Headphone Jack Survey: Change Could Impact Phone Purchases

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Posted Dec 02, 2015

It’s become somewhat of a tradition for people to predict and follow rumors surrounding the release of any new Apple Products. The most recent of those rumors surround the next version of the iPhone, likely the iPhone 7. Reportedly, if Apple wants to make the device any thinner than the current versions, it will have to eliminate the device’s headphone jack. So how might such a move impact buyers? How many people use their phone’s headphone jack enough for it to matter?

headphone jack

Smartphone Users

In Ask Your Target Market’s latest survey, 61% of respondents said they currently own a smartphone. And 40% of those smartphone users said they often use their phones to listen to music, podcasts or videos. 31% sometimes listen to that type of content on their phones. 15% rarely do. And 14% said they never listen to music, podcasts or video on their smartphones.

Headphone Jacks

57% said they use regular headphones when listening to music or other content on their phones, making it the most popular method for smartphone users. 29% said they don’t use anything. 20% use Bluetooth or wireless headphones. 16% wirelessly connect their devices to speakers or vehicle systems. And 13% use cords to connect their phones to speakers or vehicle systems. Overall, 18% of smartphone owners said they use their phone’s headphone jack every day. 25% use it a few times per week. 7% use it about once per week. 9% use it a few times per month. 4% use it about once per month. 17% said they rarely ever use their phone’s headphone jack. And 19% never use it.

Buyer Impact

The reason behind potentially eliminating the headphone jack would be to make the next iPhone even thinner. So how important is that to consumers? 47% of smartphone owners said that having a thin phone is at least somewhat important to them. 23% said that it’s unimportant to them. And 30% were neutral about it.Looking forward, 41% of smartphone owners said that a phone’s headphone jack, or lack thereof, wouldn’t have any impact on their future buying decisions. 47% said they would be unlikely to buy a phone that doesn’t come with a regular headphone jack. And just 12% said they would be more likely to buy a phone without one. You can view the complete survey results in the widget below and be sure to click “Open Full Report” to take advantage of all the chart and filter options.Photo Credit: iPhone 4 - Top from FlickrWhat do you want to know? If you need some consumer insights on a particular topic, let us know in the comments below and we’ll consider it for an upcoming survey post.

Results were collected on December 1 via AYTM’s online survey panel.

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