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Two years ago, Apple introduced the iPhone 7, its first smartphone to make the controversial decision to ditch the headphone jack. Today, it has decided that it"s time for customers to move on from the old 3.5mm connector altogether.
As reported by The Verge, the Lightning dongle that allowed users to connect their wired headphones to the iPhones is no longer included in the box alongside the phones. You can still buy it for $9 from Apple, and that"s still cheaper than the recently refreshed Google counterpart, but it"s an additional expense to make if you want to keep using headphones with the 3.5mm connector.
It"s not entirely surprising to see this happen now, as it"s been some time since Apple originally abandoned the port. It was clear back then that the company was making a push towards Bluetooth devices or those using its Lightning connector, and this is only the next step in that strategy. The change doesn"t just affect the phones announced today, either - new iPhone 8 models will also no longer include the adapter.
It is, however, strange that Apple continues to include a mere 5W charger with such expensive devices. Fast charging has grown increasingly common over the past few years, and last year"s iPhones already supported it. It seems a little contradictory that the company is only pushing for newer technologies in certain areas while forcing people to spend more money on a feature that"s commonplace in just about every other flagship smartphone.
If you missed today"s iPhone announcements, you can read up on the iPhone Xs and Xs Max here, or the cheaper Xr here. Apple also announced a new Apple Watch today, which you can learn more about here.