Considering Product Development

White Paper
Submitted to OnePlus, a new Smartphone developer

Juan Mendoza
Prof. Kelly Whitney
ENGL 318
Nov. 3, 2016
 Considering Product Development
White Paper
Submitted to OnePlus, a new Smartphone developer

Will your audience be looking for a product or a brand?

Introduction
The maker of the iPhones and Mac computers, Apple, has been around for about forty years
and has been able to make a name for itself in the consumer market as one of the worlds most
valuable brands (Forbes). It is a highly recognized brand-name that many consumers expect to have
for multiple items in a household. Every year they release more improved products in all of their
divisions, like laptops, desktop computers, smartwatches, smartphones, etc. The company
continues to release products that awe an entire community of fans and technology enthusiasts
whether they are in the market for the products or not. Recently, on September 7, 2016, Apple
reserved the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco to unveil four products, including; the
Apple Watch series 2, the new Apple AirPods, and two new smartphones, the iPhone 7 and iPhone
White Paper | December 2016

7 Plus. Throughout the products, there was a plethora of features that were added to the products,
and announcements like the Apple AirPods shocked the audience and evoked an astounding
reaction full of cheers and applause. With many of these additions, sometimes, a company needs to
pull back from a previous rendition to, according to any company, make a better product than the
predecessor. Among the announcements of these products, one major component that was
announced was the abandonment of the famous 3.5 mm headphone jack for their smartphones. It
isnt the first smartphone company to do this, as Motorola released a smartphone in the summer of
2016 with the same concept. In early 2016, LeEco, another smartphone manufacturer, started this
trend which they continue to support with more releases, this year, that follow suit.
Considering Product Development

As an Audiophile, a name given to someone who is a high-fidelity (sound production)

enthusiast, this may pertain a specific issue, where you are held back from doing what you love.
Enjoying music with this advancement is now, only limited to either using a Bluetooth headphone,
which will not provide the same hi-fi sound that many Digital-to-Audio-Converters (DACs)
provide to raise the audio quality of the music. This also means that if you do want a wired set of
headphones, there are many obstacles that need to be leaped, either using a dongle, which, in this
case, would convert the charging port from a phone to the 3.5 mm port that is needed for most
headphones. Then, you are left to the conclusion that you either have to listen to music or charge

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your phone. This is not an easy choice to make when you are a sound and high-fidelity enthusiast.
So that leaves up and coming developers a question. In this market, will you follow this lead and
make a phone with the same requirements and technology? Or will you make a stance against this
issue, by making the audience and other manufacturers realize that the 3.5 mm port is still relevant
to our day and age, leading by example.

Background
According to BBC News, the technology of the headphone jack (3.5 millimeter) has been
around for over century. The connector was first used in 1878 for telephone switchboards (BBC
News). Charlie Slee, a member of the Audio Engineering Society, said that this connection was
created to make it easy to plug in and out while still being secure enough to work after a long
period. The connection is similar and was released around the time of the larger version, the
quarter inch jack, which is known to be used in many cables, including in cables used to connect
musical instruments to equipment. As the article continues, we are informed that the headphone
jack didnt make flare to a larger
audience until the mid-twentieth
century when it was used in
headsets for transistor radios.
Since then, the connector has
been used in various equipment,

White Paper | December 2016

from mp3 players to phones and
to headphones used in some
studios. Both the 3.5 mm and
the quarter inch versions have
been used in professional settings
like a radio station or recording
studio to everyday uses like
listening to music. Switchboard operators using 3.5 mm and quarter in. cables in 1919.
"The 19th Century plug that's still being used." BBC News Magazine.
It would be difficult to BBC, 11 Jan 2016. Web. 7 Oct 2016.
Considering Product Development

ignore the time that phones did use different and unique ports on their phones, as well. Nokia and
Samsung were known in the mid-2000s to use 2.5 mm headphones jacks and ports for their phones.
This was limited to a point where you couldve lost the headphones shipped with the phone and
would struggle to find a replacement. On that same BBC article, Simon Hall claims that the two
companies, along with others that were on the same boat, changed their ports to that of the 3.5
mm headphone jack. It was done out of convenience for their customers. Plain and simple, this
port is now used by many consumers and the companies know this. If you are to look around,

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 everyone may be holding a device, whether it is a smartphone or computer that uses this universal
cable.
Apple has used this connection since the first cell phone they released in 2007. It was never
a so-called feature or a unique part of the phone. Everyone in the recent years expected for that
port to always be there on products such as a smartphone or a mp3 player. It is found in all laptops
and tablets, as well. It is considered a universal port, or at least was. Apple has made many
announcements to release products that have included improvements and innovations to the
technological market. This time around, one of these improvements means that consumers need to
part ways from this port. Its now deemed as a luxury since it is slowly fading away from current
technology. You dont realize how efficient or useful something is until its gone. In a time when
no one asked for an innovation like this, there are men and women like John Gruber from the
Daring Fireball website, who reminds consumers that they never asked for Apple to remove the 3.5
inch Floppy Disk port in their first iMac announced in 1998 (Gruber, Headphone Jacks Are the
New Floppy Drives). After so many years, we see that everyone else agreed to abandon the same
floppy disk port. Consumers, as well, dont bother with it, anymore, at least that is what Gruber
suggests.

Current Situation
A move as this, caused so many people to respond very negatively. For audiophiles, a
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decision as this will cause confusion and distress, because this limits the choices for phones,
especially if you already are a frequent customer of the company. This affects their finances and also
affects headphone manufacturers with how they approach the market and what they believe is
needed for their audience. There is a proposition to a new strategy for developers to be able to
decide their vision for the company that they own or are a part of, as yourself. Will you address
innovations that are good for consumers or will you focus on simply making money and following
the route that Apple has? This strategy will also help developers become aware of their competition
and how to create a better experience for consumers by noticing what they ask for from
smartphone manufacturers. The way you can earn a better revenue and success as a company is by
gaining a consumer fan base that will purchase your products.
Considering Product Development

Focusing on this feature, or lack thereof, that Apple has now included in their new product,
I will explain and argue how this affects the consumer and in turn, affects developers and
companies. A good perspective is to picture yourself as the consumer. We do need to be kept in
mind that every person in an industry such as yourself will also be viewed as a customer to other
companies. There are more expenses that are made to accommodate this change as consumers still
use technology with this headphone jack. Aside from financially digging into our pockets, there are
more problems. For consumers, they will also need to notice that companies are thriving to sell

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more and with this change it will be easier for them to do so. There are more options to sell
headphones with the different jacks or, in your case, different versions of smartphones where there
may be different ports in the different versions. But this wont only hurt a consumers budget; due
to licensing fees, the headphone manufacturers will also have many options that not everyone will
purchase as it is not universal for all products that have music or video playback. Lastly, Apple has
expressed that many of their products include innovation, which is not entirely true. Seeing how
the belated Steve Jobs, the companys co-founder, issued that the company would only sell
products that they themselves would use (Steve Jobs Introduces), this has become false. There are
better options that other manufacturers provide, which pushes the iPhone aside for a while. Apple
only worries about more income and revenue, so they will do whatever they can for this to persist
and we will follow suit as we continue to purchase their new and innovated products. It is a brand
issue. As long as we continue to view Apple as a company that makes great products, they will
continue to manufacture more of these products that we deem as being great, yet fall short when
compared to other options. You are only up and coming manufacturers, so this is not your case.
New developers do not have a brand that everyone notices or cares for, so this approach to business
strategy is irrelevant.

Problems and their Effects

This change marks another initiative from a company to have consumers purchase more
from them. It could be assumed that this change would have consumers straying away from this

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product or brand since they have been limited one less feature compared to other competing brands
and products, but Apple has held a great reputation for making their audience follow them
wherever they go. Getting rid of the headphone jack means that the only port on the phone is the
lightning port, which is known to be used to charge the phone. Alternatively, consumers are able to
purchase headphones with this different connector. There is an emphasis on the word, purchase,
as that is what will need to be done. In order to continue to function with ones normal lives of
listening to music through headphones, they will have to purchase a new product. Consumers may
turn their cheek when viewing a new product from a smaller company and deem it non-worthy.
There will not be a similar response as to the one given to Apple. There are also Bluetooth Considering Product Development
connected products, which will help charge the phones when taking over the only port on the
phone. But then again, there is a budget to have this type of technology. Fortunately, in the event
that Apple used to announce this product, they noted that they provide a dongle attachment that
converts their licensed lightning port to a 3.5 mm jack in case you still want to use your, already-
owned, headphones. The issue that arises from this piece of innovation is that the owner of this
phone will not be able to charge their phone while listening to music. At least, not if their only
option is to use a wired connection for the music or video playback. A limitation will not help sell a
product and there will be an expense to make the dongle if your company wants to provide one

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 with the product. Nilay Patel, from the Verge, expressed his opinion about this decision saying,
Everything is going to be great when you want to use your expensive headphones and charge your
phone at the same time. He mentions that this change will not benefit everyone as we also will
have to carry around multiple cables or dongles to do what we already do now (Patel). Think about
the fact that this response is a company that is well-known, trusted, and adored by many. There
wont be any sympathy towards the smaller names in the industry.
This move will cause a higher demand for these particular type of headphones. For the
headphone manufacturers, this is going to be beneficial, but not for the consumers. Co-CEOs,
Andreas and Daniel Sennheiser, of Sennheiser, a well-known headphone manufacturer, said,
Digital outputs, such as Apple's Lightning connector, will offer new opportunities to take a step
forward and to further enhance the sound experience for the customer. These companies now
have a new market for themselves from Apples one step forward. On this same article from the
Verge, the author was able to get a statement from another manufacturer that is not embracing this
change or even caring as a matter of fact. Jonathan Grado of Grado explains, "we dont care
much one way or another. We really just care that we can keep a sound that were proud of. We
just want whatever connection is used to keep the sound that our familys worked 63 years for.
There arent any major changes to Grado because of this, and well continue doing whats kept us
around for so long (Savov).
A closer look at the sales of headphones, NPD, a market research company, claimed that for
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the first time, this past June, Bluetooth headphones have been accounted for 54 percent of
headphone dollar sales and 17 percent of unit sales in the U.S. They are being sold more, which is
what Apple also wants. A wireless world. Ben Arnold, executive director, industry analyst for
NPD also wrote in the article on their website, We expect this will continue to drive market share
of the Bluetooth category, also stating that on average consumers are spending about $50 for
Bluetooth headphones (NPD Group). Like many other smartphones manufacturers, you do have
the option of providing a pair of headphones that could be used with your product. You will not be
affected by this if your headphones have the standard jack everyone is used to. If by any chance you
do want to include a port like Apples and have a propriety port. Your headphones will have to
Considering Product Development

include a different jack, such as the lightning port. Going for a move that is not welcomed by many
and not universal to many products, you will land in a field of expenses.
The con for headphone manufacturers in this ongoing trend is the constant fee that they will
need to pay Apple for using this connector in wired headphones for Apple products. This will be
the same outcome if any other propriety port is used in any product. This is where Apple is taking
advantage of their MFi (Made for iPhone, iPod, or iPad) program, which is where third-party
companies pay Apple for using their licensed technology. The corporate giant charges the third-
party manufacturers $4 per lightning connector on a product. For example, if you purchase a

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charging cable that costs $10 from a third-party brand like, Anker, forty percent of the cost is going
directly to Apple for the use of this product. According to Forbes journalist, Theo Priestley, 290.9
million headphones were sold in 2015. If many of these headphones take use of Apples MFI
program, the company will have an increase in revenue within the next few years and so on if this
trend persists (Priestley). We will automatically see a loss in our pocket when we purchase the
product, but companies also experience a loss, because of the licensing fees placed by Apple. This
could equate to an increase in prices for the products in order for companies to make a profit.

White Paper | December 2016

This graph shows the number of headphones sold in the last few years. It continues to show with its
increase in numbers that many consumers are still in the market to purchase headphones.
Priestley, Theo. "Apple Ditching The Headphone Jack Is Less About Music, More About Royalties."
Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 11 Jan. 2016. Web. 15 Oct. 2016.

During the two-hour press conference where all this information was unveiled, Apple also Considering Product Development

announced a pair of wireless headphones called, Apple AirPods. In a video in their event, the
Chief Design officer of the company, Jony Ive, claimed that the future is wireless where all
devices will connect intuitively (Apple-September Event). This is hard to see when they are still
providing wired headphones and dongles that connect to the phone. If this was their initiative from
the get-go, the company could have also provided wireless charging for the phone, which has been
around for a few years.
This technology has been taken advantage by many competing brands, like Samsung, LG,
and so on. In a press conference from 1998, the co-founder and then CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs,

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 talked about the release of one of their computers. He mentioned, We looked at all of the
consumer products out there. They are all using last years processors and the quality is very
poor. He also followed saying that Apple only makes products that they would want to personally
use. Right now, this is not seen from the company. It is believed that a company is only to work on
material that they believe in or believe it is needed by the market. What does a developer like you
have to put into the market that consumers want or need? Through the consistency of being
innovative, Apple has taken advantage of presenting products with one major addition followed
by multiple smaller tweaks. Apple has, yet, to catch up and use technology like wireless charging
which has been around for a few years. According to a YouTube video, the filmmaker, who goes by
the name Dustin DJ Playz, expressed his concern over Apple always announcing that they have
made The greatest iPhone ever made. Apple, according to Dustin, makes products where they
use last years model and simply tweak the features and specs. This is technically correct, they do
make the greatest iPhone to date every single year. Dustin suggests that Apple should make the
greatest phone that they can make (DJPlayz). Testimonies like these should be an inspiration for
companies and developers in the smartphone industry.
With this particular phone, Apple introduced that it is water-proof. This feature has been in
smartphones since 2014. They presented a phone with a beautiful display, which has been
compared to other phones that came out this year as not being on par. The 1080 pixel LCD Retina
display on the iPhone has been compared to the Samsung Galaxy S7 display which houses a 1440
White Paper | December 2016

pixel AMOLED display. There is greater detail, lighting, and color correction in the phones with
such specs (PhoneArena). It has also been noted that Apple also abandoned the headphone jack to
help make the phone waterproof, which is also counter-claimed by Samsung as their phones have
had both features working properly. Steve Jobs set a vision that was lost in translation as the
company continued to make products thereafter his death.
And what else has this move caused to the mass audience? There was a petition raised before
the release and announcement of the new phone by a group of people on the Sum of Us website.
There were two major complaints raised in the description of the petitions site. There are many
financial expenses that will follow, because customers will have to replace their headphones, which
Considering Product Development

may not be useful in the new iPhone model. We went over that already, but the new issue that
arises from this is the amount of electronic waste that will be made from many consumers disposing
of their headphones. They claim that according to the United Nations, 90% of the worlds
electronic waste is illegally traded and dumped (Sum of Us). The creators of the petition insist that
the company keep the standard jack. This shows that they do not have respect towards their
customers or the planet. They compare this to the change Apple had a few years ago when they
changed the type of port and connector they were to use to charge their iPhones. Many of the older
cables with the previous connector were dumped. With this petition, they were able to have over
three-hundred thousand individuals sign it. This sort of reaction is not needed or affordable for

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smaller companies. Unfortunately, as we see the petition didnt work in its effort to have Apple
keep the port. New manufacturers cannot be behind a view of trash being created from an
innovation.

Do Consumers have a choice?

Between the many sources found and from simply asking strangers or friends, you may get a
balance on both sides of this spectrum. How much do they affect the designs and guarantee certain
accommodations to future products produced by companies? In this case, can a negative reaction
have an effect on Apple as far as to bring back something that they removed, or will we see a repeat
in history? Gruber implied that we get what is good for us, not what we want when speaking about
the exclusion of the Floppy Disk in 1998. This is a case where a company such as Apple has
different motives when it comes to selling products. They see the best approach to have a higher
increase in revenue.

Conclusion
I raise this issue only for that matter that if Apples innovations become a trend, it could
hurt smaller companies if they plan to do anything similar. I emphasize customers in this white
paper to make you aware that as a business, you will need to build a relationship with the
consumers. Apple gained their trust through products that they needed and wanted. Know what
they want and what they need. At this point, revenue is good, but greed can cause destruction

White Paper | December 2016

through both parties.
At the end, you may ask, What does this cost? Honestly, you will save money and make
revenue to grow as a brand and company. Those looking for a device that is compatible with a
headphone jack will consider your products. There is, of course, other factors to make a phone
with quality, but when there is a trend of the abandonment of such technology, there is a higher
chance for consumers to purchase your products. Remember, that consumers prefer options that
other competitors provide that compare to the iPhone, yet can be cheaper and have even greater
features. Seeing the sales of headphones show that there is still a market for these products. A
wireless future is still far from today. A top-notch competitor like Apple is not able to hold onto a
Considering Product Development

statement as that when they still have wires and dongles for their devices. They continue to sell
phones yearly with the same approach, because consumers have always decided to pay them for
their product, regardless of what is offered. Lets give consumers a reason to choose you over a big-
name brand.

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 Works Cited
"Apple is ditching the standard headphone jack to screw consumers and the planet." SumofUS.
SumofUs, Web. 1 Dec 2016. <https://actions.sumofus.org/a/iphone-headphone-jack>.
"Bluetooth Capable Headphone Sales Surpass Non-Bluetooth Sales." NPD Group. The NPD
Group, 31 July 2016. Web. 13 Oct. 2016.
<https://www.npd.com/wps/portal/npd/us/news/press-releases/2016/bluetooth-
capable-headphone-sales-surpass-non-bluetooth-sales/>
"Samsung Galaxy S7 edge vs Apple iPhone 7 Plus." PhoneArena. MaxCon, 7 Sep 2016. Web. 2
Dec 2016. <http://www.phonearena.com/phones/compare/Samsung-Galaxy-S7-edge-
Apple-iPhone-7-Plus/phones/9818,9816>.
"The 19th Century plug that's still being used." BBC News Magazine. BBC, 11 Jan 2016. Web. 7
Oct 2016. <http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35253398>.
Apple. Apple September Event 2016. Online Video Clip. YouTube, 8 September, 2016. Web.
30 September, 2016.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NS0txu_Kzl8&index=23&list=WL>
DJPlays. iPhone 7 "The Worst Phone Ever Made" Apple's Dirty Secret September 2016 Keynote
Reaction. Online Video Clip. YouTube. YouTube, 7 September, 2016. Web. 2 October,
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2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3UQDGAYxnc&list=WL&index=30>
EverySteveJobsVideo. Steve Jobs introduces the Original iMac - Apple Special Event (1998).
Online Video Clip. YouTube. YouTube, 21 December, 2012. Web. 13 October, 2016.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxwmF0OJ0vg&list=WL&index=32>
Gruber, John. "Headphone Jacks Are the New Floppy Drives." Daring Fireball. The Daring
Fireball Company LLC, 21 Jun 2016. Web. 7 Oct 2016.
<http://daringfireball.net/2016/06/headphone_jacks_are_the_new_floppy_drives>.
Patel, Nilay. "Taking the Headphone Jack off Phones Is User-hostile and Stupid." The Verge. Vox
Considering Product Development

Media, 21 June 2016. Web. 2 Oct. 2016.

<http://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2016/6/21/11991302/iphone-no-
headphone-jack-user-hostile-stupid>
Priestley, Theo. "Apple Ditching The Headphone Jack Is Less About Music, More About
Royalties." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 11 Jan. 2016. Web. 15 Oct. 2016.
<http://www.forbes.com/sites/theopriestley/2016/01/11/apple-ditching-the-
headphone-jack-is-less-about-music-more-about-royalties/2/#1521eba64204>

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Savov, Vlad. "Headphone Companies: No Headphone Jack, No Problem." The Verge. Vox Media,
09 Sept. 2016. Web. 19 Sept. 2016.
<http://www.theverge.com/2016/9/9/12859858/no-headphone-jack-iphone-7-
reaction>

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