Apple’s next AirPods Pro may come without their iconic white stems, resembling more of a tiny puck that fills your ear. But while smaller is typically better at Apple, this might be taking things too far.

It’s possible that the rumor is true, and that Apple is making one of its smallest computers even smaller. After all, that’s what it does. But if you think about it, you’ll see that removing the stems would cause far more problems than it solves. Even sources close to Apple doubt that it’s possible.

“Integrating noise cancellation, wireless antennas and microphones into a smaller AirPods Pro case proved challenging during development,” writes Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, “which could result in a less ambitious design once the product is finalized.”

But the biggest argument against ditching the stem from Apple’s AirPods Pro line isn’t technical at all. Like the white cables that extended from the earbuds in the iPod era, the white stems are iconic. When you see them, you know what they are. And when you don’t know what they are, you want to know.