Earlier this month, the internet got in a froth about Apple's decision to drop the 3.5mm analogue audio jack from the new iPhone. Users took to Twitter to vent their outrage, while tech analysts, such as Paul Erickson at IHS Technology, suggested that the removal was money-driven: "It should be noted that wireless models are the highest revenue-generating products within the headphone market," he told the Financial Times. Further disapproval was directed at Apple's replacement for wired earphones, the AirPod, essentially a wireless earphone and microphone – "like a tampon without a string" according to the Guardian – while the writers of US late-night talkshow Conan created a satirical Apple ad featuring the devices plopping from users' ears to floor and being eaten by their pet dogs. Yet, as Chris Saad, head of product at Uber, has pointed out in a post on Medium, Apple did more than launch some earbuds: "They launched a wireless microphone as well." By which he means the day when we converse all day long with a virtual assistant similar to the one voiced by Scarlett Johansson in Her is drawing closer.