End clap for Apple’s cheapest accessory

Monday 18th November 2024 07:32 AM

Sold for 10 euros, Apple’s cheapest product will soon retire! Indeed, the company seems to be ending the marketing of its Lightning to 3.5 mm mini-jack adapter.

Bye bye

This adapter – which made it possible to connect traditional wired headphones to iPhones without a mini-jack– is now listed as exhausted in most countries on the Apple online store. Only a few countries still have a small stock on the Apple Store, for others you will have to contact a reseller.

Launched in 2016, the adapter was introduced alongside the iPhone 7, Apple’s first smartphone to lack the mini jack socket -provoking a lively debate around the future of wired headphones, not to mention the countless mockery on the subject. In the first years, it was included in the box of the iPhone 7, 8 and X before becoming an accessory sold separately from the iPhone XS.

With the transition to USB-C (since the iPhone 15 range), this little adapter has lost much of its interestespecially since the Lightning iPhones still in the catalog (iPhone 14, 14 Plus and SE) will soon be released – new legislation requires.

Don’t forget the EarPods!

However, Apple offers version 2 with a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter for newer iPhones and iPads. Additionally, even though it focuses on AirPods, the company continues to sell EarPods in three variants (USB-C, Lightning, and 3.5mm jack), which remain a excellent model. This one will help you out on many occasions (I almost have a pair in every bag): no latency or problems connecting, it never runs out of battery!