iPhone 7 May Feature Thinner, Waterproof Body With No Headphone Jack and Wireless Charging

[MacRumors]

Apple's iPhone 7 may feature wireless charging and a thinner waterproof body with no headphone jack, according to a new report from Fast Company that is in line with previous iPhone 7 rumors from the Asian supply chain.

Citing a source with "knowledge of the company's plans," Fast Company says the iPhone 7 will not include a headphone jack in an effort to make the device even thinner than the iPhone 6s. The device will also "very likely" be waterproof and support some form of wireless charging.

Apple is said to be working with Cirrus Logic to adapt the audio chipset in the iPhone to work with the Lightning port. With no 3.5mm headphone jack, the Lightning port, which is currently used for charging, will also be used to transmit sound to wired headphones. The chipset may also include new noise-canceling technology to remove background noise during music playback and phone calls.

According to Fast Company's source, Apple may not ship Lightning-connected EarPods alongside the iPhone 7, instead opting to sell noise-canceling Lightning-connected headphones separately under its Beats brand. It is not clear if that means the iPhone 7 will come with no EarPods or if Apple will ship standard EarPods with some kind of adapter.

Would you prefer the iPhone 7 have a 3.5mm headphone jack or all-in-one Lightning connector? https://t.co/ZsmMqskbOB - MacRumors.com (@MacRumors) November 30, 2015

While Fast Company's source sounds sure of the removal of the headphone jack, there is a caveat about the potential inclusion of wireless charging technology and waterproofing. Apple is said to be working on these technologies at the current time, but Fast Company warns that the features could be pulled ahead of when the iPhone 7 goes into production.

Wireless charging is a feature that has been long rumored for potential inclusion in the iPhone and it's certainly technology that Apple has been exploring for many years, based on patents and earlier iPhone and Apple Watch rumors. A waterproof iPhone 7 body made from a new non-aluminum composite material is a rumor that first surfaced a few months ago. Further rumors have suggested the new material will also allow Apple to do away with the prominent antenna bands that were included on the iPhone 6s.

The removal of the headphone jack was first reported by Japanese site Mac Otakara and has since been backed up by a supply chain rumor, but Apple has been laying the groundwork for the elimination of the jack for several months. In 2014, the company introduced a new MFi program to allow third-party manufacturers to develop headphones that connect to iOS devices over Lightning, paving the way for Lightning-equipped headphones like the Philips Fidelio M2L.

Mark Sullivan, who penned today's rumor, has a bit of a mixed track record in the pieces he's written for Fast Company and VentureBeat. His sources accurately predicted some iPhone 6 features like the Qualcomm MDM9825 LTE chip, but he also reported that Apple was working with Swatch to develop the Apple Watch, a rumor that turned out to be untrue.

Apple's iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are expected to be released in September of 2016. Along with the above-mentioned rumored features, the device will also include an upgraded A-series processor and it could include features like an improved camera. Other rumors specific to the iPhone 7 Plus have suggested it could include a 256GB storage option, a 3,100 mAh battery, and 3GB RAM.

Article Link: iPhone 7 May Feature Thinner, Waterproof Body With No Headphone Jack and Wireless Charging

 

[sputnikv]

Out with the old.

 

[agsystems]

"in an effort to make the device even thinner than the iPhone 6s"

The question is who is asking for this? Thinner phone means thinner battery and about the same battery life we've been getting lately.

 

[apolloa]

Ive must have nightmares at night......

Must make iPhone thinner must make iPhone thinner must make iPhone thinner..

They are waaayyy too obsessed with thinness for no reason or gain.

Their is no real reason what so ever to remove the headphone port apart from for Apple to make even more profit, people should really realise this, a set standard used for years and years and Apple want to change it when no one has been asking for it to be changed. In fact I remember devices that ditched the traditional headphone jack and provided adapters and they never did too well.
Sony also manage VERY VERY well to make their devices fully watertight with both fully exposed USB AND headphone ports so that is no reason either.

Is it really that hard for Apple to listen to it's customers and actually give MORE battery life? Not the same or less battery life just to accommodate a thinner phone?

 

[aziatiklover]

Nice! Can't wait. I have been using my Dr beat bluetooth head set and never look back.

 

[arggg14]

Apple killed the CD, point and shoot cameras, Flash, Netbooks, etc. Next up, the 3.5mm headphone jack.

 

[jmh600cbr]

Wireless or contact charging is what I need and expect

 

[dlewis23]

Thinner phone means thinner battery and about the same battery life we've been getting lately.

Not if the rumor of a 3,100 man battery is true.

 

[pgiguere1]

Before people panic over Apple's obsession with thinness, realize removing the 3.5mm jack would save some internal space regardless of how thin the iPhone 7 will be. That means that the iPhone 7 could have the same thickness as the 6 while having a larger battery due to internal space saved.

Two components would be removed by this move, the relatively large 3.5mm jack module and the DAC (digital to analog converter), which would now be integrated in headphones rather than inside your phone. The DAC is one of the largest component on the PCB right now, I believe only the SoC, NAND and LTE modem are larger.

Personally, I don't think the iPhone 7 should be thinner than the 6, but I would still appreciate if the 3.5mm jack got removed.

On top of the saved internal space, moving to Lightning provides certain benefits:

• Possibility of using a DAC that's better than the one in the iPhone in high-end headphones.
• Less degradation due to the transmission through an analog cable. Also less likely to hear a hiss when moving the jack due to dust etc.
• Possibility of headphones recharging your phone or vice-versa. Particularly useful for docks and soundboxes that both charge your phone and play music using a single cable.
• Possibility of sending additional data from your headphones to your phone. Stuff like battery level in noise-cancelling headphones. Or increased reliability and features of headphone remotes.

Edit: Scratch that about the DAC removal part. As some have pointed, you still need it to use internal speakers. Apple may choose a lower-quality internal DAC that's significantly smaller though, since you don't need a good DAC just for speakers.

 

[EvilEvil]

They better have wireless charging!

 

[Slix]

Still not sure about this one. Why include the 3.5mm headphone jack on the Retina MacBook and then drop it from the iPhone so quickly after? Especially since the only other jack on the MacBook is the USB-C connector.

 

[TheKrs1]

I'm ok to lose the jack for:

• Waterproofing
• save space for other components

I'm not ok to lose the jack for:

• Thinner phone.

 

[Iphtashu Fitz]

It'll be interesting to see what consumers think if these rumors do indeed turn out to be true. I have two lightning connectors dangling loose in my car - one for me to plug my phone in and one for my wife when she's in the car with me. It's a handy way of keeping the phones charged while I'm driving, and she gets to surf Facebook, etc. while hers is charging. She also occasionally listens to her own music/videos with headphones to avoid distracting me. How would she be able to charge the phone & listen to it while a passenger if it was wireless charging only?

 

[HopefulHumanist]

"in an effort to make the device even thinner than the iPhone 6s"

The question is who is asking for this? Thinner phone means thinner battery and about the same battery life we've been getting lately.

I'm thinking it's to shave off weight to make the phone more resilient to drops. Personally, I don't care if the battery gets smaller as long as the phone gets the same battery life.

Smaller battery would mean faster charging too.

 

[Bigsk8r]

I would take same thickness as current, but with a little more battery volume and waterproof all day long.

In another thread, the audiophiles were griping about losing the jack. If I want to go for pure audiophile sound, I am going to do it in my quiet house with true audiophile gear.

 

[macnewbie91]

Apple killed the CD, point and shoot cameras, Flash, Netbooks, etc. Next up, the 3.5mm headphone jack.

Apple will kill the 3.5mm headphone jack on their own products, but that doesn't mean it's going be a trend in every other electronic product out there.

If you can only buy a few, mediocre sounding headphones with a lighting connection for $79, people would rather have a device where you can have decent sounding headphones, a 3.5mm jack, and where there's already a huge market for them at a much lower price.

Personally if Apple wants to kill the 3.5mm headphone jack on their phones, just give out Bluetooth headphones with every iPhone. Move the industry forward by going with wireless technology.

Wireless charging, wireless headphones, add an AMOLED screen, add MST, re-design the back out of liquid-metal, and then waterproof the device. I'd buy the iPhone 7 if it included all of those new features.

 

[Vicrooloo]

Non-aluminum? Sad face
Thinner body? Happy face
No 3.5 mm jack which means audio over bluetooth (less battery life) or buying new earbuds/headsets (expensive)? Sad face

 

[djcerla]

People with wired headphones look like dinosaurs once you start using Bluetooth headsets.

Beats will release lightning-charging Bluetooth headphones, just plug into the iPhone for some minutes to have enough juice for the workout just in case you forgot to recharge at home.

 

[Izauze]

Removing the 3.5mm potentially interferes with a number of the basic needs of their users. *But* Apple may have good solutions to address those needs in another way. We shall see how they handle it, I suppose... And whether what we gain is worth what we lose.

Need: To listen to iPhone audio via headphones out of the box
Good Solution: Include new lightning or bluetooth EarPods
Bad Solution: Include adapter and old 3.5mm EarPods
Ugly Solution: No longer included

Need: To charge and listen at the same time
Good Solution: Add wireless charging
Bad Solution: 2-to-1 adapter
Ugly Solution: No longer possible

Need: To use my existing wired headphones or speakers
Good Solution: Adapter, included
Bad Solution: Adapter, purchased separately
Ugly Solution: No longer possible

 

[Alphabetize]

Not really digging this rumor on removing the headphone jack. I'm not an audiophile by any means, but there are certainly headphones I prefer over others, and the one's I have now are extremely affordable and sound really great. Not really into getting expensive wireless headphones and replacing them when they break so often.

 

[street.cory]

I don't understand how removing the headphone jack would allow them to make the iphone more waterproof than the lightning connector, speakers, microphone, or the other buttons on the phone.

 

[bushido]

waterproof would be awesome, id sacrifice a headphone jack for it

 

[ccrunner_tj]

Including wireless charging would mean that there is a way to charge the phone while using lightning-enabled headphones, I suppose. But it seems that the removal of the headphone jack is more of a push towards wireless headphones.

 

[LordVic]

Apple killed the CD, point and shoot cameras, Flash, Netbooks, etc. Next up, the 3.5mm headphone jack.

Except that unlike those other things, which effectively were already on their way out

CD's were already old, and had USB devices, which were standard that could do all that a CD could do, but much faster. It was fairly easy to mvoe away from CDs

Point and Shoot Cameras still exist today . but yeah, with Smartphone Camera's becoming fairly good, the need for most people to have a dedicated point and shoot camera doesn't exist. but Apple didn't fundamentally change anyhting there. Smartphone cameras took over because they still produced exactly the same thing the cameras did. standard images that could be opened and used in any image program.

Flash still lives And overwhelmingly, ti was HTML5 that will kill it.

Netbooks killed themselves. They were slow, buggy, and generally cheap POS's.

the difference with all these, and the 3.5 MM jack, is there isn't something that does it better. There's not something out there that will do it cheaper. There's nothing on the market that has come along and become a standard to replace the 3.5mm jack. Apple getting rid of it now, would mean that the billions of 3.5mm based earphones that have sold in the last few decades, are completely incompatible with your new phone

Have hundreds of dollars in headphone equipment? Tough luck, you can't use them with your iPhone anymore (unless you buy an adapter for 79.99 f course!)

Or buy all new audio equipment that uses lightning ports or bluetooth. both introduce a lot of complexity towards headphones. The magic of headphones is the simplicity. They can range from super audiophile devices with their own built in Amps, to simple speakers attached to two dumb wires. It doesn't matter, As long as you use that 3.5mm audio jack, you have easy access to analogue audio.

Are you seriously keen on being in the situation that you would have to throw away every single headphones and buy all new ones just because a plug changed? Or hvaing to remember to bring an adapter with you just to listen to music? Or remember to charge your bluetooth devices before you leave as well?

 

[BornAgainMac]

Get rid of all wires. Water can still go in that lighting hole.