When it comes to iPhone rumors, where there’s smoke there’s usually fire. Rumors have been circulating since 2014 that Apple would eliminate the headphone jack on its next iPhone model. While it didn’t come true in 2014 or in 2015, it seems all but certain to finally happen in 2016.
Why is Apple is getting rid of the iPhone headphone jack?
Getting rid of the iPhone headphone jack will allow Apple to make the iPhone 7 a few millimeters thinner because the headphone jack is 3.5mm thick, which means the iPhone has to be at least about 7.1mm thick when you consider the space needed on each side of the headphone jack component to maintain structural integrity. By eliminating the headphone jack from the next iPhone, it will also make more room for battery and other internal components, because the standard headphone jack is about a centimeter and a half long. That may not sound like much but the headphone jack already takes up about as much internal space as the current camera.
Finally, another reason for Apple to get rid of the iPhone headphone jack is to improve the phone’s water resistance. Headphone jacks are notoriously difficult to make waterproof and with tens of thousands of iPhones damaged each year due to water exposure, eliminating the iPhone’s headphone jack will help prevent some phones from getting damaged if they’re exposed to water.
When will the next iPhone come out?
iPhone 7 will be released in September, 2016.
Article continues below
How will iPhone headphones work without headphone jacks?
There are two alternatives to the normal headphone jacks that iPhones can already use today: wireless headphones, and lightning headphones.
Wireless headphones
Wireless headphones connect to your iPhone using the Bluetooth standard to stream music from your device despite being several feet away, such as inside a pocket. Rechargeable Bluetooth wireless headphones are already among the top selling types of headphones today. Browse top selling wireless headphones.
Lightning headphones
Even if the iPhone ditches the headphone jack, Apple’s iPhone will still maintain at least one port for charging and data: the Lightning port. The Lightning port replaced the legacy 30 pin connector several years ago and it’s a very thin port that can transfer very high quality audio data to a pair of lightning headphones.
Lightning headphones use Apple’s lightning connector instead of a normal 3.5mm headphone jack. Can you buy lightning connector headphones today? Yes! Several manufacturers are already making Lightning jack headphones even before Apple has released its iPhone 7 without the headphone jack.
Check out our related articles to find Lightning connector headphones:
What are the Best Lightning Cable Headphones?
What are the Best Lightning Earbuds & Lightning Earphones?
You can also connect your regular pair of normal headphones using the Lightning jack using a Lightning to Headphone Adapters & Converter.