Apple May be Quietly Discontinuing its Lighting to 3.5mm Headphone Adapter

Apple may be quietly discontinuing its Lightning to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter. If true, the small dongle will be taken off the market eight years after its introduction in 2016.

Word of a possible discontinuation first popped up thanks to MacRumors, which noticed that the adapter is listed as “sold out” across Apple’s online store in the U.S. Similarly, on Apple’s website in Canada, the adapter is also listed as not being available for purchase due to stock availability.

The original report goes on to state that it does appear that in some countries, the Lightning to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter is still available. Customers can still order one in global markets such as France, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. However, this may be a matter of Apple still going through its remaining inventory. In the case of Canada, it’s likely that Apple has already sold out of its remaining stock. The chances of a new batch making its way through Apple’s official store online could be slim if it is indeed discontinuing the product.

Apple’s Lightning to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter first launched in 2016 and was packaged in with every iPhone 7. This carried over during the product launches of iPhone 8 and iPhone X. Every new iPhone shipped with a Lightning to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter included in the box. However, since the iPhone XS, Apple removed the adapter, opting to sell it for $10 separately.

The Lightning to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter was introduced as a means for users to continue using standard 3.5mm headphones following the adoption of the Lightning port. Users can simply plug their standard headphones into the adapter and into any Lightning-enabled iPhone or device.

One of the leading factors in this possible discontinuation is likely that the number of Lightning products still available is dwindling. Apple does still offer the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, and iPhone SE, which all support Lightning. However, these products will likely find themselves discontinued sooner rather than later.