Apple famously knows what we want before we do, yet so many fans say the iPhone maker got it wrong when it took away the earphone jack on the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.
Jokes, outrage, even night terrors, erupted on social media in real time as the new iPhone design was revealed. Not long after, a startup went to work to bring the anxious a $10 fix.
The makers of iLDOCK have crafted an elegant dock that plugs into the iPhone’s Lightning port that lets you listen to music while you charge your phone. It is an unobtrusive square machined to integrate with Apple’s design and colors with a 3.5 mm earphone jack and charging port.
There is also a 5-in-1 Plus model that includes an SD card slot to let a user quickly transfer files, like photos and video, to free up space on the phone.
Apple, seeking to give its newest iPhone a waterproof rating, announced earlier this month at is annual fall produce launch, the new iPhone would not have an earphone jack. Apple also introduced a pricey pair of wireless earbuds that immediately made many fans scoff.
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Maybe Apple is right and we will want to enjoy our music without wires. Right now, iPhone users may not be ready emotionally for such a change. The iLDOCK crowd-funding campaign on Kickstarter is one indication.
Seeking to raise just $5,000, iLDOCK has raised more than $15,000 with 28 days still to go. A $10 pledge gets you the earphone jack/charger port model. A $20 pledge buys the iLDOCK plus, with earphone jack, charging port, SD and TF card readers and a USB slot.
Photo: iLDOCK
Shipping is scheduled for December.
The iLDOCK requires no drivers or software and its Plus model with a media card can expand storage.
David Pierini is a former newspaper writer and long-time photographer. Considered a luddite by most of his friends, they did not believe him when he broke the news that he would be writing for a technology website. He is fascinated by human nature and would love to cultivate stories about the people driving the tech bus. Reach out to him at [email protected].
6 responses to “Sleek dock restores earphone jack for iPhone 7”
Curious which insane person finds this to be a better solution than the include adapter that Apple provides.
Well the included adapter only lets you listen to music. So for people like me that charge their phone and listen to an audio book at night, the included adapter is useless. But this little adapter would be very useful.
I make in the span of $6000-$8000 a month on the internet. For everybody ready to work basic online task for 2-5 hours each day from your sofa at home and make valuable benefit for doing it… This is a invitation for you… KORTA.NU/NDe
Simple question….if just for the headphone jack, why? Bluetooth makes a lot more sense. I hardly use my current headphone jack.
If you’re considering it for the storage too, then it is a bonus [eh] feature. Certainly I would not get this at all for just the headphone jack.
If you want to charge your device while using headphones (to talk on phone, use as GPS, on long flight, etc) a splitter for audio/power is very important.
Apple’s version of the Betamax is a gross mistake. There are millions, possibly tens of millions of people who use that little jack to connect their music/radio to home, office, car, portable stereos. In one move Apple pre-determined that they no longer want these people as customers.
I use my iphone when I teach yoga, I need the jack to connect my music to studio stereos. I’d say others are in the same situation. Is Apple hoping that tens of millions of users will toss their existing stereo equipment to buy something new that will work with their silly phone (that, I will add, barely works as a phone anymore)?
/rant