Beats does not currently offer a Lightning headset. Or a USB headset for that matter. Why would they if Apple doesn't have a unified solution, or market demand? Android has notoriously copied Apple every step of the way. Why would Android likewise take the risk of dropping such a significant port when Apple hasn't? That just gurantees the headphone users will jump to Apple.
Finally why would Apple just arbitrarily drop the headphone jack if they didn't have to? And if Apple has to, then surely they know their competition has to, at least with the flagship models. It makes NO sense whatsoever that Apple would drop the headphone jack when their competition doesn't have to, whether they include a free adapter in the box or not.
So believe what you want. But my money is on no adapter in the box, and Android following Apple's lead less than a year after it happens. There's no question Apple may take a hit initially, but it will be their flagship phone which is almost always embraced by tech forward early adopters, most of whom likely won't care about the headphone jack, as they will be enthusiastic to embrace Apple's new audio introductions. And who knows what else Apple is going to include in that phone? A new camera and better processor in the same package as the 6s as rumored is not likely to sell very well anyway, much less dropping the headphone jack. So there's likely something else coming to make such a routine package more enticing, something that actually needed the extra space freed up by the removal of the headphone jack to further justify the move.
This is the logic behind it. Because if this reasoning isn't anywhere close to the reality, then Apple is doomed and they deserve to be -- unless their entire goal is to depress the stock price so much they can buy back a huge portion of it next year before they release the jaw-dropping 2017 iPhone (in which they will return the headphone jack ;-).
Apple will put a free pair of Lightning headphones in the box, which will be of higher quality than what they currently offer, because they want to demonstrate that Lightning is better than what they had before with the 3.5mm adapter. If customers try it and don't agree, Apple will sell a $20 adapter, or encourage an upgrade to better digital headphones or wireless headphones using BT 5, or some other superior wireless tech Apple introduces. Giving the customer an adapter out of the box ensures maximum inconvenience with little benefit and encourages customers to continue living with what they already have -- which is the last thing any company wants. And since I believe Apple is going to put more money into the included Lightning earbuds, they're not likely going to include an adapter that's going to cost them even more. And since Android will be following suit immediately upon Apple's heels, there's no reason for them to. Many customers switch to Apple in no small part to the quality of audio Apple offers. So I find it hard to believe Android phones are going to suddenly up their game to surpass what Apple will be offering with what purports to be marketed as the highest quality audio available on any mobile device, combined with introductions such as Apple Music streaming lossless audio that Android won't have.
So in the end, for most customers it will come down to convenience vs. quality, and at least for the initial adopters, quality is likely going to win out. The only survey I have found to back up all of this suggests most customers won't miss the headphone jack, even enough to include a free 3.5mm adapter -- which in many ways would only be an admission they've made a mistake out of the starting gate.
http://www.macnn.com/articles/16/01...o.ask.apple.shoppers.what.they.thought.131986
