Apple unlikely to include Lightning-to-headphone jack converter with 2018 iPhones, analyst says

Analyst report on Cirrus' quarterly earnings indicates Apple won't be bundling the converter with this year's new iPhone models.

Apple supplier Cirrus Logic, which makes audio hardware for products like iPhone, on Wednesday announced quarterly revenue of $254.5 million. The number beat estimates and according to one analyst offers a clue about Apple's iPhone plans for this fall.

In a note to investors, Cowen analyst Matthew D. Ramsay said Cirrus' guidance for its fiscal second quarter "all but confirms that Apple will not bundle the DAC headset converter 'dongle' in its new iPhone models." Ramsay went on to argue that the converter will continue to ship in some legacy models, just not the new ones.

Apple, according to the note, makes up 76 percent of Cirrus' revenue, making the iPhone maker's health very important to Cirrus' bottom line.

Another analyst, Barclays' Blayne Curtis, made a similar prediction back in April.

Apple dropped the headphone jack from the iPhone in 2016, instead routing audio out through the Lightning port. To help ease the transition to Lightning, Apple bundled a Lightning-to-3.5mm adapter with every new iPhone. A teardown of the part suggested DAC chips used for signal conversion were designed by Cirrus.

Apple continued to include the adapter with iPhone models released in 2017, but that practice is expected to end with this year's handset lineup.

56 Comments

macxpress 16 Years · 5913 comments

About 6 years ago

Oh boy!!!! Here we go! The internet is gonna explode with this one!

Soli 9 Years · 9981 comments

Sweet! Now please also move to a 1M Lightning-to-USB-C cable and a more powerful PSU for about 2–4 years before dropping the PSU altogether.

Wittlewooster 7 Years · 1 comment

So, a Trillion dollar company won't include the dongle with their newest, most expensive 2018 phones. I wonder if we will be able to buy it at the Apple store for $39.99? I see how they have become a trillion dollar company. Ugh.....it may be time to reevaluate my loyalty to Apple....

slurpy 15 Years · 5390 comments

I was going to to post a sarcastic "so a trillion dollar company won't include.." meme post, but I see some idiot beat me to it, in a serious fashion. Any rational person knows this has little to do with cost, and everything to do with Apple's minimalism, both in terms of packaging and product use, and drive to push forward bluetooth adoption.

anome 16 Years · 1545 comments

slurpy said:

I was going to to post a sarcastic "so a trillion dollar company won't include.." meme post, but I see some idiot beat me to it, in a serious fashion. Any rational person knows this has little to do with cost, and everything to do with Apple's minimalism, both in terms of packaging and product use, and drive to push forward bluetooth adoption.

Who is cheaper, the company that doesn't include a $6 adapter in the box with their $800 phone that the majority of people will never need, or the user that won't spring for the $6 adapter if they need it?
It's kind of obvious this was going to happen at some point. This year is 2 years since they got rid of the headphone jack, I suspect most people who need an adapter already have one.