First video of functional Lightning EarPods hits the web

Fanning the flames of rumors claiming Apple plans to remove the 3.5mm headphone jack from its next-generation iPhone, a video posted to YouTube on Friday shows off what appears to be a pair of functional Lightning-only EarPods leaked from Chinese parts suppliers.

Like other recent parts leaks, including fresh photos published today, the headphones featured in EverythingApplesPro's video look identical to current EarPods iterations. Instead of terminating in the usual 3.5mm TRRS plug, however, this new version sports Apple's proprietary Lightning connector.

In the minute-long showcase, an unseen narrator is seen plugging the supposed future EarPods model into an iPhone running some flavor of iOS 9. He plays a music track from YouTube and proceeds to demonstrate that the multi-function remote control is operable, in this case managing pause/play and volume settings. The remote's microphone was not tested.

While the video bears the title "iPhone 7 EarPods," it offers no evidence to support claims that Apple will in fact bundle the headphones with an upcoming iPhone model. Indeed, aside from a design shared with current EarPods, the short clip contains no clues suggesting the device is a legitimate Apple product.

That being said, Apple is widely expected to debut a next-generation iPhone with updated internals this fall, the most contentious change being a switch away from the ubiquitous 3.5mm headphone jack format hinted at in supply chain rumors and a multitude of parts leaks.

62 Comments

ericthehalfbee 4489 comments · 13 Years

About 8 years ago

Fake. There's no way Apple would make such a huge and ugly plug to connect to your iPhone. They'll put the electronics in the volume button portion instead.

Soli 9981 comments · 9 Years

ericthehalfbee said:

Fake. There's no way Apple would make such a huge and ugly plug to connect to your iPhone. They'll put the electronics in the volume button portion instead.

Maybe, but let's remember that Apple needs to move the DAC and amp onto the cable, or get real clever with a special chip to keep it inside the iPhone but allow it to dynamically switch from analog to digital signaling depending on what Lightning cable is connected. I'm wishing for the latter, but the former is by far the most likely. As for the styling, for cheap, included EarPods, that seems just fine to me.

jakeb 562 comments · 17 Years

Fascinating. So we're really going to have earphones that can only be used on iOS devices, not Macbooks.

Are we going to see lightning ports on Macbooks now?

Soli said:

ericthehalfbee said:

Fake. There's no way Apple would make such a huge and ugly plug to connect to your iPhone. They'll put the electronics in the volume button portion instead.

Maybe, but let's remember that Apple needs to move the DAC and amp onto the cable, or get real clever with a special chip to keep it inside the iPhone but allow it to dynamically switch from analog to digital signaling depending on what Lightning cable is connected. I'm wishing for the latter, but the former is by far the most likely. As for the styling, for cheap, included EarPods, that seems just fine to me.

Audeze has a nice Lightning cable for their headphones, and they placed everything (DAC/AMP/DSP) inside the portion of the cable that has the buttons. Since it's already there, and taking up space, it makes sense to put the extras there as well, instead of inside the connector at the iPhone.

cali 3494 comments · 10 Years

What an ugly plug, makes 3.5mm audio jacks look futuristic.

I prefer the "AirPods" idea to this. Little earbuds that only work when they're in the correct coordination of each ear and turn off when taken out.

jakeb said:

Fascinating. So we're really going to have earphones that can only be used on iOS devices, not Macbooks.

Are we going to see lightning ports on Macbooks now?

Yeah what a fu**ing mess. If this materializes I hope lightning to 3.5mm adapters are available day one.