The Case for Including AirPods With the Next iPhone

The future of audio isn't wired--and Apple knows it. The iPhone's headphone jack, a beloved former hardware accessory, was eliminated with the iPhone 7. "It's clear to me that Apple has forceful, but considered opinions about how the next generation of phones should fit into our lives," the Verge's Nilay Patel wrote in his review of the phone in 2016. "But it's also clear that the iPhone 7 is a transitional step to that vision of the future, not a complete expression of it." We learned more about what that future would encompass when Apple also introduced AirPods, its wireless, Siri-imbued earbuds. However, since the launch of the iPhone 7, Apple has babied those of us not ready commit to the wireless audio way of life by including Lightning adapter–based white earbuds and a Lightning-to-3.5 mm jack dongle in the box with new iPhones.