Chinese supply chain reports Apple may remove the 3.5 mm headphone jack from iPhone 7

Earlier reports indicated that Apple would forgo the 3.5 mm headphone jack in its iPhone 7 smartphones. Several Chinese supply chain sources confirmed today that the jack could be removed from the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus phones. Instead, the company will introduce wireless headphones or wired headphones that are connected through a Lightning port.

A Japanese blog called Macotakara (translated) published the news last month that Apple plans to remove the 3.5 mm headphone jack to encourage people to use the wireless version of its EarPods. Although the news was not confirmed then, a Chinese website named Anzhou wrote today that Chinese retailers will not supply the 3.5 mm port with Apple’s next iPhones. However, Apple was not available to comment.

Apple fans were not happy with the news since every other smartphone in the market uses a 3.5 mm headphone jack that delivers a much better sound quality for music than the wireless models. The reason for removing the headphone jack is to save space on the iPhones so that they could be slimmer.

Lightning headphones are different from wired connections like headphone jacks. A Lightning headphone has cable that is plugged directly into the Lightning port on an iPhone. Unlike headphone jacks that help create analog connections, Lightning headphones create a digital connection. The Lightning headphone includes an internal DAC (digital-to-analog converter) and an amplifier configuration, so a built-in DAC is not required in the iPhone, reports CNET.

The Lightning headphone has a drawback though which is you cannot charge your iPhone while you have the headphone plugged into the Lightning port of your phone. This means you can charge your phone only when you are not listening to music.

Apple might opt for 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch screen sizes for its next iPhone 7 smartphone series. You may expect the iPhone 7 to get a 2GB RAM like its predecessors, the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. There is a possibility that Apple may unveil its iOS 10 software in the iPhone 7, notes PCAdvisor.