Alleged 'iPhone 7' cable suggests Apple could include 3.5mm headphone jack after all

Despite a plethora of rumors and alleged design leaks suggesting Apple's next iPhone won't include a legacy headphone jack, a new part from China claimed to be for the "iPhone 7" depicts space for a 3.5-millimeter input.

The cable, purported to be for a 4.7-inch "iPhone 7," was posted to Chinese microblogging site Weibo, and spotlighted by Nowhereelse.fr. It shows a layout largely similar to the cable for Apple's iPhone 6s, and includes space for both the Lightning port and a headphone jack.

Thus far, virtually all "iPhone 7" leaks have suggested Apple will move away from the headphone jack. Instead, Apple is rumored to ship a pair of Lightning-connected EarPods with its next iPhone, and to push accessory makers to offer their own Lightning headphones.

Apple is also rumored to be working on a pair of Bluetooth EarPods that would recharge through the iPhone's Lightning port and be sold separately. And alleged "iPhone 7" case leaks have suggested the back of the device could feature a Smart Connector, which would allow for the device to be recharged, much like an iPad Pro, while using headphones through the Lightning port.

Apple is expected to launch its next-generation iPhone in September, its usual annual timeframe. It's likely to start at the same $649 starting price as Apple's current flagship handset, the iPhone 6s.

32 Comments

ireland 18 Years · 17436 comments

About 8 years ago

*alleged

lkrupp 19 Years · 10521 comments

The sad thing is that all this rage is based on rumor alone. IF the 3.5mm jack remains the enraged crowd will claim victory over Apple. And all because of a rumor. Sad.

hodar 14 Years · 366 comments

Other than "ALLEGED" size, there is no reason to get rid of the 3.5mm jack. All headphones, all speakers are analog devices. They are simple motor windings that move a diaphragm either up or down; depending upon current flow and the displacement is based upon the amount of the current. If Apple went digital, all they would be doing is moving the D/A converter from the phone, to the speaker - simply moving the conversion a matter of a foot or two would do ZERO to the fidelity of the music. I would say that the fidelity of the music would be more affected by the overall quality of the D/A converter, and the quality of the Power Supply that would power the D/A converter.

Odds are that the Quality of the D/A converter in a vast majority of headphones, would be inferior to the quality of the D/A converter and power supply found in your common cell phone. Why? Well, for starters your cell phone has a pretty nice microprocessor and a pretty robust battery. There is a huge quality in your cell phone, and the price drop found in mass production cannot be discounted - when compared to the individual costs that would be passed on to the consumer among the multitudes of headphone suppliers - who will all use their own brand of D/A converters and other cost savings in power supplies - in order to maximize profits. The odds are that unless you spend an inordinate amount of money, you will be worse off with a USB-C headphone, than you are with a decent quality 3.5mm headphone.

redraider11 9 Years · 186 comments

hodar said:

Other than "ALLEGED" size, there is no reason to get rid of the 3.5mm jack. All headphones, all speakers are analog devices. They are simple motor windings that move a diaphragm either up or down; depending upon current flow and the displacement is based upon the amount of the current. If Apple went digital, all they would be doing is moving the D/A converter from the phone, to the speaker - simply moving the conversion a matter of a foot or two would do ZERO to the fidelity of the music. I would say that the fidelity of the music would be more affected by the overall quality of the D/A converter, and the quality of the Power Supply that would power the D/A converter.
Odds are that the Quality of the D/A converter in a vast majority of headphones, would be inferior to the quality of the D/A converter and power supply found in your common cell phone. Why? Well, for starters your cell phone has a pretty nice microprocessor and a pretty robust battery. There is a huge quality in your cell phone, and the price drop found in mass production cannot be discounted - when compared to the individual costs that would be passed on to the consumer among the multitudes of headphone suppliers - who will all use their own brand of D/A converters and other cost savings in power supplies - in order to maximize profits. The odds are that unless you spend an inordinate amount of money, you will be worse off with a USB-C headphone, than you are with a decent quality 3.5mm headphone.

"No reason" to get rid of the headphone jack? You mean other than the fact that less holes in the phone mean better sealing from water and dust right? Or what about the fact that it is an old technology that eventually will fade out. There are other reasons too, but to say no reason is extremely ignorant.