[exelius]

I don't know about that; the cheap Square reader is a piece of crap that is really just a "starter" product (they're not well-made and fall apart after even moderate use). Anyone who swipes more than 2 or 3 cards a day would be better served by one of Square's commercial readers -- all of which connect via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or the Lightning port.

Also, Apple would certainly include a Lightning->Headphone adapter that would also be usable for card readers. They just use the line in from the microphone.