Rumors have surfaced about the next Apple iPhone that suggest the phone will remove the standard headphone jack in order to decrease its thickness. Apple fans are upset about the possibility of the iPhone not having the headphone jack and have started a petition to keep it.

Over 200,000 Apple fans have already signed a petition to prevent Apple from removing the standard headphone jack and replacing it with a newer jack.

A rumor suggests Apple wants to make the next iPhone (the iPhone 7) the thinnest iPhone ever. A way for Apple to make the phone thin is by replacing the standard 3.5 mm headphone jack with a brand new smaller jack.

If Apple does remove the 3.5 mm headphone jack and replaces it with one of their own, almost every pair of headphones on the market will no longer work on the new iPhone. This means that iPhone owners might have to buy a brand new pair of compatible headphones that would work with the new jack.

"Apple is about to rip off every one of its customers again," the petition says. Apple has not confirmed that it plans to actually remove the headphone jack yet.

"This is right out of the Apple corporate playbook," the petition continues. "A few years ago it swapped out the original iPod-dock connector with a new one, making countless cords, cables and chargers obsolete."

When Apple switched from the 30-pin iDevice connector cables to the Lightning connector cables, Apple fans were angered they had to buy a converter or their old cables wouldn't be useful to them.

Apple has updated their devices and removed standard technology from their devices as new technology comes out. For instance, Apple's MacBooks no longer offer a DVD drive.

Those who have signed the petition have also expressed concern about incompatible headphones turning into piles of electronic waste.

The new iPhone is expected to be released in fall 2016. To view the petition, go to the petition website.

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