3 Killing the Headphone Jack to Maintain Control
At the time, Apple’s decision to remove the 3.5mm headphone jack from its iPhone 7 lineup was a controversial choice. As is usual on the internet, conspiracy theorists were quick to develop several possible explanations. For one, many people pointed toward the headphone jack’s removal as a way for Apple to get people to buy more of their wireless and Lightning-equipped headphones.
Others thought up a theory concerning Digital Rights Management — a method for labels, publishers and streaming services to restrict how MP3s are distributed. Since the 3.5mm connector was too “dumb” to read encoded-DRM protections, these conspiracy theorists claim, the switch to Lightning is another way for Apple to maintain greater control over how we listen to music, Complex reported.
Of course, the likeliest explanation is that Apple was simply trying to make more space within its devices for other components. Apple has a long history of simplifying and paring down its device. The removal of the headphone jack was just the next logical step.