Previous rumours and speculations have suggested that Apple will be ditching the standard audio jack in an effort to shave a few millimetres off of future iPhones. Apparently, the reports didn't sit well with iPhone fanatics, and headphones that still sport the standard 3.5mm jack are still considered as essential in even modern devices. Hence, a new hysterically written petition calling for Cupertino to retain the 3.5mm headphone jack has garnered support from its users wanting to steer clear of the rumoured plan to switch to Lightning headphones.
The petition states that Apple is about to "rip off" its customers once again. Furthermore, not only will Cupertino's rumoured move force users of the upcoming iPhones to spend more money to replace its high-performance headphones, but it will also result in more electronic waste that likely won't be recycled. The petition further notes that globally up to 90 per cent of electronic waste is illegally traded or dumped year by year.
At the time of writing, the petition has already reached 227,843 signatures, but it has yet to reach its goal of 250,000. While the said amount would seem massive at first glance, there are about 75.23 million iPhone users in the United States alone. With that said, the current petition simply is in the minority, and Apple would likely ignore it should it push through with removing the 3.5mm socket out of future iPhones.
Apple has been bullish in its movement to utilize renewable energy. It is even more evident as last year saw the company set out with building solar grids built in different regions in China for its production. Not only that, but Cupertino had also partnered with several Chinese manufacturers to deliver 2 gigawatts of renewable energy for manufacturing in the East.
It's also important to note that Apple two years ago had introduced its Made-For-iPhone (MFi) program that allowed it to design headphones for iOS devices that use a Lightning connector over the standard 3.5mm jack.
