Having a 3,5mm connection as ST3 is nice but not if you have a modern iOS device that has no headphone output. The lightning headphone adapter is not a real option. 1. I cannot charge phone while playback 2. Why convert digital audio to analogue to convert it back to digital right away?
I use an Airport Express for my WiFi, so the 3.5mm on that goes into ST3 and AirPlay works fine.
As an alternative, BlueTooth receivers are pretty cheap and work OK over short range.
I don’t really see any desk keeping up with the constant changes in phone technology/design, as they tend to come up with some “improvement” every year, while we tend to hope our desks will last somewhat longer than that. My guess is that a physical headphone connection may come back in a year or two anyway.