iPhone 7
- Details
- Published on Tuesday, 05 January 2016 12:00
- Written by editor
Apple is ditching the standard headphone jack in its new iPhone 7. The change will force loyal Apple users to buy new, expensive headphones and create huge amounts of e-waste.
Apple has done this before, but this is one step too far. Tell it to respect its customers and our planet: keep the standard earphone jack.
A,
Apple is about to rip off over every one of its customers. Again.
If the rumours are true, the new iPhone 7 will have a non-standard, proprietary headphone jack -- making every pair of headphones on earth useless. Not only will this force iPhone users to dole out additional cash to replace their hi-fi headphones, it will singlehandedly create mountains of electronic waste -- that likely won't get recycled.
There's only one reason for this change: to leverage Apple's market share in order to extract even more profit from its customers. With virtually no third-party manufacturers ready to fill the new market gap, Apple stands to make a killing while we -- and our planet -- pay the price.
This is right out of the Apple corporate playbook. A few years ago it swapped out the original iPod-dock connector with a new one, making countless cords, cables and chargers obsolete -- for limited performance improvement. The screws in Apple products can't even be opened with a traditional screwdriver -- making it harder to repair a product you paid for.
This decision will also have huge ramifications for climate change. According to the United Nations, up to 90% of the world's electronic waste is illegally traded or dumped each year. We need to bring more care and attention to this growing issue -- not aggravate it through reckless, profit-driven decisions that will deliver countless perfectly useable items straight to the landfill.
Tell Apple to respect its customers and our planet. Keep the standard headphone jack.
Thanks for all you do,
Paul, Angus, Michael, and the rest of the SumOfUs team
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More information:
The iPhone 7 might not come with a standard headphone jack, Quartz, Nov 30, 2015
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