The iPhone 7 rumor mill is currently focused on determining whether or not Apple will ship its next smartphone without a 3.5mm headphone jack. Two reports have come out to suggest that that’ll be the case, and now a third has surfaced to back the previous rumors up.
Sources tell 9to5Mac that the iPhone 7 will indeed ship without a standard 3.5mm headphone jack. That means that if you want to connect wired headphones to the device, you’ll need a pair with a Lightning port. It’s said that Apple’s new EarPod earphones will be able to connect over Lightning.
Meanwhile, Apple is reportedly also prepping a new pair of totally wireless Beats earphones. These new earphones will be the type that you stick inside of your ear, not ones that rest on or over your ears, and it’s said that there won’t even be a cable connecting the two earphones together. The new Beats earphones will allegedly include a carrying case that doubles as a charger for the earphones when you’re not wearing them. They may also include a noise-cancelling microphone so that you can take calls and use Siri while using them. One detail that’s not know is how much they’ll cost.
Rounding out today’s report is word that the iPhone 7 is expected to be announced this fall, but that Apple hasn’t yet settled on a design. Non-s branded iPhone models typically have a new design, but Apple is said to be testing three different iPhone 7 designs, including an all-new model that’s thinner than the iPhone 6s as well as a backup design that’s very similar to the 6s.
As I’ve mentioned previously, it wouldn’t be a total shock to see Apple release an iPhone 7 without a 3.5mm headphone jack. The Cupertino firm is no stranger to making controversial hardware decisions, like shipping the original iPhone without 3G and launching the iPhone 5 with a new connector that didn’t work with the company’s 30-pin connector. An iPhone 7 without a 3.5mm headphone jack will certainly cause a bit of a brouhaha, but for folks that have a pair of 3.5mm headphones that they can’t part with, there will almost assuredly be Lightning-to-3.5mm adapters available.
