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Sketchy Photos Show Off Lightning-Enabled EarPods for iPhone 7

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A new image found on microblogging service Weibo shows off what Lightning adaptor EarPods might look like if Apple launches the iPhone 7 without a 3.5mm headphone jack, which has been gaining traction since it was first rumored last November.

The images, discovered by iPhone7.nl (Google Translate), are almost certainly a knockoff due to a disproportionate Lightning plug that appears far wider than the thin adaptors currently bundled in with products like the iPhone 6s, 6s Plus, and Apple Watch Magnetic Charging Dock.

iPhone-7-EarPods-sketchy-800x528.jpg

Otherwise, the EarPods appear largely similar to the model sold by Apple today, with the same slim, rubbery white cable and inline volume control, the latter component of which appears to be somewhat warped in the first image posted on Weibo. Despite the slim chance that these are official Apple EarPods, it's an interesting glimpse into what the long-rumored Lightning headphone adapters could look like come September.

Rumors about the removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack began late last year, and have since coalesced into reports that its omission will in fact be the focus of the iPhone 7, which could help make the 2016 iPhone up to 1mm thinner than the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus.

The expected shift into a Lightning port-only future for iPhones would require users to either use Apple's first party Lightning EarPods, carry an adapter dongle to use traditional 3.5mm headphones, or make an early switch to a wireless, Bluetooth option with the added worry of battery life.

Article Link: Sketchy Photos Show Off Lightning-Enabled EarPods for iPhone 7
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2016/06/29/sketchy-photos-lightning-earpods/
I still don't think this is the way Apple will go..
It's going to be all about the wireless.
Wireless ear/headphones.. wireless charging..

Whether they will still include (wireless) earphones in the box with the iPhone is a different matter.
 
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So somebody made a crappy lightning connected pair earpods? This was inevitable with all the rumors swirling but why does such an obvious fake even get attention.
 
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i hope they will sell them in 10pcs bundle pack, since i will be breaking those connectors like breathing.
 
Dilster3k said:
I mean they will have to put the DAC somewhere, right?
Click to expand...
Not necessarily. The phone already has its own DAC, so provided the lightning port can send out an audio signal -- and nobody seems quite sure whether it does today or not, but even if it doesn't, Apple could easily make it do so -- the headphones wouldn't need their own.
 
BMcCoy said:
I still don't think this is the way Apple will go..
It's going to be all about the wireless.
Wireless ear/headphones.. wireless charging..

Whether they will still include (wireless) earphones in the box with the iPhone is a different matter.
Click to expand...
No one wants to charge headphone. This isn't the way to go!
 
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If it doesn't have a headphone jack, all I ask for is headphones that come with an adaptor.
 
If this is what the actual plug of Lightning EarPods ends up looking like, that will be very unpleasant to use and try to fit in a pocket. That plug is pretty large.
 
BMcCoy said:
I still don't think this is the way Apple will go..
It's going to be all about the wireless.
Wireless ear/headphones.. wireless charging..

Whether they will still include (wireless) earphones in the box with the iPhone is a different matter.
Click to expand...
Wireless charging offers literally no benefit to most users until wireless charging pads are ubiquitous, and they certainly don't offer any manufacturing benefit to Apple, as it means cramming in even more hardware that's essentially redundant as people wouldn't want a phone that only charged wirelessly. So I can't see them doing that anytime soon.
 
Real or not, I can't help but laugh at the tech blog echo chamber decrying the removal of the 3.5 jack. This tells you the level of intelligence driving tech blogs. ...They all know each other, get chummy at events and all think what they say matters.
Nilay Patel being the main doofus on this one.
And they can't even adequately explain their gripe. Especially when not even knowing what Apples solution is. It's all just based on conjeture right now.

They are building a pre-emtive click bait of "outrage"

"How dare they!!"

Truth is, as long as the new phone has a pair of earphones, no one is going to give a rats ass.

And if you are in the hyper minority of .01 percent of the population who owns a pair of $500 dollar headphones to listen to music on a smartphone, then you have other issues and the money for an adopter.
Most people will lose or break their EarPods and just go to the corner store and pay $15 bucks for a new pair without any of the manufactured angst of the click-bait morons who run tech blogs. (Nilay Patel)
 
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Supacon said:
If this is what the actual plug of Lightning EarPods ends up looking like, that will be very unpleasant to use and try to fit in a pocket. That plug is pretty large.
Click to expand...

It has to have some size as it probably contains the DAC and AMP unless both are up in the ear portion(s) of the headphones themselves (something very unlikely in buds). Some rumors imply controls will be built into this part as well. In short, it seems unlikely that the Lightning end will be equivalent in smallish size to the 3.5mm to which we are accustomed. Why? Mostly because it is likely to have other stuff within that is not necessary with 3.5mm.
 
So instead of a DAC and map inside the phone you put one in the base of the Lightning connector, just outside the phone...

Wait, no, now you'll have 2 DACs and 2 amps, since the phone itself still has speakers which needs their own DAC and amp.

"Digital audio" does not make sense in the slightest. Audio is and always will be an analog thing. You still need a DAC and amp somewhere to convert the digital signal into an analog one for the drivers themselves to use. There's no benefit to consumers whatsoever, and it only forces people into buying proprietary stuff that works just on iPhones.
 
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I like them and would be happy if Apple's looked like this. I find it a better design to include the DAC in the lighting end (makes them stronger) than by bulking up the inline controls further.

The design of these in-ear Brightech's for example chooses instead to enlarge the inline controls to much less success IMO:

aULweVj.jpg
 
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I'd strongly prefer a design like this one over the fake one in the article, actually.

Mac Fly (film) said:
I like them and would be happy if Apple's looked like this. I find it a better design to include the DAC in the lighting end (makes them stronger) than by bulking up the inline controls further.

The design of these in-ear Brightech's for example chooses instead to enlarge the inline controls to much less success IMO:

aULweVj.jpg
Click to expand...
 
Mac Fly (film) said:
I like them and would be happy if Apple's looked like this. I find it a better design to include the DAC in the lighting end (makes them stronger) than by bulking up the inline controls further.

The design of these in-ear Brightech's for example chooses instead to enlarge the inline controls to much less success IMO:

aULweVj.jpg
Click to expand...
Amazing that I just said the opposite two post earlier. I guess it's a matter of preference. I actually like your pictured example. Flat cable, nice color and controls that work for my fat hands. :)
 
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