[mikeash]

Do Apple fans actually believe that Apple earbuds are high quality? I recall even a top Apple exec once admitted at a public event that the best thing they could say about their earbuds was that they were the highest quality ones in the iPhone box.

[cmiles74]

No, you are correct, I think it's accepted in general that earbuds are a compromise. Still, IMHO, customers will assume the audio quality from the lightning port is superior to the old analog jack.

[mikeash]

I see, and I totally agree with that. I'm sure that "better audio quality" will be a selling point if they do this, and most people will believe it. It might even be true, to a small extent, although the connector is clearly not the limiting factor for Apple earbud quality.