I've been at or watched every Apple keynote and product launch event since 1998. I was there when they killed the CD drive in the Macbook Air and the 30-pin connector in the iPhone 5. I've witnessed the demise of every Macbook charger. 
 
 And I've never heard anything as ridiculous emanate from that stage as I did Wednesday, when marketing chief Phil Schiller explained why the iPhone 7 would not have a standard 3.5mm aux cable input, better known as the headphone jack. 
 
 SEE ALSO: Apple unveils iPhone 7 and 7 Plus without headphone jack 
 
 "It comes down to one word," Schiller said. "Courage. The courage to move on and do something better for all of us." 
 
 Schiller was thoroughly mocked for those words on Twitter, and rightly so. Courage is marching across the Edmund Pettus bridge in Selma in 1965. Courage is facing down a tank in Tiananmen Square or a machine gun nest on the beaches of Normandy. Courage, by definition, involves doing something that makes you afraid. 
 
 And what has Apple done? It has eradicated the most successful, most widespread and best-sounding audio standard in the world in favor of its own proprietary system. 
 
 A number of words come to mind to describe this. "Hubris" is one; "arrogance" is another. Given the amount of $9 aux-to-Lightning cable dongles Apple is likely to sell, you could use "greed." Personally, I'd opt for "stupidity." 
 
 So I can drop my iPhone 7 in the toilet, but I can't charge it and use headphones at the same time? #AppleEvent — Chris Taylor (@FutureBoy) September 7, 2016 
 
 This is in no way the equivalent of losing the CD drive or the 30-pin connector. There is no technological excuse for this. Music does not sound better over a Lightning cable. Nor does it sound better over Bluetooth, or the proprietary wireless technology Apple is using in its AirPods. There's simply more audio information traveling over a wire than can travel over the air. 
 
 Say it with me now: wired almost always sounds better than wireless. 
 
 For years, I tried to convince myself otherwise. I've bought so many sets of Bluetooth headphones that my wife still laughs about it. My favorites were the 66Audio BTS Sport cans, which I went running with. I ignored the occasional skip in the audio and focused on finally being free of all wires! I even managed to convince myself I didn't look like Lobot from Empire Strikes Back. 
 
 Then I bought the exquisite Bose QuietComfort 20 in-ear noise-canceling headphones, and I've never looked back. Do yourself a favor and check them out, even if you don't normally like in-ear phones (I generally hate the genre). 
 
 Turns out it's not so much of a hardship to run with a wire attached to your iPhone when the sound is this crystal clear. 
 
 Even if the AirPods didn't look like a dumb set of white plastic earrings, how confident are you that you won't lose them? 
 
 Courage is buying the $159 Apple Air Pods and then going home to tell your spouse what you bought and for how much. #AppleEvent — Richard Hay (@WinObs) September 7, 2016 
 
 The second most nonsensical thing Schiller said Wednesday? "It doesn't make sense to keep the jack, because space [inside the iPhone] is at a premium ... we want stereo speakers, we want Taptic engines." 
 
 Oh really? I challenge you to find me a regular iPhone user who even knows what a Taptic engine is. If this is really about what "we" want, why not run a poll: Do you want your iPhone's home button to vibrate sometimes, or do you want to be able to plug in pretty much any set of headphones ever made in the entire world? 
 
 "Space is at a premium." So Apple did to the headphone jack what San Francisco is doing to the middle class? #AppleEvent — Chris Taylor (@FutureBoy) September 7, 2016 
 
 Not to mention all the other devices that plug into the phone's headphone jack. So long to Square's credit card dongle. See you later, temperature sensors, light meters, thermal imaging cameras and personal breathalyzers. Refurbish yourself with a proprietary Lightning connector and pay Apple for the privilege, or GTFO! 
 
 Talk about one step forward, two steps back. Here we are in 2016, and if you want the latest and greatest iPhone, you can't own the best-sounding headphones — unless you also use an expensive, unwieldy and easy-to-lose dongle. 
 
 Want to charge your phone? Sorry, you can't listen to it privately at the same time. Unless you're using inferior wireless phones, that is. 
 
 “[Airpods] instantly turn on and connect to your iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad or Mac[1].” 
 
 
 
 [1] Requires an iCloud account 
 
 
 
 WAIT REALLY? — Dan Hon is ⌨️ ing (@hondanhon) September 7, 2016 
 
 The old Apple mantra, "it just works," is officially dead this week. Having any set of cans whatsoever "just work" with any iPhone used to be a given — no matter if you got them 10 years ago, 20 years ago or in the box with an Android phone. 
 
 Now Apple has retreated into its walled garden, and it has built the wall higher. It is a wall beyond the dreams of Trump. And guess who's paying for that wall? You. 
 
 That's not courage, but it may provoke a large amount of pure rage. ||||| 17 months ago, I called it. Apple opened up its MFi (Made For) licensing program to include headphones which use its proprietary Lightning port and I predicted this would lead to it replacing the standard 3.5mm headphone jack “in a few years”. Now this move looks to be underway… 
 
 Picked up by the ever reliable 9to5Mac, it reports that “Apple plans to remove the 3.5mm headphone port from the upcoming iPhone 7, helping to achieve a ‘more than 1mm’ reduction in thickness compared to the iPhone 6S.” This would create the thinnest iPhone ever made. 
 
 It also states that Apple will bundle EarPods which use the Lightning connector with the next iPhone and that they will incorporate a small digital to analog converter into the connector. From that point onwards Apple would also require third-party wired headphone makers to bundle Lightning adaptors with its 3.5mm headphones or make them Lightning port only to gain Apple MFi certification. 
 
 The Arguments For 
 
 So why would Apple do this? For starters it is important to stress than until the words come directly from Apple’s mouth, there is no 100% guarantee that it will happen. Furthermore, despite the building evidence, it feels premature for me and I would have thought such a bold move wouldn’t happen until the next major redesign after the iPhone 7, which would be the iPhone 8 in 2018. 
 
 That said, from Apple’s perspective, the move makes a lot of sense. It can gain control over the last industry standard port on the iPhone for increased revenue and licensing potential. It can potentially create ‘smart earphones/headphones’ thanks to the direct digital connection to the phone which could tie into apps, notifications and more creating another differentiator from the competition. And last, but not least, sales of dedicated Lightning headphones would prove another powerful way to lock users into its ecosystem. 
 
 For those against the move, Apple would also be able to point out that Bluetooth headphones would be unaffected and Apple could even upgrade the AirPlay specification to create a higher quality Bluetooth alternative. Yet another potential win. 
 
 The Arguments Against 
 
 Of course when it comes to the arguments against, there’s one that stands out above all others: it would be really irritating. 
 
 The 3.5mm headphone jack (technically called a ‘TRS’ connector) is not just an industry standard, as a variation of the phono connector which has been around since 1878, it is the longest running, most widely accepted technology standard in the world today. Binning it to shave 1mm off a phone which the vast majority of people already think is thin enough just creates frustration and tension. And for anyone who has spent a lot of money on a premium pair of earphones/headphones, having to use them with an adaptor will be irritating. 
 
 Less subjectively, charging also becomes a problem while using headphones. Could this pave the way for wireless charging to finally appear on an iPhone? Well, it would certainly be perfectly timed. Especially if Apple can produce something (possibly again its own standard) which delivers similar speeds to wired charging - and there’s one more convenient upsell option many users will feel compelled to take. 
 
 So is this pie in the sky? Actually no. There’s evidence to suggest it is already happening… 
 
 Testing The Water 
 
 There’s a counterpoint to my feeling that the iPhone 7 is too soon for Apple to make this move: the company has actually been testing the market for Lightning headphones for over a year. Beats (inevitably) has introduced Lightning port headphones and the new Beats Pill+ switched to a Lightning port when it was launched last month. Other headphone makers, including Philips and JBL, have also launched Lightning port headphones though reviews have been mixed. 
 
 Furthermore we also know the existing 3.5mm headphone jack frustrates Apple. In September the company secured a patent for a cutdown version of the 3.5mm headphone jack that was quite frankly ludicrous, but it showed the extent to which Apple was looking for a slimmer solution. But ultimately if you’re going to butcher a standard which makes existing headphones physically incompatible then you might as well do it for your own standard - and it looks like this is now Apple’s conclusion as well. 
 
 What about just switching to a 2.5mm headphone jack? This was something Apple did consider but it ditched the idea when it saw the level of anger from customers when the original iPhone had a recessed 3.5mm jack which caused many headphones not to fit. With the iPhone so new to the industry, Apple wisely stepped back. 
 
 Eight years later and with the iPhone the dominant smartphone model and sucking up the vast majority of industry profits, I’d argue Apple is so established it now has the influence to go a step further. 
 
 So what should we expect? Right now I’m not prepared to call the iPhone 7’s abandonment of the headphone jack a cert. It’s a huge gamble. Then again there’s clearly momentum here and it increasingly appears Apple is ready to risk alienating some customers for the potentially massive financial rewards that Lightning port headphones will offer. 
 
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 Apple iOS 9.1: Should You Upgrade? ||||| Apple might ditch Bluetooth and rely on a new, homemade wireless technology for the headphones in the forthcoming iPhone. 
 
 That's according to a new report by KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has an impressive track record of accurately predicting changes to Apple products. AppleInsider obtained the report. 
 
 In his note, Kuo says Apple will use a low-power "Bluetooth-like communication chip" for its wireless headphones, implying that the company won't use the standard Bluetooth technology. 
 
 He adds that Apple has "higher requirements for power-saving, communication specs and potential rapid growth," which suggests that the current Bluetooth standard isn't up to Apple's standards. The new wireless technology will be "own-designed," according to Kuo. 
 
 A document leaked in July suggests that Apple's wireless headphones will be called "AirPods." 
 
 AirPods not included 
 
 It doesn't appear that Apple will include its AirPod wireless headphones with the iPhone 7. Instead, Apple will package a pair of Lightning EarPods that connect to the iPhone 7's Lightning port, which is expected to replace the standard headphone jack. For those wishing to cling to their wired headphones, Apple is said to include a 3.5 mm headphone jack adapter. 
 
 Apple's wireless headphones apparently will be targeted for the premium market, and wireless Beats-branded headphones will be designed for the mid-range market. 
 
 It's still unclear how much Apple would charge for its AirPods, but it currently offers a "premium" pair of wired EarPods for $79 versus the standard pair that costs $29, which could give some idea of what Apple's premium AirPods would cost. 
 
 I'm a fan of wireless Bluetooth headphones, as it means a tangle-free experience that liberates me from the tether between my phone and my head. 
 
 At the same time, Bluetooth isn't a perfect solution for wireless music. Pairing Bluetooth devices is still a convoluted affair, and many question the sound quality of the Bluetooth standard — you normally have to pay the big bucks for a good pair of wireless Bluetooth headphones that can compete with wired models in terms of sound quality. A high-end pair of Bluetooth headphones typically costs $200 or more. 
 
 We'll have to wait and see what Apple announces during tomorrow's iPhone event, as rumors and speculation don't always translate to fact.
– Apple presented its new smartphone Wednesday, and nestled in with the iPhone 7's much-ballyhooed features was the disclosure that the company is getting rid of the phone's headphone jack—news that wasn't exactly met with universal acclaim, or much acclaim at all. Chris Taylor is one detractor of the headphone ditch, writing for Mashable that, in nearly 20 years of attending Apple product launches, he's "never heard anything as ridiculous emanate from that stage as I did Wednesday." Apple marketing head Phil Schiller used the word "courage" to describe Apple's innovation, but that's not how Taylor sees it. "Courage is marching across the Edmund Pettus bridge in Selma in 1965 [or] facing down a tank in Tiananmen Square," he writes. "Courage, by definition, involves doing something that makes you afraid." Apparently Taylor doesn't think Apple was quivering in its workboots when it came up with this plan. He's got plenty of other words instead of "courage" in mind, including "hubris," "arrogance," "greed," and his personal favorite, "stupidity," which he attributes to Apple for taking "one step forward, two steps back" both technologically ("wired almost always sounds better than wireless") and logistically (no more plugging in other peripherals like credit card readers, for example). Meanwhile, although much of the other feedback online is similarly cranky about the headphone jack's demise, Quartz notes that Apple is actually late, not early, in making this move: A handful of Chinese smartphone brands have been fiddling around with the idea for years, and some have already sent these phones, sans jacks, to market.