Over 200,000 People Have Signed A Petition To Stop Apple From Killing The iPhone’s Headphone Jack

You may have heard the rumors that Apple might be doing away with the headphone jack on the iPhone to push forward the wonderful world of wireless listening. Awesome, right?

Well, hold on.

First off, as per usual, Apple has said nothing to confirm or deny this, so it’s just a rumor. Still, we’re treated with baffling headlines like this:

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This confusion is causing a bit of an uproar from people who don’t want to have to buy new headphones and hardware to go along with the next generation of Apple’s phone. There’s a petition with over 200,000 digital signatures asking Apple to keep the jack as it is:

Apple is about to rip off every one of its customers. Again.

Forbes and FastCompany are reporting that Apple plans to ditch the standard 3.5mm headphone jack when it releases the iPhone 7 later this year. Only a massive international campaign can force Apple to change course now.

Not only will this force iPhone users to dole out additional cash to replace their hi-fi headphones, it will singlehandedly create mountains of electronic waste — that likely won’t get recycled. According to the United Nations, up to 90% of the world’s electronic waste is illegally traded or dumped each year.

Tell Apple to respect its customers and our planet. Keep the standard headphone jack.

This is right out of the Apple corporate playbook. A few years ago it swapped out the original iPod-dock connector with a new one, making countless cords, cables and chargers obsolete.

Apple plays up its green credentials, but the truth is that Apple only invested in renewable energy, and began phasing out toxic chemicals when public pressure became too strong to ignore. People power did it before, and we can do it again.

Tell Apple to keep the standard headphone jack and ditch planned obsolescence!

Again, these are just rumors. They might even be spot on, but until Apple does something, we don’t know anything. And well, the Internet loves drama and people love to sign petitions. I doubt that this will elicit a response from the mothership, but these folks sure hope their cries are heard.

Personally? Kill all wires, I can’t stand them. But hey, try and #SaveJack if you like.