@phoneboy Here's my view:
Removing the headphone jack is the right thing to do for a certain subset of people. That subset happens to make one hell of an overlapping Venn diagram with the most loyal and biggest-spending Apple customers. If you're big into tech, and have lots of disposable income, and always buy whatever comes out, chances are you're already happily using Bluetooth headsets and CarPlay, and removing the jack isn't a problem for you. And that's fine.
Removing the headphone jack is also the wrong thing to do for another subset of people. These folks have older cars without Bluetooth, or have spouses/kids/etc. who use Android phones, or do a lot of charging while using headphones, or have budgetary concerns. I happen to fit into this group.
Belkin has already announced an adapter that will allow you to both charge and listen on your shiny new iPhone, but that's both 1) one more goddamn expense and 2) something to lose. Just like the AirPods. But people who don't rely on using it will see it as just fine.
At the end of the day, Apple's gonna do what Apple's gonna do, and they won't go back, and their customers will adapt. But there is a point at which I have to ask myself whether I'm going to continue to be an Apple customer, and that question is not one that I'm prepared to answer just yet. I still have a year to go before I have to.