This trope is like 2016 (or whenever the hell it was) either way it’s old and it’s dumb. Buy a dongle, attach it to your headphones and leave it or get air pods. That is what the market is doing. I mean I’m not thrilled with lack of a headphone jack but the overall market for iPhones doesn’t really care.

Its not old and dumb - Apple introduced USB-C in the iPad Pro. I won't buy a new iPhone until it supports it as well.

Anyone that doesnt adopt innovation ends up holding onto archaic technology. The same people judged for the removal of CD drives. It’s usually always a minority voice and it doesn’t have much value in the overall trend of technology and market adoption.

The technology is exactly the same. They just eliminated a standard connector from their design and now require you to supply your own DAC; either as a dongle or integrated into the headphones.

It is in fact not exactly the same. Because the innovation allows slimmer, lighter design and pushes society to adopt wireless which is ultimately inevitable.