Photos appeared online today of one of the biggest new features of the forthcoming iPhone 7: a headphone adapter. That’s because the next iPhone is expected to ditch the ubiquitous 3.5mm headphone jack to save space, pushing headphone users to switch to Bluetooth or Lightning alternatives.
The leak is the most realistic-looking so far, with Apple’s characteristic graduated yet sleek style. Previous leaks were a bit ungainly, but this is a believable in-box accessory. If the leak is legitimate, it would mean that Apple won’t ship Lightning headphones (‘AirPods’) in the box; instead we’ll see these purely as a premium upgrade that’s sold separately.
The leak comes from tinhte.vn, which has a good track record in photographing Apple goods before they’re officially announced, but it’s hardly guaranteed. There’s also a video from the same source, if you’d like to see it:
Additional iPhone 7 news
That was just some of the iPhone news this week; other stories suggested that we’d see three models (called the iPhone 7, 7 Plus and 7 Pro) rather than the two models we’ve come to expect. The new addition, the Pro, should have the same (or at least similar) dimensions to the iPhone 7 Plus, but will come with a dual rear-facing camera and a Smart Connector for additional accessories to be connected. On the iPad Pro it was used for keyboard cases, but we’d guess that battery cases would make more sense – particularly if the Lightning port is taken up by your headphones.
The final big story is the date that Apple should be releasing their new iPhone models: September 16th. That would place pre-orders starting around a week earlier, September 9th, and Apple’s announcement event is rumoured for September 5th… so just over a month to go. That comes via another usually reliable source, @evleaks aka Evan Blass of Venture Beat.
Wrapping up
Thanks for taking a look at the news, and be sure to let us know what you think in the comments below!