There's no reason to adopt Apple's proprietary standard, or, for that matter, USB's to accomplish what the 3.5 mm Jack has always done. It provides the budget headphone listener no improvement. It provides the audiophile, whether they are using high priced easily-drivable cans or not, no improvement.
All this adds is immediate inconvenience for consumers trying to find headphones to buy, inconvenience for consumers trying to listen to non-lightning headphones upon purchase (the mere existence of the dongle is an insult), and inconvenience for consumers trying to charge their product while listening at the same time. It also adds great uncertainty for the longevity of any given headphone utilizing said standards. Are we really willing to believe that these companies have any true loyalty toward these standards, that consumers won't find themselves having to do headphone upgrades for the simple fact that their cable is no longer compatible?