It could be any number of things. Most notably was the move to the haptics engine that required removal of the headphone port. Haptics are better than spinning motors for vibration feedback any way you look at it.

There’s also a bezel to consider. Removing the headphone jack, home button, and reducing the size requirement for lens housings etc. phone manufacturers have been able to chase the dream of a bezel-less screen.

We’ve also been able to achieve higher resolution screens and speakers in the earpiece for better “stereo” sound on a phone.

As with all things, the market is shocked when a widely used feature goes missing or changes. Then within months, the market adapts and finds it revolutionary.

I’m not saying I agree with the idea that wired charging and data transfer will be completely removed because of MagSafe, but there are some examples of tech changes due to removing perceived “key essential” ports and features.

Headphones exist without ports. There are much better chargers out there than what Apple will put in the box. We don’t need spinning motors in our phones. Honestly if they did away with the volume buttons and integrated volume and screenshots into gestures I’d be plenty happy about it (as long as they did it correctly).

This argument is like saying the removal of a hinge to make a multi touch-display phone doesn’t make sense because you’re removing the feature of making your phone compact enough to fit into your pocket easier. Jobs was praised when the iPhone came out because the value added was greater than the value subtracted.

MagSafe replacing USB-C? Not on a phone. There’s no consumer value in doing so other than novelty. In a way you’re making people’s lives harder by telling them that none of their existing tech works with the phone anymore. Maybe in another 10 years when more manufacturers have found efficient ways to power and provide data wirelessly… but not now.