No deviation from the norm, no matter how small, will be well-received by everyone, and Apple’s decision to remove the 3.5mm headphone jack from the next iPhone definitely isn’t a small deviation. It’s important to note that the company has yet to confirm that the headphone jack is being replaced by a Lightning port, but several rumors have suggested as much, and enough people believe it that more than 200,000 of them have signed an online petition asking Apple to reconsider its decision, assuming that it’s actually made the decision.
No, Apple hasn’t officially said that the headphone jack is going away on the iPhone 7. Yes, odds are good that the headphone jack will be going away—if not with the iPhone 7, then soon, as it stands to reason that Apple would much prefer to do everything via its devices’ Lightning ports (convenience be damned). However, in an attempt to prevent Apple from doing something it has yet to even announce, an online petition is circulating that asks Apple to preemptively change its mind. Say what you will about the strength of online petitions—we don’t really consider them the most effective ways to encourage a company (or The White House) to do something differently. We also don’t think Apple is really the kind of company that’s going to care much about an online petition. After all, if it had no problem changing around its dock connectors no matter how much it messed up third-party products at the time, we suspect the company isn’t going to care much about the headphone jack. Still, the petition-signers remain hopeful. “Forbes and FastCompany are reporting that 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,” the petition reads.
