agreed. Audio people will never accept some Apple(or other company)-driven non-standardized port for what everyone knows is a basic differential unbalanced outp

agreed. Audio people will never accept some Apple(or other company)-driven non-standardized port for what everyone knows is a basic differential unbalanced output/input. It's like making an electric guitar without a 1/4" jack... sure, you can, but you will be unable to tap into the world of effects pedals, amplifiers, pre-amps, and the rest of the guitar gear eco-system. one can adjunct a digital control-plus-data port, to sort of upgrade SPDIF (the pro-standard was always AES-EBU anyway) but ditching analog-audio outputs and pushing folks onto ridiculously limited consumer audio "dacs on the phones" headphones and boomboxes is a step BACKwards for those producing content, which should be more and more people not less. Apple has been indicated already what it thinks "quality audio gear" amounts to with it's Beats purchase. It speaks volumes about Apple's lack of commitment to professional audio and standards that they are moving away from being the company that provided the bedrock for DAW and other audio software innovation. It's a pity. We shall go elsewhere.