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

pgiguere1 said:
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.
Click to expand...

Beside the DAC available for the internal speaker, you still could use a (better) DAC in the a headphone via the lightning port. With the analog 3.5mm jack this option is not available.
 
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I'd actually be surprised if Apple advertise the next iPhone as waterproof even if it is which it probably would be. Soon as they say it's waterproof your going to get tons of dumb people just putting them in water for no other reason then showing off and should they fail then it has to be covered by warranty. If they don't advertise them as waterproof then Apple doesn't have to cover any damage just like the current 6s.
 
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You just know people are going to buy this thing and discover it doesn't have a headphone jack and throw a fit. Apple should really address this rumor now. I'm waiting to buy an iPhone 7, but if I knew definitively that I needed an adapter to use my headphones and my aux in to my cars, I'd just go buy an iPhone 6S right now. Might bump up 6S sales!
 
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Iphtashu Fitz said:
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?
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Damn, do you have problems :)
 
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Costino1 said:
Who else thinks the wireless charging will be similar to the Apple Watch? I can see there being a circular magnet where the Apple logo is on the phone that clicks onto it....hopefully without the bulge the Watch has on the back.
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Apple will make a killer wireless dock available on day one if this is all true.
 
BornAgainMac said:
Get rid of all wires. Water can still go in that lighting hole.
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Water can go through any number of seams (speaker, camera, microphone, etc.). It's not like the lightning port is a hole directly to the internals of the phone. The only thing in there are the metal contacts. Think of it more as more as a depression rather than a hole.
 
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The bit about a new material interests me most. A quick Google shows a number of options for research into resilient ceramics. Ceramic could be a really good option if it is not brittle.
 
My only gripe about losing the headphone jack is:

Lightning is proprietary. If I buy headphones that just have a lightning cable, I can't even use them with my Mac. (Yes I'm sure there will be an adapter or something, but it's just kind of cumbersome) If this were USB-C, there would be no issue from me. But as it is, we're talking about buying headphones that only work with one product.
 
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Regarding the statement "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": All cellular phones have to ship with a hands-free device (earphones, etc). That is federal law.
 
agsystems said:
"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.
Click to expand...

You can mark me as one of those people asking for a thinner phone :)
 
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street.cory said:
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.
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It won't. Waterproof is just the rolling excuse for rationalizing this rumored decision. If you want real (good) waterproof, ALL of the holes have to go (not just one of them). But Lightning is a very profitable hole while there's no money for Apple in 3.5mm (not lucrative adapters, licensing or a reason to buy only Beats-branded headphones). So get rid of the latter, rumor-spin waterproof to get the most faithful evangelizing the change, but retain the very profitable hole. After all, we do need to make phone calls, text or browse the Internet often when we're underwater. ;)

I'm guessing Apple will achieve more water resistance instead of waterproof (like the Watch)... not because they got rid of one hole but just as a part of continuing to evolve the design of the phone itself.

Lightning will last until is clashes with a future "thin" objective and then we'll get Lightning 2. I believe Bluetooth wireless is a standard that doesn't pay Apple anything of consequence, so it will have to be Lightning 2 or a variant of Bluetooth or Airplay or something else that Apple can patent and then get licensing fees from the headphone makers. This kind of stuff makes me think Apple has almost become Sony (chasing profits by favoring proprietary this & that instead of making the profits on bringing big (more tangible) innovations to market). IMO, licensing & adapters are good for AAPL but a loser for (most) Apple consumers.
 
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Not providing ear phones with iPhone doesn't sound like a great idea.. forcing the user to buy wireless head / ear phones separately.... Head phones aren't convenient for many people, and the battery life for a lot of ear phones are pretty dire and they tend to be quite expensive.

Sounds like BS to me...

A phone can be waterproof and still have ear phone and other connectors... Its been done for other devices out there...
 
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pgiguere1 said:
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.
Click to expand...


But this would mean any headphone without a built in DAC would not work. ( I know the DAC still needs to be there for internal speakers, just responding to the original position posted)
 
They'll release this without the headphone jack. But then they'll release two types of cases. One with the hump for better battery life and one with the hump and a headphone jack build into it. That can easily be made inside their current hump designed case. But all that will come later, just before iPhone 7s hits the market. This not only allows more battery life but brings back your 3.5mm. And the cost will be some crazy number like 129.99 for the one with the jack and battery vs 99.99 for just the battery. They always have a way of making things come out just right, of course at a higher cost.
 
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agsystems said:
"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.
Click to expand...

I know I am asking for this. And you know how I will ask? With my wallet, come this September. Can't wait for an even thinner and lighter model. Waterproofing will be icing on the cake, and I am more than ready to move into the future with digitally connected earphones.

Thank you Apple, for continuing to think different.
 
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jujufreeze said:
Razor-thin-phone with no battery life/3.5 mm jack? No worries, Tim's gotcha covered. Pop on an i-hump with a $49.99 iJack and you're good to go.
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But don't include the weight of the adapter that most of us will probably have to carry around to get full use of the new headphones so the "lighter" claim can also shave a little bit off the current weight.

Besides those 3.5mm holes are SOOOOOO heavy. Kick that out and the phone might levitate... the iPhone Drone edition.;)
 
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I have not used my headphone jack yet so this would be fine with me. Bluetooth headphones and bluetooth to the car so no need. Waterproof would be nice I guess and thinner would be fine so that with the leather case on, its about the size of todays phone without a case.
 
yossi said:
Nothing to do with that. The original iphone was innovative. First of its kind. What new features can they add already? 3d touch? come on. The only thing they can come up with is making the phone thinner and thinner. It is sad and pathetic.
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I wouldn't call the original iPhone innovative seeing as it lacked basic features of handsets costing less at the time. Making the phone thinner is sad, it WILL eventually lead to bending devices unless they make it out of titanium or something, a phone as thin as the iPod Touch the size of the 6 Plus?? Or even thinner because they've ditched the headphone jack! No thanks.

Apple should be making the phone thicker, give it a better battery life, keep the ports, start the damn storage at 32GB!!! And work on the camera instead, give themselves the room to make an amazing camera.
 
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Couldn't this potentially help or resolve the Core Audio issue that many audiophiles and musicians seem to be having and/or complaining about with doing real audio work from iOS devices?
 
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