You should wait until someone releases an adapter that has both a Lightning pass-through and a 3.5mm jack. To assume this is all the solution you're going to get is defeatist. We have a couple of weeks before you're likely to have an iPhone 7 in your hands, though, so feel free to wring them some more.
Well, to be fair, according to the hardware devs it sounds like it was impeding the dual lens camera on the 7+. Which, if you're a photography enthusiast who can't carry a DSLR around all the time, is probably a great trade off.
The adapter is for those that MUST charge AND use a wired headphone. I’ve used my headphone jack maybe 20 times in the last 2.5 years, will get new BT headphones if I need them.
Exactly. Apple, we get it. You're pushing us into wireless.Great, buy an adapter so we can use an adapter with the adapter(3.5mm to lighting for us with "regular" headphones)
Different use cases for different people. I frequently charge and listen while walking, using an external battery in a small runner's pouch on my belt (not much of a hassle at all - I solved that problem early on). I often take long walks at night, after a day of using my phone (thus, frequently starting out with the battery quite low), listening to audiobooks or podcasts, or music, and sometimes playing Ingress (Pokémon Go's predecessor), which eats battery. So, always listening, and frequently charging, and yes, this adapter wouldn't be the end of the world, but it'd be a hassle - currently, I have two light, well-connected, wires hanging from my phone, to charge and listen; with this adapter, I'd have a fiddly bit dangling in between (and putting somewhat more physical strain on the Lightning connection). When I eventually upgrade to an iPhone 7 or 8, I'll probably end up switching to wireless headphones, giving up my Etymotics earphones with custom-molded earpieces (not quite audiophile class, but quite good). Don't assume your use case is everyone else's, or even the most prevalent.