Removing the headphone jack from all devices has nothing to do with the ability to make them thinner or to save money. That’s just a poor and clearly-obfuscatory excuse. No, that removal is an example of Foucauldian discipline and control as exercised by the tech industry. Despite being extremely unpopular and its banishment occurring for no technical reason, this immensely unwelcome action was done anyway. This is absolutely not accidental.

For the same reason, Firefox removed all customization possibilities and every OS maker (including most Linux window manager and GUIs) have followed along. That the trend is so widespread tells you that it’s has more to do with the desire to discipline rather than the oft-trotted-out “security” or other absurd canards that are leaned on when those wielding the authoritarian mindset are questioned.

Why this authoritarian urge, though? What is the goal? Insomuch as there is one, as a large part of it is just a reduplication of the dominant cultural leaning, it is to prepare you to accept intrusive tracking, pervasive advertising, and unskippable propaganda. It’s to set the glide path to dominate your mind and your actions.

When you look at your device that has no headphone jack and is less useful than one from 10 years ago, realize that this abridgement of capability has nothing to do with tech at all. It’s to tame you, control you, implant in your mind that you have no choice but to accept the scraps you are thrown. And it’s working quite well.