If there's one thing we've learned over and over again, it's that the audiophile community is so small as to be meaningless to the likes of Apple and Google. The majority of smartphone buyers just don't care. From low bitrate to bluetooth audio, people want convenience far more than audio quality. Have you seen how many LG Tone headphones are out there now? I see them more than Beats headphones now.

And speaking of Beats, I'll bet that if this rumor is true, when they announce the iPhone 7 you might see a line of Beats headphones with the lightning jack built in. Or perhaps a model with a swappable cable.

Back on point. Tony, have you tested any bluetooth 3 or 4 headphones? I'd be interested in knowing if the audio quality has improved. From what I've read, it's something they were focusing on in versions 3/4. I'm an LG Tone owner, and my bluetooth 3 headphones (with "aptX" or whatever) sound pretty darn good.

I'm in the unusual (for me) position of defending Apple on this one I wouldn't care if the headphone jack went away. The one concern I'd have is that if you were to move to using the lightning for headphones, it might put too much additional stress on that connection.


Bluetooth headphones are just soooo much more convenient. The only drawback is having another device to charge, although I get really great battery life with mine.

Every time I've used headphones to listen to stuff around the house during chores, I end up getting the cord snagged on something. If I'm doing the dishes, I'll get caught on a drawer pull three or four times. My LG Tone headphones are one of my top 10 favorite gadgets I own.