I think that 3.5mm jack is a source of many repair issues for Apple.<p>- pocket lint routinely finds its way into the jack.<p>- most male connectors are manufactured with low precision, which causes added stress to the socket.<p>- some male connectors are long, creating a lot of leverage if force is applied in the wrong direction.<p>- water gets in easily through the socket.<p>- the socket is very fat and forces the phone to be thicker than it would otherwise need to be.<p>Other connector designs are superior for all these reasons.  The main issue is that Apple doesn&#x27;t let other companies clone its connectors, so everyone has to pay exorbitant prices.