Next iPhone Might Do Away With Headphone Port

The iPhone 6s came out just a couple months ago, but that hasn’t stopped rumors from swirling about the iPhone 7. The latest rumor on the iPhone 7, which won’t be coming out until next year, is that it will be ditching the 3.5mm headphone port that all iPhones have had.

Instead of a headphone port, Apple will–according to the speculation–use the Lightning port that is already on current models. This would allow the iPhone 7 to be slightly thinner than the current iPhone 6s.

The rumor was made by MacOtakara, a Japanese website that is regarded by many as reliable. The report claims that the new iPhone will be 1mm thinner. As MacRumors noted, a 1mm thinner iPhone would resemble the current iPod touch. However, the iPod touch still has a headphone port.

“The so-called ‘iPhone 7’ will likely be more than 1mm thinner than the 7.1mm thick iPhone 6s as a result, according to the report. The sixth-generation iPod touch could be a comparable device, with a depth of 6.1mm, but the portable media player still has a 3.5mm headphone jack.”

The report also claims that Apple will ship the iPhone 7 with EarPods that are equipped with a Lightning connector. Apple will also likely sell the Lightning EarPods separately. The new EarPods will feature a small Digital to Analog converter in the connector.

If the rumors prove to be true, that will mean that headphone companies will either need to make their headphones with Lightning cables or offer adapters. Selling adapters may be the way most companies go, as there are other phones and devices that will rely on 3.5mm headphone ports for a long time.

Bluetooth headphones and speakers will still work with the iPhone 7.

Current iPhones with Lightning charging ports can already use headphones that use Lightning connectors. Very few headphones featuring a Lightning connector have been made.

Though there are few options available, you can buy Lightning connector headphones right now. The Fidelio NC1L headphones from Philips or the JBL Reflect Aware earbuds made by Hermon are two examples of currently available Lightning headphones.

An iPhone lacking a headphone port will almost certainly anger a large number of consumers. Every time Apple changes a charger, port, or connector, people go crazy. This rumored change would be one of the most drastic Apple has ever taken.

Just a few years ago, when Apple introduced the iPhone 5 with a Lightning port instead of the old charging port, consumers lost it. Now they had to buy new accessories and forget about their old chargers. The switch from the headphone port to Lightning will likely be even more annoying for consumers.

As 9To5Mac noted, Apple once considered dropping the 3.5mm port in favor of the much less popular 2.5mm port. Ultimately, Apple decided to give up on the idea due to customers complaining.

A lot of Apple fans didn’t like the new MacBook, which only has two ports. One port is the headphone jack, the other is used for charging and using devices like a mouse or thumbdrive. The charging port is a USB?C port, which few companies are currently using.

If the idea of switching to a Lightning port for audio needs proves to be unpopular, Apple may scrap the idea. There’s still plenty of time before the iPhone 7 plans are set in stone. And the rumors regarding the switch could be entirely inaccurate.

We won’t know for sure what new features the iPhone 7 will have until Apple unveils them next year. What we do know is that the new phone will almost certainly be lighter than the current iPhone 6s.

[Photo by Kiichiro Sato/AP]