AnalogSteph
Major Contributor
Wireless audio still is a complete mess at this point. Interoperability and reliability have a long way to go. 20 years from now, maybe. Audio over ethernet is well underway in pro audio circles (DANTE), so we may eventually end up using our existing WiFi instead of using cables on a regular basis. That still leaves a whole lot more to go wrong though (I don't know about you, but I have found a regular power cycle of WiFi transceiver chips to be quite beneficial in avoiding strange hiccups of all kinds, say once a week or so). And if the added complexity of balanced connections irks you, going wireless has to be downright Rube Goldberg level.
In smartphones, canning external ports has been driven at least in part by water resistance concerns. In home audio, convenience may be a factor but that's about it. Copper prices thankfully aren't yet at the level where they'd make cables outrageously expensive (and if so, we'd have far bigger problems, e.g. electricians would be cursing).
In smartphones, canning external ports has been driven at least in part by water resistance concerns. In home audio, convenience may be a factor but that's about it. Copper prices thankfully aren't yet at the level where they'd make cables outrageously expensive (and if so, we'd have far bigger problems, e.g. electricians would be cursing).