Looking back, other than the insane media coverage, when was the last spectacle really? To me the iPhone sort settled down with the iPhone 5, providing only minimal improvements in terms of actual usage since then.
My desktop audio interface plugs right in an iPhone (USB-C to C), no hub or dongle needed, and provides audio in/out, 5-pins midi in/out, microphone preamp, etc.
If it comes to the flexibility of improvising a jam session with inexpensive gear, we are in a much better place today than 10 years ago when phones had headphone jacks. And I say that as someone who uses wired headphones extensively and carries a 3.5mm dongle everywhere.
Then again, you have to realize that your use-case is almost a rounding error. There just can’t be that people, as a percentage, that have that need and it makes sense (to me) to optimize for the largest pie slice and let dongles/accessories cover the gaps for everyone else.
>With the old devices a lightning to usb converter was needed
So it wasn't for free. You still had to get dongles.
Personally, I just need an audio interface to plug in a guitar, a headphones and speakers into my iPad. I need to buy something, but nothing that I wouldn't have had to buy with a PC either.