Apple’s decision to move the headphone jack on the iPhone 5 to the bottom has customers talking. It turns out, there are two parallel universes, and neither side knew the other existed.
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The headphone jack has been on the bottom of the iPod touch for a few generations, but when Apple made the move to the bottom of the iPhone 5, suddenly the discussion got into high gear. If Apple made the change, there must be some logical reason, right? It turns out that there are a few logical reasons, but perhaps more interestingly, there are, in fact, two camps. And each camp thinks the other side is nuts.
For a detached, rational explanation of why the headphone jack is better on the bottom, read David Hoang’s analysis: “Why the headphone jack is at the bottom of the iPhone 5.” But it gets better. Apparently, there are two ways of handling the iPhone that are common and universal. It’s like the argument over how toilet paper should go on the roll.
Namely, some people like to shove the top of the iPhone (and iPod touch) into a pocket, with the cord on the bottom. That way, when it’s pulled out by the bottom, by a Bottom Grabber, it’s well positioned to hold in the palm and operate with the thumb.
Other people, are Head Pullers. They like to grab the top of the iPhone from a pocket and start holding it from the side. Logically, the headphone jack needs to be on the top. Quite possibly, before now, few people knew the opposite universe existed. All this is explored in this light-hearted analysis by Will Oremus. “Why Is Apple Forcing Us All To Put Our Phones In Our Pockets Upside-Down?” Mr. Oremus is left to conclude, ”that there must be some fundamental character trait that separates the uppers from the downers.” Amusingly, this makes Samsung's ridicule of Apple's relocation, in their video ad, even more suspect than it already was.
Perhaps the iPhone 6 will go both ways. It’s the trend.
Image credit: David Hoang
Tech News Debris
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