I like that post

They are a status symbol (like some other brands that I'd better not mention ).

Just heavy bass with no decent sound quality for the price.

http://www.computerworld.com/s/artic...ng_audio_pitch

Baker remained skeptical. "Actually, Apple's change [from 30-pin to Lightning] was a boom for accessories," he said, about manufacturers forced to discard their Apple tunnel vision. The billion-dollar wireless speaker business was the result.

Going cable digital simply necessitates digital conversion in the headphones but removing the need for an extra battery.
But surely in doubling up on circuity, you might as well have cable free bluetooth headphones?

That 'billion-dollar wireless speaker business' tells us that the public is already very much adopting bluetooth.

Personally I've been using Bluetooth stereo headphones with Apple devices for many years. There's no suggestion Apple are going to remove that or 3.5mm jacks either. This new addition to Lightning will not really affect many people. There aren't many devices that rely on Lightning anyway. Perhaps the ones looking at this with more interest are those that use iPads to make music or connect musical instruments? A niche market, at best.

Yes, more likely Apple will promote the standard Beats brand in stores alongside iPhoness etc. That expands sales with no change at all.

And with BT headphones not so common in retail supermarkets etc, that is still one area where sales have potential.