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A possible iPhone 7 change is stoking outrage on Twitter

As rumors mount that Apple may remove the headphone jack on the upcoming iPhone 7, the possible change has provoked strong negative responses on Twitter.

David Carnoy Executive Editor / Reviews
Executive Editor David Carnoy has been a leading member of CNET's Reviews team since 2000. He covers the gamut of gadgets and is a notable reviewer of mobile accessories and portable audio products, including headphones and speakers. He's also an e-reader and e-publishing expert as well as the author of the novels Knife Music, The Big Exit and Lucidity. All the titles are available as Kindle, iBooks, Nook e-books and audiobooks.
Expertise Mobile accessories and portable audio, including headphones, earbuds and speakers Credentials
  • Maggie Award for Best Regularly Featured Web Column/Consumer
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David Carnoy
2 min read

Back in early January I wrote an article asking "Would it be a mistake for Apple to remove the headphone jack on the iPhone 7?" It was based on a rumor that Apple was planning to do away with the 3.5mm headphone on the iPhone 7, likely to be released this fall, and would steer people toward using wireless headphones or wired headphones that connect via the remaining Lightning port via an adapter.

The article elicited some strong responses from our readers and in recent weeks, as more rumors continue to surface that Apple will ditch the headphone jack and replace it with a second speaker, the reaction on Twitter and Facebook has been decidedly negative.

I'm sure executives at Apple have read the 2006 Harvard Business review article "Eager Sellers and Stony Buyers: Understanding the Psychology of New-Product Adoption." (Samsung execs probably should have read it before eliminating the removable battery, expandable memory and water resistance from the Galaxy S6 -- before restoring two of the three features in the new Galaxy S7). The long and short of it is, if Apple does remove the headphone jack in the iPhone 7, the benefits (new innovations) of doing it must greatly outweigh the loss of it (by around nine times).

We'll see how it all pans out. (Almost four years after Apple replaced the 30-pin connector with the Lightning port in 2012's iPhone 5, the rage is all but forgotten, after all). For now, though, have a look at a selection of tweets we plucked from Twitter on the topic.

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