Apple Replaced the Headphone Jack On the iPhone 7 With a Fake Speaker Grill (businessinsider.com)

Not long ago, Apple CEO Tim Cook explained why the company felt a need to remove the headphone jack from the new iPhones -- the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. He said, "that jack takes up a lot of space in the phone, a lot of space. And there's a lot of more important things we can provide for the consumer than that jack." His colleague Phil Schiller cited "courage" for the same. As people learn to live in a world where they have to use a dongle to use their existing pair of headphones, gadget repair community iFixit found today that Apple isn't really using that "extra space" it got after getting rid of the headphone jack. BusinessInsider reports: "In place of the headphone jack, we find a component that seems to channel sound from outside the phone into the microphone... or from the Taptic Engine out," they write. Yep -- in the place where the headphone jack used to be there's a piece of molded plastic. "No fancy electronics here, just some well-designed acoustics and molded plastic," iFixit writes.iFixit adds, "Closer inspection shows a new, second lower speaker grille that leads ... nowhere? Interesting." Update: 09/16 21:21 GMT by M : Apple says it's a "barometric vent." The Verge reports: Apparently adding all the waterproofing to the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus meant that it was more of a sealed box, and so to be able to have an accurate and working barometer, Apple used that space. The barometer is the thing that allows a phone to measure altitude, and Apple points out that on the iPhone 7 it can measure even minor changes like climbing a flight of stairs.

Comments

And this was needed because?

[H3lldr0p]

A more perfect barometer was needed to accomplish what exactly? The device can now tell that I've ascended stairs more accurately. This will lead to what? And this change was as valuable as the headphone jack, how? Sure, more waterproof will probably help some people but overall? It just seems like a dick move.

Re:So in other words it's used and is useful

[The-Ixian]

It's almost as useful as a headphone jack...

Android phones manage this without sacking the jac

[kimvette]

Somehow Android phone manufacturers have managed this for years (with even more sensors) with LARGER batteries, and maintaining water resistance all while not eliminating the headphone jack.

This is all about generating new earbud+headphone sales.

Re: So in other words it's used and is useful

[Anonymous Coward]

A barometer is definitely useful. However there are two problems:

1.) It's not a useful as a standard headphone jack
2.) It's not an either/or proposition. No reason you can't have both, except Apple wants to sell you overpriced dongles and wireless headphones.

Re:Android phones manage this without sacking the

[ZipK]

Except the phone still COMES with headphones that work just fine.

Until you try to plug them into an airplane's entertainment system. Or the headphone jack on the side of your desktop computer speakers. Or a transistor radio. Or anything else outside of the newest Appleverse. Then they don't work just fine.

Re:So in other words it's used and is useful

[DavidRavenMoon]

The iPhone has a headphone jack. It just doesn't have a 3.5mm phone jack.

Re:So in other words it's used and is useful

[AmiMoJo]

It has a headphone jack or a charging port, but not both. For that two need a chain of two dongles.