That is according to Apple’s broader plan to retire proprietary equipment in favour of extra extensively used requirements
Apple is alleged to have begun phasing out its Lightning to three.5mm headphone jack adapter, a must have accent for iPhone customers since its introduction in 2016. The change follows stories from MacRumors and different shops that the adapter has been marked as bought out on Apple’s on-line retailer in america and lots of different international locations.
Apple’s choice to take away the headphone jack from the iPhone 7 spurred the adapter’s launch. This was a giant win for customers that needed to attach their older wired headphones to newer iPhone fashions that did not have this characteristic. Nevertheless, as wi-fi audio options grew to become extra fashionable, and Apple’s personal AirPods specifically, the necessity for such an adapter grew to become much less and fewer obligatory over time.
With the discharge of the iPhone 15 in 2023, the transition from the Lightning connector accelerated, because the iPhone 15 used the USB-C commonplace. It’s an enormous shift away from Apple’s accent ecosystem as the corporate begins to undertake a extra common charging and connectivity answer. Till the iPhone XS in 2018, iPhones got here with the Lightning to three.5mm adapter.
The adapter will not be obtainable in main markets such because the US, UK, and Australia however continues to be in inventory in some European international locations, like France and Sweden, though this may occasionally solely be till current inventory runs out. Whereas these units help Bluetooth headphones, third-party retailers nonetheless provide USB-C to three.5mm adapters for customers who nonetheless wish to use their wired headphones with newer units.
That is according to Apple’s broader plan to retire proprietary equipment in favour of extra extensively used requirements like USB-C. With Apple always innovating and updating their product lineup, it might be time for customers to look into wi-fi audio options or spend money on adapters for his or her present wired headphones.
