I have a phone from 3 years ago with both an IP68 rating and a headphone jack. There's zero reason that Apple couldn't do the same, they just wanted to convince a lot of people to buy $150 headphones.
The first comment was comparable in performance (IP68), but the one I replied to, with the battery cover, was not (IP67). The point of my comment was to point out that they are not comparable. The purpose of my comment was to hint that the features from the IP67 may contribute to them being IP67 (battery cover in this case).
I think the problem is that you included feelings in something that was clearly technical. The comparison they were making was 1/6th the spec. It was a technically inappropriate comparison. It could only support the claim that these features were removed to increase water resistance.
The comment I made doesn't require that I push, or be for against, some higher narrative that you seem to see me as having in my head. It's perfectly valid to criticize the technical merits of an individual comment. If you see that as weaselly, then tribalism has infected your mind.
I'm still using a number of Motorola Defy phones from 2010-2011 which are IP67+ rated (30 minutes at 1.5m water depth). Needless to say they have 3.5mm headphone as well as micro-USB connectors. The solution to this problem lies in a simple rubber plug which closes the hole when the connector is not in use.
Does it work? Well, one of the phones used to be my daughter's. She forgot to take it out of her pocket when she put her trousers in the washing machine so it ended up going through a full wash and spin cycle. It still worked, there was no water ingress in the phone itself. The earpiece did seem to have gotten damaged so I replaced it (5 new earpieces for $2.50 incl. shipping, I still have 4 left...). This phone is now used as a media player, running mpd which can be remotely controlled from other phones in the network. It connects to my jobsite radio (an oversized and overweight boombox I made around an old car MP3/CD/Radio with 2x40W speakers with bass reflex and a SLA starting helper/power pack) using that 3.5mm jack.
Yes, there are plenty of phones that have IP68 & 3.5mm without any rubber flaps etc., not to start a flamewar but it's strange to me that a lot of people seem to think they would be a necessary tradeoff... Apple had other reasons to get rid of it.
That rating comes in handy for those who have butter fingers like me and drop their phones in water once in a while.