Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has spoken out against the omission of the headphone jack in the forthcoming iPhone 7 release.
He told The Australian Financial Review: "If [the iPhone 7]'s missing the headphone jack, that's gonna tick off a lot of people."
If you've not been following the saga, Apple is very likely to shed the headphone port in its upcoming iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus handsets, in a move that mirrors that of Motorla with its Moto Z phones… but it's got a few people pretty angry.
Woz going on?
While Wozniak left the company in 1985, he's still on the company's payroll, although he currently works for Fusion-io as 'Chief Scientist'. He railed against the loss of the popular headphone port, slating the idea that Bluetooth audio would be as good:
"I would not use Bluetooth … I don't like wireless. I have cars where you can plug in the music, or go through Bluetooth, and Bluetooth just sounds so flat for the same music."
- iPhone 7 headphone jack: the story so far
He called for Bluetooth to be upgraded to allow for more bandwidth and audio quality, to get better sound from the wireless connection and make it a viable alternative for those who have decent headphones already, and who don't want to have to walk around with a Lightning adaptor stuck to the bottom of their buds or cans.
He also, slightly inexplicably, said Apple should move to USB-C, the preferred connection port of manufacturers on many new Android flagships, but didn't explain why he loved it so much other than to say it took his Nexus 5X to a "higher level".
It's only a couple of weeks until we see the next set of iPhones, with the launch almost certain to be the week commencing September 5 – so we won't have to wait long to see how distraught Wozniak is going to be.
- Remember, all the iPhone 7 release date info you could want is right here.