A lot really hinges on what a USB-C to jack adaptor will look like. If it's not bulky and inconvenient (or expensive), none of your listed concerns apply.
In the meantime, the 3.5mm jack actually takes up a not at all trivial volume in the handset.
In the meantime, the 3.5mm jack actually takes up a not at all trivial volume in the handset.
I suspect that if they were to remove it, they’ll do it without trying to justify it at all. They’ll present it as the way it is. See the App Store search results Ad. announcement, which is borderline tone-deaf, for one recent example of doing something that wholly benefits Apple and no one else.
What a load of nonsense. What else of equivalent utility would be put there, a cure for cancer?
This is just a DRM play in the guise of making the phones sexier.
The "how thin can we make our phones" game is as stupid as the 3D TV game.