Apple says the traditional headphone jack is a thing of the past. The headphones for the iPhone 7 will plug into the power socket using a lightening cable.
Users will now have tp pay more than $200 for wireless “earpods” in addition to the cost of the handset if they want to experience Apple's vision of the future.
Gizmodo Tech Journalist, Rae Johnston believes the change is about more than just a cynical “cash grab” by Apple.
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“People may be resistant to it, saying we're all going to have to upgrade, we're going to have to buy adapters, different headphones.
"But the reality is the lightning cable is the path of the future. This is the same kind of backlash we would have heard when cassettes became obsolete for CDs.”
Ms Johnston says ditching the iPhone jack means extra room in the phone for features such as a larger battery and better camera.
Apple says the gamble to ditch the headphone jack is about ‘courage’, but it’s already leaving many consumers divided.
The tech giant has a lot riding on the latest release. Although Apple is a big player in the global smartphone market, Samsung holds the biggest market share. Chinese brands Huawei and Oppo are also emerging as competitors.
Canalys Senior Analyst Tim Coulling says it’s important for companies to look to new and emerging markets.
"Markets are saturated. People already own a phone and these phones are being used for longer and longer. If Apple really wants to deliver growth and make Wall Street happy it needs to crack these emerging markets. markets like China, markets like India."
Social media reacts
Apple's move to ditch the headphone jack on the new iPhone 7 has upset fans who say the upgrade makes the phone impracticable.
The latest iPhone, unveiled overnight in San Francisco, will set Australian customers back more than $1000.
Apple has decided to remove the headphone jack from the new model, opting instead for wireless earpieces called Airpods - with these little contraptions retailing for about $200.
Fans have taken to social media to express disappointment, most of them annoyed about the "inconvenient" change and worried they'll lose the small earpieces.
"So the iPhone7 and new watch are water resistant. The Airpods aren't yet they're 100x more likely to experience the washing machine," Matthew Bevan tweeted.
Twitter user T noted the water-resistant feature may come in handy, tweeting "iPhone 7 is water resistant so your tears can flow over it when you lose the $160 wireless earphones".
Tweeter baethoven agreed, "I haven't even got my iPhone 7 yet and I already lost the headphone adapter."
Others are worried the loss of the earphone cord will mean the loss of a trusted safety net.
"Wireless headphones are a waste of time considering how many times my headphones have save [sic] my phone when i've dropped it," Izzy tweeted.
It seems many moblie phone users want simpler times, though. When a picture of the 1990s gem, the Nokia 3310, was posted on Thursday with the question "Why doesn't Apple just give up now and accept that perfection can never be beaten?", tweeter Jake Humphrey got more than 3300 likes and 2400 retweets.
However, not all reactions have been negative, with scores tweeting they'll be pre-ordering the new model and praising the looks of the design.
"There's finally an all black iPhone and I'm very excited to have it," Leticia Ferreira tweeted.
with AAP
