As we’ve reported several times before, the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are expected to ditch the 3.5mm port, making analogue headphones a thing of the past. In their stead, Apple will focus their attention on wired headphones using the Lightning connector and wireless earbuds. Apple’s EarPods have used the 3.5mm in the past, so two options are a possibility: we’ll see an 3.5mm to Lightning adapter bundled with the new iPhones and the existing EarPods, or we’ll see new EarPods with an integrated Lightning connector. A new leak suggests that it’s going to be the latter.
The photo, reproduced above, shows a set of Apple EarPods; quite normal until you notice the connector. Instead of a 3.5mm jack, we’ve got a Lightning connector, the same plug used to charge and sync the iPhone since the 30 Pin connector was dropped.
Interestingly, the Lightning connector housing is quite large, suggesting the inclusion of a DAC (digital to analogue converter). The larger size could also make the headphones a little less likely to break, which has been a long-standing concern with Apple’s bundled headphones.
The images appeared on Weibo (Chinese Twitter) earlier today, and included multiple angles at pretty good resolutions, meaning they’re slightly more likely to be legitimate. Still, take these photos with a grain of salt. While these leaks could indeed be legitimate, they could also be a deliberate fake made by a digital artist, or a physical object made by carefully wiring together a regular set of EarPods and a Lightning connector. Until Apple announce the iPhone 7, there’s no way to know for sure.
What do you think — is this leak legitimate? Let us know in the comments below, or write to us on Twitter @mobilefun.