When Apple infamously ditched the headphone jack with the launch of the iPhone 7, it at the least supplied clients with a Lightning-to-3.5 mm adapter both proper within the field or as a $9 standalone buy in its on-line retailer. Now it seems like that adapter is being retired.
As MacRumors first famous, the adapter is displaying as offered out in most areas, together with just a few different Lightning equipment, just like the even-more-archaic-seeming Lightning-to-VGA adapter. That features the US, the place it’s not attainable to order the headphone adapter from Apple’s retailer.
Stock has run out, and it appears unlikely Apple will make extra to refill it.
That is possible a part of a common phasing out of merchandise associated to the proprietary Lightning port, which was utilized in many Apple units (together with the iPhone) for years however has been changed by USB-C in the entire firm’s main merchandise. A few older iPhone fashions provided at cheaper costs—the iPhone SE and the iPhone 14—can be found immediately, however they’ll possible get replaced in simply a few months.
Apple is promoting an identical adapter for connecting 3.5 mm headphones to USB-C iPhones and iPads.
Nonetheless, many individuals on the market nonetheless have older Lightning iPhones however have not but made the bounce to wi-fi headphones. Third-party choices are on the market that they’ll use—at the least for now—however the well-liked Apple adapter appears to be following an identical script as different deprecated Apple equipment have upon their retirement.
