Apple is planning to start streaming high-resolution audio in Apple Music next year, according to sources from Japan’s Portable Audio Festival. Reports suggest that we’ll see 96kHz / 24-bit music streaming, which will spur the production of higher-quality audio peripherals.
The Verge suggests that headphone manufacturers are already working to produce models that use the iPhone’s Lightning connection, instead of the 3.5mm audio jack that’s been included in every iPhone so far. High resolution audio is possible through analogue 3.5mm connections of course, but using the digital Lightning connector instead allows for headphones with integrated Digital to Analogue Converters (DACs) and amplifiers.
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With an ecosystem of Lightning headphones (and adapters), Apple would be free to remove the 3.5mm audio port in future phones. That may not be so far away — the latest rumours suggest that Apple will ditch the port on the iPhone 7, which should debut in September next year. That would allow the body of the phone to become thinner than ever before. The 3.5mm headphone jack is the thickest part of many mobile phones, so it makes sense that it’s the next element to go in the pursuit of an ever-lighter and ever-slimmer form factor.
As Apple position their Lightning port as the future of high-definition audio, concept artists have started to imagine an iPhone 7 without a headphone jack. German artist Eric Huismann has produced one of the best concepts so far, showing off a slimmer iPhone 7 with wireless AirPods to replace the wired EarPods.
What do you think of the rumoured removal of 3.5mm port and a switch to Lightning audio from the iPhone 7? Let us know in the comments below!