Apple Rumored to Ditch Headphone Jack on ‘IPhone 7’ for Lightning Connector Audio
Citing sources familiar with Apple’s plans, Mac Otakara reports next year’s iPhone, tentatively dubbed “iPhone 7,” will come sans headphone jack to accommodate a form factor that supposedly shaves more than 1mm off current iPhone thickness. The change is perhaps inevitable, as the existing 3.5mm industry standard jack module is already a tight fit in Apple’s iOS hardware. As part of the transition to Lightning, Apple will reportedly outfit its gratis EarPods headset with a digital-to-analog converter integrated into its plug. Third-party manufacturers might be forced to follow suit or create a Lightning-to-analog adapter if one is not provided by Apple. Apple hinted at a potential move to Lightning-enabled headphone accessories at a “Designing Accessories for iOS and OS X” session at WWDC last year.
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