If you go by what the loudest ones are saying about the headphone jack removal, then yes, it does give the appearance that it’s a very unpopular change. However if you were to just ask random people on the street if they use(d) their headphone jack and what they think of this change, you’ll probably find there’s not a lot of vocal people out there that would not buy a phone just because it was missing it. That’s why Fairphone did their market research, right? Of course it’s still up for debate whether that was the right choice. And personally I would also prefer if the headphone jack was still default on phones.

Also see their official response on the audio jack removal.

TL;DR:

• Modularity and its influence on the phone’s size and weight
• Market and legislative trends (headphone jack is getting less popular)
• Longevity (less ports = less vulnerable to dust, water and general wear?)