It's hard to see the upside of this, from a phone buyer end-user point of view. By looking at a USB C and 3.5mm jack next to each other for a moment, it is obvi

It's hard to see the upside of this, from a phone buyer end-user point of view. By looking at a USB C and 3.5mm jack next to each other for a moment, it is obvious this will enable only a minuscule additional thinning of devices. But at what cost? Most likely: Significantly more expensive headphones for at least the next several years and possibly longer. If I were a headphone manufacturer I would be thrilled by this development. As a headphone buyer, less so. In most cases we will give up being able to charge and listen at the same time, unless willing to add an additional external dongle. Meanwhile manufacturers will continue their, uh, curious belief that cell phone battery capacities are anywhere near good enough.