Well, Apple finally did it — it ditched the headphone jack.
With the iPhone 7, you have two options: Either get a dongle (attachment) to connect your wired headphones via the charger jack (so you can only charge or listen to music but not do both at the same time) or pony up $159 for the new Apple AirPod wireless earbuds.
The Internet responded the only way it knows how — with outrage and ridicule.
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Seriously? Get over it.
Sure, this is something that will make Apple stock investors worry about overall sales. Sure, this is something the electronic consumer products reviewers will fight about for weeks.
But hey, someone has to innovate! And if companies like Apple spend too much time worrying about stock prices and reviews, they would never innovate at all. This move to the "jackless" iPhone was a key part of Apple's desire to make a waterproof product and move forward in headphone technology at the same time. This is the price it was willing to pay to do it. Obviously, it's up to the customers to decide if the market is going to follow.
But while Apple already has a pretty good track record when it comes to getting customers to ditch the older and more familiar technology for something new, the key to this move is not really about Apple. It's about taking risks in business. And, as cash-laden and safe as Apple seems to be, it's good to know it's still willing to take risks at all.
Think about it: would Ford or GM make this kind of comparable change to all of its new models? Would McDonalds just remove the buns from all of its burgers? Would Coca-Cola just suddenly mess with its formula, and... (OK, forget that last one.)
Seriously, though, there can be no innovation without risk. I have no idea whether Apple's decision here is going to work and I'm not endorsing the jackless iPhone. But it is gratifying and essential to see a massive company looking to shake things up instead of relying on old technology.
We seem to be living in a world where risk is becoming a dirtier and dirtier word. How else can you explain the Bernie Sanders phenomenon and the millennial generation's growing flirtation with socialism? And in their case, we're talking about younger people with very little to lose. In that context, it makes sense to be grateful for someone or some company with the most to lose that's still willing to roll the dice.
And hey, if you really hate the new iPhone 7 at least we all still have the freedom not to buy it – or dongle in our wired headphones.
