Why do people continue to assume Apple hasn't once thought about how to solve the problem of charging iPhones at the same time customers use their headphones, especially since that's been mentioned in every other post in every Apple forum since these rumors started well over a year ago?
Apple has many options available to them to solve this particular problem, but the simplest way to do it is to include a simple pass-through port on the included Lightning charging cable in the box. Apple has been including Lightning passthrough ports on their dongles since Lightning debuted, so this isn't even wild speculation. In fact, you don't have to look much further than the new Apple external battery pack for the 6s to see the exact port incorporated as an in-line passthrough port.
While you also have a good point, consider this:
What do most people listen to audio from today? I'd argue most people listen to audio from their iPhones, their iPods, and their computers. Even if they have a home stereo, their source is almost always one of those three things. So the connector for those devices for a headphone only needs to be standardized for those devices.
What's being argued is the loss of compatibility with fringe use cases. And to that end, even home stereos are coming with BT, WiFi, and USB as standard connection methods, as are automobiles. So now we're talking vintage technology and maintaining compatibility with 30 year old devices, or public interfaces, like ATM machines, and 3.5mm jacks on airplanes. But even these technologies are constantly updating. American Airlines for example has a USB port in their new setback entertainment systems ... could that be used for headphones? There might even be BT radios inside those devices just waiting to be activated one day. ATMs are starting to integrate Apple Pay via the iPhone, which someone might be able to receive audio through their own headphones. So what else is left? Professional recording studios. Again that's a pro environment. Just like Ethernet isn't likely going away in fixed professional facilities, neither will it from the Professional environment. But then, if it's your job, you're going to carry around whatever you need anyway. Then again, I have never once been in a professional environment that didn't have whatever cable I needed to connect whatever equipment I had.
So it's valid debate. Should companies like Apple maintain backward compatibility with vintage devices which are increasingly becoming part of fringe use in society, or should they focus their energies for how most of the world is using their equipment?
