It actually very much annoys me when non-Apple companies start copying everything Apple does, particularly what I consider to be the BAD things Apple does - like unnecessary removal of headphone jacks. This is an unfortunate move on the part of Apple competitors. Additionally, if you go way back, nearly all cell phones had jacks and removable batteries, and many -like Samsung- also sported mini-QWERTY keyboards. I still miss those features, but most Android manufacturers copied Apple in going the non-removable battery route and ditching the pull out QWERTY keyboard in favor of touch-only. LG was the last holdout with batteries when it brought out the V20 three years ago, which sported not only a great sound system, but also a removable battery. My wife continues to use my old V20 phone, rotating among 3 or 4 batteries to keep it powered (they only cost around $15, so we'll stock up on a few before they stop making them). The LG V40, which I currently use, still has a great sound system and headphone jack, but no longer has the replaceable battery, so it may not even outlast its ancestor the V20. Can't speak for other people, but as long as a high quality phone can still be had sporting a jack, I'll never buy one without - regardless of its OS or other features. Sound quality is that important to me. I'm hoping that by the time even LG copies Apple in that regard Bluetooth will have improved enough to equal analog in sound reproduction. I also hope that by that time my high end wired headphones will have worn out, so that I can at least enjoy using them while jacks remain available. We have to agree to disagree about Apple's motivation being to sell more of its Apple branded Bluetooth devices. Just look at this link (below) from the Apple website at their line up of Bluetooth headphones, speakers, and chargers, running from $150-$350 a pop. If even 50% of post-iPhone 6S customers buy any of these things, that brings in a rather huge profit for Apple music accessories. When they had a phone jack, you could go elsewhere to buy wired headphones, from cheap earbuds to expensive audiophile/studio quality, that required nothing but the phone to need battery charging and chargers.
https://www.apple.com/shop/accessories/all-accessories/headphones-speakers
Anyway, that's just my opinion on it all. It really didn't become a thorny issue for me until the jack was removed, causing folks who like wired sound to "leave the Apple garden" after so many years, when Bluetooth and phone jacks can co-exist with no problems. If it wasn't done solely to increase music accessory market share, then to remove it for the sake of a few millimeters of thinness or waterproofing was a bit bogus. I need to search old Macrumors posts just to see how many people were complaining about phone jacks and thickness of iPhones prior to the release of the iPhone 7. I'm guessing such complaints were very rare, and certainly not plentiful enough to justify completely removing the jack from all iOS devices. Time for me to quit beating this dead horse and hope that Apple will do something to convince me to buy a new iMac when this one needs replacement in a few years.
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