Apple is reportedly doing away with free headphone jack dongles
It looks like iPhone users will soon live in a dongle-less future. Or, at least a future in which audio jack dongles are no longer free.
A Barclays research note viewed by MacRumors says that the new 2018 iPhones will no longer come with the lightning port-to-headphone jack adapter. The maker of the dongle, Cirrus Logic, apparently confirmed the change to Barclays.
"Cirrus didn't update its FY19 guide… but they did finally confirm the dongle loss, adding more support for our below estimates," the Barclays note reads.
Apple introduced the dongle alongside the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus in 2016. That was the year it classified doing away with an audio jack an act of "courage," in an attempt to move toward a wireless future (and sell more expensive Bluetooth headphones).
But the dongle has been a much-bemoaned source of ire and annoyance for users. Only allowing one port for the phone to charge, listen to music, or connect to anything (like a car) has led to total dongle dependence — which is rough for a piece of equipment the size of my pinky finger.
The wireless future is coming, but it's not here yet. That means that people will now likely shell out the $9 required to continue living in dongle land, whether they want to or not.
