It also could be that quite a few of their designers managed to stay below their volume budgets, and they didn't want to risk a redesign, given their (presumably) strict deadlines.

Alternatively, the space was set apart as a hedge against the AirPods not being ready at he time of the launch of the iPhone 7 (yes, they were late, but not _that_ late. Presumably (again) they knew they could make them when they made the decision to remove the headphone from the iPhone 7)

There are plenty of Bluetooth headphones beyond AirPods. I'm sure they aren't even the most popular ones used with iPhones.

Yes, there are, and no, they may not be (1)

However, chances are they are the Bluetooth headphones Apple makes the most money on, and that early adopters of the new iPhone are the most likely to buy them.

Inducing (extra) demand for Bluetooth headphones and then leaving the market for such headphones to others in a period where your most 'able and willing to spend' customers enter your shop isn't the best of ideas.

(1) (nitpicking) it wouldn't completely surprise me if they were, though, because Apple has exactly one product, whereas its competition tends to create zillions of 'different' products.

I've seen plenty of iPhone 7s, and very few air pods. They don't even seem like a good idea.

I personally got conductive wireless headphones and really like them. Not Apple, of course.

I find AirPods to be one of the most amazing devices I've owned. Using them is a pure joy. No joke. From the feeling of the case opening and closing, to the sound of them dropping into the case, to the instant pairing when you put them in your ear.

Nice to know. I've still not seen many in the wild, while I've seen plenty of misc brand wireless headphones.

Conductive is the future I think, I'm never sticking anything in my ear again.

the hedging might have something to do with the W1 chip[0] improvements in the AirPods that provided for fast and consistent bluetooth pairing that Apple cared about more so than relying upon 3rd party bluetooth experience in a headphone connector-less flagship phone.

[0] https://9to5mac.com/2016/09/12/apple-w1-chip-how-it-works/

What makes you so sure?

I don't understand this. Why would the controversy be any less when releasing the iPhone 7 without a headphone jack vs the iPhone 8? Aren't they both new flagship models?

The author of the original Reddit comment[0] meant that Apple wanted to bear the brunt of the controversy early on so that the missing headphone jack would already be "normal" and not the center of attention when the iPhone 8 releases.

[0] https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/6yhbuu/guy_adds_func...

The iPhone 7 is a small iteration over the iPhone 6S where as the iPhone 8 is a new design. I think they expect the iPhone 8 to be a much more important/larger release and that is probably true.

The new iPhone is set to be released this year which makes it the 10th anniversary of the original iPhone. It's also (supposedly) a much larger redesign than previous models. I think it makes sense for them to rip the band-aid off early. Especially considering that most reviews for the AirPods have been overwhelmingly positive, it's good to get the negative press out of the way early. Smart move on their part, I think.

Because the iPhone 7 was released a year ago, and people are generally over it now. I say people, not enthusiasts. Now, the feature can be released in the iPhone 8 and it's not a big deal.

But that doesn't explain why it would be preferable to remove the headphone jack in 2016 and have people be used to it by 2017, rather than the same but a year later.

Whether there is technically room for a headphone jack means nothing to a consumer who would like to have one on their iPhone. As far as I can see there is no difference from the consumer's point of view which year the change happens in.

There is. The iPhone 7 is the no headphone jack phone.

The iPhone 8 will be the 100% screen phone. It also won't have a headphone jack.

Big difference for how people think about that and how it gets talked about.

It's because the key takeaway with a newly 3.5mm jack-less iPhone 8 will be 1. no headphone jack and 2. 100% screen.

Because they did this before on the iPhone 7, Apple execs are hoping that the key consumer takeaway for iPhone 8 will be 100% screen

> But that doesn't explain why it would be preferable to remove the headphone jack in 2016 and have people be used to it by 2017, rather than the same but a year later.

Perception. People focus on something more when it changes, and there's only so much focus to go around. Remove the headphone jack a year earlier, and it's not a "change" that it's still missing from the next model. So focus/attention can be more concentrated on new features that Apple brings to the newer "10th anniversary" iPhone.

"Yeah, but it still doesn't have a headphone jack" is a rational reaction, but not the one that most people will have. It's irrelevant background noise, compared to the shouts of "Look at all the new shiny!", which is the reaction that Apple's going for.

Maybe they envisioned iPhone 8 to be a bigger game changer than the iPhone7 was.