The iPhone 7 headphone jack – why is it really gone?
Let’s find out.
[Intro]
There are several reasons why Apple removed the headphone jack from the iPhone 7, and
surprisingly #courage is not one of them.
One of the main reasons why the headphone jack is gone is that the lightning port is
propriety to Apple.
Apple owns that jack.
So any company making third party accessories for that lightning port have to pay Apple
in order to use it.
It’s a direct revenue stream for Apple.
So let’s say as a third party manufacturer I want to design a new car charger, or a docking
station, or a charging cable for the iPhone 7 using that lightning port.
I get to pay Apple royalties for each cable that I make, even though Apple is not producing
or manufacturing that cable just because it’s using their port.
So how much does Apple make for each third party accessory sold?
It’s hard to say for sure.
Wikipedia estimates at about 10%, but since Apple has NDA forms all over the place, once
you’re in the program and have signed all their forms, you’re not allowed to talk
about it or you’ll get sued.
Some websites speculate that Apple has recently switched to a 4 dollar flat fee per cable
because it’s easier to keep track of.
Lucky for you guys, I am not in Apple’s MFi certification program and I have not signed
any of their forms, but I have talked to several companies in China that manufacture MFi certified
cables and they say that in order to get certified it’s 550 dollars per product.
So let’s say I have three different colors of lightning cables and each of those cables
come in three different lengths.
Now we have nine cables total and I’m paying Apple almost 5,000 dollars to certify my cables
for the public use.
Remember that these numbers are not from Apple directly, they’re just from the manufacturer
in China, so take that how you will.
Now remember, I am not opposed to these fees, business is business.
Apple designed their own port, Apple should get paid for anyone who decides to use their
port.
That’s how business works and I’m okay with that.
But, just for reference HDMI ports are also proprietary, and their royalty fee per cable
can be as low as 5 cents.
You can really tell what manufacturer wants you to use their product and which manufacturer
doesn’t.
So Apple did not design the 3.5 millimeter headphone jack, so any accessory used with
the iPhone -using that jack- Apple didn’t make any money on.
Now that they have effectively eliminated that headphone jack in the iPhone 7, each
and every accessory that gets plugged into the iPhone 7, Apple gets paid for.
Even if Apple doesn’t design, manufacture or produce that accessory.
It’s an incredibly intelligent business decision.
Apple does legally enforce their patents, as they should.
I know someone who is selling non-MFi certified cables and they got sued by Apple and ended
up paying over 5 figures as restitution.
So, Apple’s money is rolling in from all directions.
Now remember, I don’t care that Apple’s protecting their design and their products
and their investment and their information – that’s totally within their legal right
and I approve.
It’s important to business to protect your assets.
But it’s unfortunate that they had to remove a feature as useful as the headphone jack
just because they weren’t making money on it.
Apple saw a piece of the financial pie and they took it.
The second reason Apple got rid of the headphone jack is because of waterproofing.
Sealing off a 3.5 millimeter hole in the bottom of your phone is extremely expensive – especially
when you’re manufacturing millions of them.
Sealing that headphone jack internally would cost Apple a lot of money.
Any why would they spend extra money on something they aren’t making any money with in the
first place.
Apple’s claim that they are dedicated to the wireless future is not valid.
If they were truly dedicated to the wireless future they would have put wireless charging
in their cellphones.
Wireless charging has been built into cell phones for years now.
The thing is, Apple wouldn’t make money from that wireless charging…yet.
That’s why they haven’t integrated it into their phones.
They would be paying someone else royalties for that technology, and they’re not about
that life.
The argument that the headphone jack doesn’t fit inside of the phone isn’t valid either.
The nice thing about designing your own phone, Apple, is that you get to decide what fits
and what doesn’t.
So now that we know why the headphone jack is gone, let’s talk about how it affects
us as customers.
Let’s say you’re on a road trip with your friends, anyone who owns an iPhone 7 won’t
be able to contribute to the aux cable music selection in the car unless you are carrying
around your little dongle extender.
If you’ve ever been to a state fair or know any entrepreneur, they won’t be able to
use the credit card reader like Square or PayPal for credit card transactions.
If you’ve ever left your headphones at home while you’re at the gym or traveling, there’s
no more buying a cheap pair of headphones with a headphone jack…you’ll need to buy
a way more expensive proprietary, royalty fee included, pair of lightning headphones
that Apple gets paid for, even if they weren’t made by Apple.
But that’s just what I think.
I’m curious as to what you think.
Would you buy a phone without a headphone jack?
Let me know down in the comments.
And if you like seeing tech reviewed from the inside, hit that subscribe button.
Thanks for watching.
Hope to see you around.