this year from Ming-Chi Kuo, but he didn't specify when exactly we're going to see this happen. But Jon Prosser revealed a couple of days ago that it will happen as soon as next year but only one of the four iPhone 13 models will have zero ports. The other 3 phones will have the usual lightning port and not USB-C. There's no information about whether it's the Pro variants or the regular or mini variant to not have any ports, I guess time will tell. But in all honesty, this is the most ridiculous thing happening to smartphones.
This just seems like another Apple solution trying to fix a nonexistent problem. We have a perfectly functional solution in the form of USB-C that is now largely supported across phones, tablets, laptops, and more. Ironically, it’s not just Android phones. Even Apple has transitioned the entire Macbook family and its premium iPads to the port. The standard enables a single cable solution for all your devices. Sure unlike with previous wireless chargers, Magsafe allows you to use the phone while charging it and because of that, there's an argument to ditch the port. However, just because something is possible doesn’t necessarily mean that it has to be done.
Using the phone with MagSafe is still uncomfortable to some extent, I mean it's not as flexible as a cable. Plus, you won't be able to charge or connect headphones via Lightning; instead, you'll have to charge and play audio wirelessly, which many people do already. But those who shelled out for expensive Lightning headphones, in particular, are likely to be cheesed off by having that option removed.
Additionally, there’s also the matter of how it makes data transfers so cumbersome that you are essentially will be forced into spending on iCloud storage. Portless phones make sense only when the wireless charging happens over the air until then this is just an anti-consumer move that benefits only the company, not their consumers. I guess this kind of contemptuous behavior will continue until enough people resist the urge to empty their wallets into their phones, but we all know it's never going to happen.
Let me know what do you think about this down in the comments.
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