Why Did Apple Keep The Headphone Jack In The New Macbook, But Ditched It From The iPhone 7 [Video]

When Apple unveiled its new MacBook Pro last week, many were relieved it retained the old reliable 3.5 mm headphone jack. The question begging to be answered was; Why did Apple discard the headphone jack from the iPhone 7, but spared it from the MacBook?

Not many were thrilled when Apple decided to discard the 3.5mm headphone jack from the iPhone 7, only to find out later on, that the same reliable standard jack still exists in the new line of MacBook Pro's that were introduced last week. Though the MacBook Pro retained the headphone jack, a standard piece of it was missing, the SD Card Slot.

Customers had no choice but to accept that the jack is extinct on the iPhone 7, they just have to be content using the new replacement, a Lightning-enabled pair of EarPods or use a dongle to connect their old headphones or earbuds. Nevertheless, what of the new MacBook Pros and its now extinct SD card slots?

Apple SVP Phil Schiller addressed both issues in an interview. He said that the slot is cumbersome and that since many cameras now are using wireless transfer, they had to pick one to retain. Either they ditch USB or SD so they picked SD to go. He added it is a path forward and users can still use physical adaptors if they want.

Asked on why they retained the headphone jack on the MacBook Pro, he said (in essence) they are pro machines, if it's all about the headphones, the jack would be gone. They believe wireless is the way to go, but there are users using setups with studio equipment that do not have wireless solutions, so for that reason, they retained the 3.5 mm jack, according to The Independent.

It is interesting to note that Apple thought of the audio makers when they retained the headphone jack but discarded the SD Slot used by many pro photographers who use it for their "setups" and transferring data to their MacBooks from their high-end cameras.

From the same publication, Schiller also shared his one-word reason for stripping the iPhone of its headphone jack: "Courage."