Apple recently made the news once again with the reveal of the iPhone 7. Along with the usual improvements and iterations one would expect from the yearly iOS update, there was one major elephant in the room: Apple confirmed rumors that they were removing the decades old 3.5mm audio jack from the latest iteration of the iPhone. This has been controversial for a number of reasons but today I'm going to focus on the positives of removing such a beloved standard port.

Firstly, let's get out of the way that I belive that there is no defense or justification for lighting's existence when USB-C was developed essentially in tandem. Secondly, I will admit to being only a novice when it comes to audio equipment, so, please contact me to report any errors you may find. I'll either post an update or edit this article with corrections as needed. So, without any further delay, let's try and justify this... bold... move.

The main disadvantage of the 3.5mm audio jack is simply that it needs to convert a digital signal into an analog one to function at all in a DAC or a digital audio converter. This is actually not all that difficult or costly to do, but it is difficult to do well. The old cost pyramid exists here in full force. Pick two of the following: small size, low cost, high quality. Make no mistake, quality matters immensely in a DAC because it deals with an analog signal as it's output. A low quality DAC can result in overall poor sound quality in all areas as well as introduce noise into the audio line from it's proximity to the numerous electronic components in the phone which could induce an electric current in the audio out line. So, phone designers are left to strike this balance as they see fit.

If the 3.5mm jack is removed from the phone entirely, it does two notable things: it frees up valuable space in the phone for some other component, perhaps a bigger batter, or a better quality microphone, or even just saving the space entirely on larger models; moves the choice of DAC to the consumer. USB-C (and lightning, but fuck closed standards) is entirely digital. The phone simply passes along the data in the exact same fashion it is dealt with inside the phone, and the DAC is moved somewhere along the line in the headphones or speakers. This actually has a few advantages: it lets the consumer choose their own DAC, moving the choice of quality vs cost to the user; it moves the DAC outside of the phone, possibly resulting in less noise overall. The difference would be most notable on a cheaper phone, as those are less likely to have a high quality DAC. If the signal is digital, is it is with USB-C, there would be no difference at all between a $20 and a $800 phone as far as sound quality went, barring any software effects added.

Overall, there are advantages to removing the legendary 3.5mm headphone jack from cellphones, however, the above advantages hardly justify the removal to me. We all know it: the decision is part of a move by Apple to sell more accessories and further lock users into their walled-garden. But, it's worth to point out that there is plenty of good along with the bad.