Whenever I leave my house, I always make sure I have four things with me — my phone, my wallet, my keys and (always, always, always) my headphones.
I'm sure many of you have that same kind of relationship with your own headphones. And who can blame us? They're great. They allow us to take our favorite audible content with us wherever we go. We can listen to whatever songs, books or podcasts we need to get us through the day all in the privacy of our own heads. Headphones have only gotten better over the years. After all, they're pieces of technology, and the nature of technology is to improve with time.
One aspect of personal sound technology that actually hasn't evolved all that much is the audio jack. It's essentially remained the same since 1878. That's because it's the ubiquitous industry standard. Just about any pair of headphones you buy will be compatible with pretty much any smartphone or personal computer.
However, according to Japanese website Macotakara, a "reliable source" says that the next iPhone to come out is going to be so slim that it won't to be possible for it to include a traditional headphone jack. If the rumors shared on the site turn out to be true, the headphone game is going to be changed forever.
So what will replace the headphone jack? The Macotakara post says the EarPods that will come with the iPhone 7 are going to connect to the phone’s “Lightning port.” In case you’re unfamiliar with Apple’s terminology, the Lightning port is the place where the charger plugs into the iPhone.
Supposedly, this means you won't be able to use non-Apple headphones with the iPhone 7 unless you have a "Lightning converter." An exception would be that you could presumably bypass the Lightning hardware by using wireless Bluetooth headphones instead.
Personally, I welcome this potential change. It might be an inconvenient transition at first, but so was the switch from records to cassettes to CDs to iPods. Each step of the process required the acquisition of a new device, but it all led to getting us a better listening experience.
I think the bulk of the growing pains will be endured by the third-party headphone manufacturers, not consumers. I don't think it'll be much of a problem for them either. Headphones that work with the iPhone's Lightning port already exist.
As far as I can tell, the biggest adjustment will be that stores are going to need to carry separate headphones for iPhones and non-iPhones, just like they already do for chargers.
I predict that, eventually, the diminishing thickness of all smartphones will cause the audio jack to fade away altogether. Years from now, we'll probably look back at headphone jacks in the same way that we remember cassette tapes today.
Related Links:
ASU alumnus creates custom-shaped headphones
Working with fun. and Justin Timberlake, ASU alumni plans to revolutionize sound
Reach the columnist at cmfitzpa@asu.edu or follow @CodyFitzStories on Twitter.
Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
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