On Sept. 7, 2016, we said goodbye to a dear friend that has been around since the dawn of the switchboard. During Apple’s keynote speech, it was announced that our dear friend, the headphone jack, will no longer be a function on the new iPhone 7. In its place is another speaker, bringing stereo sound to our future Apple devices.
Many times, our falling phones have been saved by the headphone cord plugged into the jack. Though the detangling of the cords and having only one working headbud after a few months of heavy use has been stressful, we still cannot forget the times that we shared an earbud with a friend to experience a song together in a loud setting or using an Aux cord to plug our phones and iPods into speakers so we could blare music with our friends in our rooms.
Now we must rely on bluetooth-enabled, wireless headphones or earbuds to enjoy our music in peace. Though we that have small ears are not big fans of over-the-ear headphones. We don’t think the new wireless earbuds Apple will sell remind us of that one Doctor Who episode with the 10th Doctor when the Cybermen first came to our universe from the parallel one. We will just have to use either the new adapter that comes with the new phone so we can use our still working wired earbuds.
We have many memories with our wonderful friend, the headphone jack, and moving on to something new like wireless may be scary for some of us, but let us not forget the wise words of Jedi Master Yoda, “Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose.” In order for us to move into the future, we must be able to let go of our attachment to our wires and be willing to go wireless, because the future is upon us.
The headphone jack is preceded in death by the 8-track, Sony Walkman, cassette tape, portable CD players and the iPod classic. It is survived by the wireless headphones and vinyl records. May we never forget our dear friend, the headphone jack.