Option 6: No Bundled Ear Buds

Regarding my piece yesterday on the five options I see for Apple regarding what kind of ear buds they’ll bundle with the upcoming no-headphone-jack iPhones, several readers suggested a sixth: no bundled ear buds in the box.

This strikes me as highly unlikely. Nine years later, “a widescreen iPod with touch controls” remains one of the fundamental purposes of the iPhone. It needs headphones of some sort, and if none are included in the box, it would reek of a nickel-and-dime move. Nor do I think Apple will simply include the 3.5mm-to-Lightning adapter — like I wrote yesterday, that would imply that most people will use headphones with the standard jack, which is contrary to the notion of removing the standard port from the device.

★ Saturday, 30 July 2016