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Opinion: Will future iPhones lose the 3.5mm headphone socket? What will Apple do instead?

iphone

Apple has consistently worked at making the iPhone ever slimmer, and has been willing to make compromises to achieve that, most notably in battery-life. But with the iPhone 6 and 6s, it is close to the limit on how slim an iPhone can be – and the reason for that is the oldest piece of tech in the phone. The iPhone 6/6s is not very much thicker than the diameter of the 3.5mm headphone jack.

3-5mm

The latest iPod touch shows that Apple has a little more room for manoeuvre (above photo Anandtech, below iFixit).

ifixit

But really not much. If Apple wants to continue the iPhone’s diet, at some point very soon it’s going to have to ditch the 3.5mm headphone socket in favor of an alternative. There are four possible options open to it … 

First, it could replace the standard 3.5mm audio socket with a 2.5mm one. While 3.5mm has been the standard audio socket for mobile devices for a long time, it’s not the only option out there.

Audio kit originally used a quarter-inch socket (6.3mm) – and high-end home kit often still does. That size was too large for mobile devices, so the 3.5mm system was devised to solve the problem, but some manufacturers went further and opted for 2.5mm instead.

2-5mm

The 2.5mm system never really took off, as 3.5mm was small enough for all the mobile devices that existed at the time, but it’s still out there and Apple could adopt it, shaving off a millimeter by doing so.

There would be some advantages to doing this. You could snap a small 3.5mm to 2.5mm adapter onto any set of headphones without any compatibility issues, and Apple wouldn’t need to make any changes to the electronics inside the iPhone. Adapters are cheap, so Apple could even throw one in with the iPhone, so no-one could grumble about being forced to lay out cash on a new adapter.

One commentator reminded me that Apple has patented a half-height jack. This, too, would require nothing more than a low-cost adapter.

But all this is old tech. If Apple is going to do anything as radical as drop an industry-standard socket, it’s likely to replace it with something hi-tech.

headphones

Which brings us to the second option: drop the audio socket altogether, and co-opt the Lightning socket into performing audio duties as well as power and data. A recent report claimed that Apple plans to do that for the iPhone 7.

That’s possible right now, of course. The Lightning socket can already deliver audio signals, and already does so with a range of audio docks. You can also already buy headphones with Lightning plugs instead of 3.5mm ones (though admittedly the selection available today is rather small).

There are both pros and cons to this approach. On the plus side, Lightning delivers a lossless digital audio signal. This means that headphone manufacturers can include their own digital-to-analog converters, some of which would be of a higher quality than the one built into the iPhone.

Apple’s Digital Audio Module standard also allows headphones to draw power from the iPhone, negating the need to charge the headphones – though at further cost to battery life. Conversely, though, the headphones could supply power to the iPhone, and the protocol supports pass-through power, allowing you to listen to music while the phone is charging.

The big downside, of course, is that you can’t use existing headphones. Because the signal provided by the Lightning port is digital, a simple converter won’t do the trick: the headphones need an on-board DAC to convert to analog sound.

This would normally be a killer argument against the change. Many of us have expensive headphones we love, and we wouldn’t be amused by a new iPhone effectively rendering them obsolete for mobile use.

But there is a potential get-out clause here. It should be technically possible for a DAC in the iPhone to handle the conversion to analog signals, at which point a simple snap-on 3.5mm to Lightning adapter would be all that would be needed. If Apple took that route, existing headphones would continue to work just as they do now.

lightningcable-usbctolightning

The third option, and one a sketchy rumor suggests Apple is playing with, is to replace the Lightning socket with a USB-C one.

You could see an argument for this. The USB-C is an extremely powerful standard that could do everything an iOS device needs and more. Audio is just one of its many capabilities, and it wouldn’t be a problem for manufacturers to create USB-C headphones.

Apple has already adopted USB-C for the 12-inch MacBook, and will almost certainly do so for the complete MacBook range next year. There is something to be said for Apple standardizing on a single port across all devices.

But there are three reasons I think it won’t. First, there was enormous controversy when Apple abandoned the old 30-pin connector in favor of Lightning. Many people were vocal in their objection to Apple making old docks and audio kit effectively obsolete – or at least both fiddly and ugly by the time you added an adapter. It was a change that had to be made eventually, but Apple certainly won’t be in a hurry to make a second change so relatively soon after the first.

Second, while USB-C is incredibly powerful, an iPhone doesn’t need most of those capabilities. No-one is going to be hooking up an iPhone to a Thunderbolt display, and an iPhone doesn’t have the computing power to do half of it anyway.

But the third reason is the real convincer. If creating ever slimmer iPhones is Apple’s reason to abandon the 3.5mm socket, switching to USB-C wouldn’t help much. Product designer Josh Flowers helpfully created this graphic to show the problem: the USB-C socket is pretty much the same height as the 3.5mm socket.

usb-c

So for all these reasons, I think we can rule this one out.

wireless

Which leaves one final possibility: simply remove the headphone socket and point people to wireless headphones as the future.

This would, of course, bring us right back to the ‘existing headphones’ objection. If someone has spent $400-500 and up on a pair of expensive headphones, they are not going to be impressed by Apple providing no means to connect them to an iPhone. You could continue to use them with a Bluetooth headphone adapter, but that’s a very clunky solution.

I’ve often observed that Apple has no problem making ruthless decisions when it comes to what it considers legacy technology. Floppy drives. Optical drives. Upgradable laptops. Most ports, in the case of the 12-inch MacBook. Apple consistently does this earlier than almost everyone else.

But while I’m sure wired headphones will, within a few years, seem as quaint as loading a DVD into a laptop to watch a movie, I don’t think we’re there yet – even for Apple.

pugz-close

So, what will Apple do? My money’s on the Lightning route, with an on-board DAC to maintain compatibility with existing headphones. I think that could realistically happen by the iPhone 7, and I’d put good money on it happening no later than the iPhone 8.

As ever, take our polls and share your thoughts in the comments.

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Comments

  1. RP - 8 years ago

    Can’t believe anyone but those who have stock or other financial concerns vesting in the 3.5 jack really care that much. The average consumer certainly couldn’t care less especially if a FREE set of headphone was included, as it always has.
    If one port could do the job of two, then get rid of it. Just make better wireless headphones.
    There is space savings, probably cost savings for apps getting rid of it, better sound quality, less holes for possible water damage, and for Jony, he can finally sleep well at night with symmetry at the bottom of the iPhone. If I have noticed the lack of symmetry and odd speaker holes, then it must have caused Jony trauma.

    Get rid of the damn thing. Let’s keep on moving forward, the lagers can catch up later.

    • avieshek - 8 years ago

      Plus, you can have dual-speakers or 3D sound that too with symmetry.

    • Inaba-kun (@Inaba_kun) - 8 years ago

      The “free” pair of ear buds sound terrible though, and don’t even have noise cancellation. Anyone with even the slightest interest in audio bins them instantly and buys a real set of cans.

  2. Dave Thornton - 8 years ago

    Where we’re going, we don’t need wires. Its just a question of when. They should also go magsafe-like for power, or truly wireless for that too – nuclear, solar, wind, bio I don’t really care, just hurry up and do it, Apple.

    • cousman95 - 8 years ago

      I like the nuclear idea, but that might just be the Fallout addiction talking.

    • RP - 8 years ago

      The average consumer will not give an F. But the tech blogger echo chamber here will moan and wail. Remember how they all got together and laughed at the “ha ha ha phablet”? I am sure there would have been the same moaning and whining on blogs when apple got rid of the floppy. Apple needs to ignore the loud mouth tech blog doofuses and just do why makes sense for the future of technology.

  3. I really hope the move is to USB-C, especially for the sake of moving headphones past the 3.5mm connector state. With the latest Android devices using USB-C, having the iPhone tag along would make it super simple and worth-while for headphone manufacturers to create USB-C connected products, rather than worrying about Lightning AND USB-C. This is also better for consumers as they don’t have to worry about which version of a particular model they are buying, they would all be compatible with any mobile device (using USB-C).

    The only benefit that I can think of for Lightning is a cash cow and another exclusivity for Apple.

    • bhayes444 - 8 years ago

      They would never switch to USB type C for the one reason they pointed out in this article, and one I’ve told people time and time again: it is thicker than lightning. Apple loves thin devices, why would they switch to a connector that is thicker? Maybe if there is a micro USB type C connector in the future then they could do it…

      • rahhbriley - 8 years ago

        This, so much this. I don’t get how people keep ignoring how thick USB type C is. Ugh…

        They’re keeping lighting until they go wireless.

      • jramskovk (@jramskovk) - 8 years ago

        I agree with you and the article, they will most likely not switch to USB Type-C. Personally I still hope for it as it would make the cable mess so much easier. Eventually more or less everything would be usign the same connector. One connector to rule them all, one can dream right? :)
        I don’t understand why Apple would want to make the iPhone thinner. I’d rather my iPhone 6 was slightly thicker to get rid of the ugly camera bump and that would make it possible to include a bigger battery too.

  4. Joshua Walker - 8 years ago

    There won’t be an onboard DAC. It doesn’t make sense. I think it makes more sense for the DAC to be in the Lightning to 3.5 converter. There is already a DAC in the Lightning to 30pin converter, which is one reason it costs $30.

    I think they’ll give a converter dongle away with each iPhone for a generation or two, then we’ll all be used to it. This also allows some great possibilities of pairing with Apple/Beats wireless headphones. Plug in via lightning and it charges and automatically pairs.

    I think the bigger question is if they’ll still ship wired earbuds, or switch to a cheap-ish bluetooth version. That would really push adoption.

  5. usmansaghir - 8 years ago

    It wouldn’t bother me if Apple actually did this. Having a slimmer iPhone wont be the worse thing. just really hope it doesn’t effect the battery, and would be perfect for Apple to come out with a real game changer on battery life on the iPhone! Getting rid of the ear phone jack lets hope Apple provide EarPods that are wireless. It Would benefit products like the Apple watch too.

  6. I really couldn’t see many people with expensive $400 headphones being upset about Apple removing the 3.5 jack. I mean, who exactly is going to use their $400 pair of headphones on their iPhone anyways?

    • Ben Lovejoy - 8 years ago

      Me – and many others.

    • Inaba-kun (@Inaba_kun) - 8 years ago

      What a moronic comment. So you don’t think people listen to music on their iPhones with real headphones? Maybe you just use yours to make telephone calls, but for most of is its used for audio and email before everything else.

    • sufferingidiots - 8 years ago

      You’re kidding right? Who’s is going to use their expensive headphones with their iPhone?? hahaha

  7. Dima Sin - 8 years ago

    they’re going force us to buy the wireless beats headphones for $200 and up

  8. pira (@ermhmm) - 8 years ago

    They won’t be getting rid of the 3.5mm port any time soon the thinnest device apple has with a 3.5mm port is the ipod nano with a thickness of 5.4 mm. The ipod shuffle could be even thinner but I can’t tell as the only depth measurement on their site is with the clip. The iphone 6s at 7.1mm right now isn’t even as thin as the ipod touch which is 6.1mm thin. Its not the port thats holding them back from making a thin phone, at least not yet.

    • Ben Lovejoy - 8 years ago

      I don’t think you could have the same design compromise on the iPhone as the Nano, though. Nobody really looks at a Nano, but people spend hours looking at their iPhone.

      • erm hmm (@ermhmm) - 8 years ago

        Isn’t the assumption by many; and this article for apple getting rid of the 3.5mm jack is to make the device thinner? I’m not saying they won’t eventually but right now the idea that the 3.5mm is the restricting factor on the iphone getting any thinner isn’t the case. They could easily go through 2 more design iterations (4 years) of the iphone before considering the change to a new connector at which point bluetooth headphones may see wider use and a switch to 2.5mm would be considered. One thing not considered by many is the space freed up internally by not using a connector in the future

      • rahhbriley - 8 years ago

        @ermhmm….initially I was quick to dismiss your suggestion that they would be ditching the jack to make space inside the phone before they would ditch it because of thickness/thinness conflicts. Mostly because it doesn’t really take up that</em) much room. Buuut then I got to thinking about the recent reports that Apple may be trying to embed the fingerprint sensor in the display, reduce the bottom and top bezels, and ditch the physical home button (at least in its current iteration). In that scenario, the reduction of the large top and bottom bezels would be a large volume decrease, and the headphone jack would be sitting directly under the display as opposed to bezel, meaning there could be thickness issues as well.

        Maybe you have something here?! Eventually they have to get rid of the jack, we all understand that, but I think you have an interesting take about the WHY part of the equation. They likely could get away with it for at least another 2 years, 4 miight be stretching it.

        I'm not sure, I need to research this, but could water proofing be another reason for timing on this? I think I read somewhere that the headphone jack wasn't able to be water proofed but that the lightning port could?? I might be pulling that out of my a$$ though….(probably)

      • dailycardoodle - 8 years ago

        I agree with ‘Erm hmm’ and ‘Rahhbriley’ I think. The iPhone could get plenty thinner and maintain the 3.5mm jack. Unless the full screen front rumour is true, in that case it would have to go (5mm approx for jack PLUS screen, touch and glass layer 2-3mm? is 7-8mm)

  9. Mario A Giambanco - 8 years ago

    No problem switching to bluetooth only but it can be a problem switching between audio sources – for example: at work, i’ll stream music from my iPhone but occasionally switch to listening from my iMac. I generally leave a pair of headphones jacked in to the iMac and just use those when I want to listen from my iMac because to switch my bluetooth headphones over requires a dance of turning off the headphones, turning bluetooth on, on my iMac and then powering on the headphones, hoping they connect to the iMac and not the iPhone. Might even have to turn bluetooth off on the iPhone – haven’t done it in a while.

    If they can solve that some how – get rid of the jack.

    • Mario A Giambanco - 8 years ago

      And I find the thinness of the iPad Pro compared to it’s size really unsettling. It feels like handling the glass from an 8×10 picture frame outside of it’s frame. 1 wrong move and it’ll shatter. I don’t think thats the actual case but carrying it around the house makes me very conscious of table corners and wall corners and anything else that might catch the face of the iPad Pro at the wrong angle and just destroy it. The smaller / heavier iPads didn’t feel like this.

      How’s it going to feel carrying a thinner iPhone Plus that endures more abuse? Placed on a table; on a bar countertop; thrown on a bed or a couch. 1 or 2mm thickness reduction might not be a lot visually, but if it feels fragile – it might be more pain then gain.

      Get rid of the jack, but don’t make the phone much thinner.

    • Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 8 years ago

      This is something I think Apple is in a very good place to fix. They own the hardware and software of all of the devices.

      I think initial pairing will be done through lighting/usb like the apple pencil and then after that it will work like choosing airplay speakers from control center and the menu bar on the mac. Maybe they have an even slicker method in the works.

    • sufferingidiots - 8 years ago

      Problem is bluetooth audio is of poor quality. I really cant’ see Apple adopting a bluetooth only solution and forcing everyone to listen to audio in inferior quality.

  10. justincirello - 8 years ago

    Although I wouldn’t mind if they removed the 3.5 headphone jack, I would imagine that plenty of customers wouldn’t be very happy with the change b/c:

    1) Apple made a huge push for Apple Music earlier this summer… Now they are going to remove the headphone jack (i.e. the main way many of us listen to music using our iPhones)? That doesn’t make much sense.

    2) Bluetooth/wireless headphones may be a good option, but you have to remember that bluetooth drains your battery over the day and many people turn their bluetooth off and leave it off for the battery reason. It may help Apple increase the battery size and therefore the battery life, but the constant drain from using the wireless headphones would probably negate that.

    3) To me, the lightning plug in to play music just seems weird. I like the option of playing music and charging my phone.

    Overall, I believe Apple will make the change sooner rather than later. Simply put, the 3.5 jack is old technology and the industry (Samsung, Android, everyone) will ditch the headphone jack at some point. It’s just a matter of when.

  11. JBDragon - 8 years ago

    I never use the headphone jack myself. But others do. It’s also not just for headphones as it can be used for other things like a Card Swpe reader, or a IR blaster, etc. So it has other uses. The iPhone is already to thin. I don’t want it thinner. I ended up installing a case onto my iPhone for the first time because my iPhone 6 was to thin and slippery. I was afraid I’d be dropping it all over the place. I’d rather it as a bit thicker with a bit larger battery and the camera bump gone!!! Not thinner and a ever shrinking battery.

    If the port goes away, fine, but don’t do it to make the phone thinner.

    • Ben Lovejoy - 8 years ago

      The other functionality could be easily moved to the Lightning port. Personally, I’m with you on the thinness, but we’re not in the majority: non-tech users are just wowed by ‘thinnest ever.’

      • As someone else mentioned, the iPod Touch / Nano are much thinner than the iPhone 6S / Plus, so I don’t think removing the 3.5mm is being done only to make the iPhone 7 thinner. There was a rumor a couple of months back that Apple was looking at making the iPhone 7 waterproof. Both of these rumors could be related.

    • Robert Wilson - 8 years ago

      Now there is a point that needs to be considered. There is a lot of devices out there and apps that use the headphone jack for other reasons than for music. Apple is going to have to figure that out.

    • dailycardoodle - 8 years ago

      too

  12. Torrey Huerta - 8 years ago

    Bluetooth-only would be a pretty awesome upgrade, but it does seem like “lightning” headphones would be a nice little boost for Apple profits.

  13. florinnica - 8 years ago

    I think that the percentage of people that plug anything else other than the EarPods that come with the iPhone is ridiculously small (relatively speaking). I mean no offense to any of you (or I should say ‘us’), but we are definitely just a small edge case.

    Also, Ben, I think you’re right with the lightning option. But I think they will give you the option to buy an adapter for your headphones, and it won’t ship with the phone by default. Why? The vast majority won’t use it. They will just leave it in the box forever. And if you cared enough to buy a $500 pair of headphones, you’ll definitely pay $30 for an adapter.

    • Ben Lovejoy - 8 years ago

      I suspect you’re right.

    • Doubtful for a few reasons, not the least of which is that Apple’s headphones have a knack for getting worn out quickly. A move to drop the jack will in no way affect the rest of the industry – there’s no chance of anyone else ever adopting the lightning connector, not in mobile and not in home nor professional audio. I don’t see any upside to losing the port for Apple or anyone else.

      • florinnica - 8 years ago

        I personally don’t think they will do away with it so soon. If they will eventually get rid of it, I personally don’t think it will be with the next iPhone.

        In regard to your arguments, and with all due respect as it is your opinion and we’re certainly entitled to one, I don’t think those are actual issues.

        I don’t see why it would matter if the rest of the industry is or not affected. No one else will adopt the lightning connector because Apple won’t allow it, not because they wouldn’t like to. There will be a really big market for lightning headphones (like it is the case with every other iOS accessory).

        But I do agree with you in regards with any upside to losing the port. There are extremely small upsides that in no way outweigh the downsides (not even close).

      • Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 8 years ago

        Several headphones are already using it. And also are you kidding? Accessory makers love apple. They will be happy to sell new headphones to people who suddenly need a replacement.

  14. Moisés Pinto Muyal - 8 years ago

    iPhone 7 will be 6 or 6,5 mm thick, USB-C is fat, impeaches thinner devices, therefore, out of consideration.
    Lightning, if able, why not. Most top brands Noise Canceling earphones are terrifics.
    Bluetooth is already integrated on iPhones, so noting to add and less cable mess.
    None is a real problem there are options: it could be a Lightning to 3.5mm adapter (cheap Solution) or a Bluetooth 3.5mm earphone jack adapter (more expensive but far more useful and confortable solution).

    • A lightning adapter would be just as expensive as a floating BT headphone adapter. BT adapters are commodity items, lightning adapters with integrated DACs are not.

    • taoprophet420 - 8 years ago

      MFI program sucks and is why Homeakit, AirPlay, and iBeacon devices have been slow to the market. Also how many lightning headphones are in the market now?

      Without licensing fees USB-c is the better way to go. How much thinner does the phone really need to be?

  15. blockbusterbuzz - 8 years ago

    If I’m not mistaken, didn’t Apple recently register the name “AirPods”? If true, then Apple will ditch the 3.5mm audio socket and give new iPhone buyers a cheap pair of Bluetooth headphones with the phone. Finally, they will sell a beautiful Lightning / 3.5mm adapter for $40 or so, giving premium headphone buyers the chance to keep using their gear.

    • dailycardoodle - 8 years ago

      sounds logical. They also need to convince people Bluetooth can sound good enough! Do they use the best A2DP profiles?

  16. moist (@moisterrific) - 8 years ago

    If they remove the headphone port, I hope they put in speakers so the iPhone will finally have stereo sound output. Giving future iPhones USB-C port is highly unlikely given the trend that Apple wants to keep going in the direction of thin and light. What is likely though, is that they give USB-C to the wall adaptor. This way will allow the lightning cable to be compatible with Macs that only have USB-C ports down the road.

    • Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 8 years ago

      “What is likely though, is that they give USB-C to the wall adaptor. This way will allow the lightning cable to be compatible with Macs that only have USB-C ports down the road.”

      For some reason you are the first person I’ve seen say that but it totally makes sense.

      • dailycardoodle - 8 years ago

        Really? It’s pretty obvious they’ll switch to ‘USB-C to Lightning’ cables at some point. Or offer as an option. In-fact are these available now for MacBook users?

  17. IMO, if they’re going to remove the headphone jack they should remove the lightning port at the same time. Both gone in the same update or don’t bother. The headphone jack isn’t restricting the iPhone’s thickness. Besides, how much additional protrusion do you want for the camera lens?

    Once the ports are gone however, they need to step up their game with the wireless technologies, not lag far behind on implementing things like aptX for Bluetooth.

  18. David Parkes, Company Member - 8 years ago

    Another inconvenience resulting from the lightening connector option is that you won’t be able to plug in headphones in addition to having the device plugged in for power. On long road trips, I’ll have the phone charging in the cigarette lighter, but still use ear buds for hands-free calling. Unless I’m missing something here, that won’t be possible if the lightening connector is doing double duty.

  19. Sherwin Zadeh - 8 years ago

    Ben, what about the half-height 3.5mm port Apple patented not long ago (http://9to5mac.com/2015/09/22/apple-patents-half-height-3-5mm-headphone-jack-ready-for-slimmer-future-iphones/).

    There are many advantages of this solution:
    1. Much thinner, obviously
    2. Apple EarPods would have half-height ports and easily fit the new iPhone
    3. Apple EarPods would continue to work with other devices (MacBooks, etc.) with no adaptors
    4. Other headphones would need a very inexpensive adapter. You could always leave this adapter on and these headphones will continue to work with regular 3.5mm ports on other devices.

    Finally, I just want to say that I DON’T want a wireless only option because I actually use my headphones to avoid radiation near my head.

    • Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 8 years ago

      I could see that as what they do in the iphone + models (really the iphone pro). Smaller iphones will fully drop the jack. A half height jack would certainly help and in a phone that’s + size that would be all they need.

  20. Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 8 years ago

    “If creating ever slimmer iPhones is Apple’s reason to abandon the 3.5mm socket,”

    The hell is wrong with everyone? I’ve not heard a single writer about this topic who actually realizes it has very little to do with “thinness”. The male 3.5mm jack is 3.5mm x 3.5mm x **15mm** because it’s a friggen 3 dimensional object.

    On top of that there is even more internal space needed to accept it and the constraints associated with it. It literally has to be positioned somewhere on the edge of the phone, it has to be strong and securely bolted to the frame. Removing the port not only eliminates a relatively large amount of space but removes those constraints. The logic board could be rethought and more flexibly laid out. Moving the jack to the bottom wasn’t because it’s better for users there – it was better for the component layout but removing it entirely is even better.

    Doing it just to make a thinner phone would be stupid. Removing it so they can build a better phone is smart.

    I think wireless is the way to go but it’s not there yet. Thunderbolt would be used to transition with adapters. I expect a new wireless headphone product or vastly improved beats with the new apple watches. I don’t expect it to be cheap or ship with the phones. I think the smartest business approach would not be to make this happen in the “iphone 7” but do it in a new product like an “iphone mini” This way we start the transition. The benefits of removing the port can be shown off to people and the supported tech to transition can develop more.

    • Ben Lovejoy - 8 years ago

      Heh, well remembered – I shall add that

    • modeyabsolom - 8 years ago

      It still requires an adaptor though. And adaptors are an inelegant and possibly unreliable solution.

  21. spiffers - 8 years ago

    Lets say they go for Lightning only, no jack, and no USB-C, hell no. So, as a result the phone could get a lot thinner. We still have a problem.

    The Camera Lense
    Today it sticks out a bit, and if the phone gets even thinner, it would probably stick out even more. Shorter optics = less quality. So, why not look at another Apple Device that has something protruding. Its a bit rounded, as a lense, some leds, almost like a camera. And it also fits to another cable made by Apple. Got it?

    So, why not have the lense in the middle of the phone, smack in the middle, almost like a pocket camera. And use the Apple Watch charger cable to inductive charge the phone. Hell, even the Lightning port could be axed. That could be saved for the iPhone 9 ;)

  22. chrrup - 8 years ago

    How do you play music and charge the phone at the same time with just one single port? right now, this isn’t an issue.
    bluetooth is not an option. i have yet to find something that works in a plane as most bt headsets aren’t loud enough. I don’t like in-ear headphones, i use on or over ear devices and even there, nothing is loud enough and comfortable enough to use for several hours.

  23. Inaba-kun (@Inaba_kun) - 8 years ago

    As an owner of an expensive pair of wired headphones, I don’t intend to replace them for many, many years. Why should I replace them? They work fine and to replace them would a) needlessly waste money, and b) needlessly cost the environment in the manufacture of a new item and disposal of an old one.

    Plus I charge my phone while I listen. I do that as battery life on the iPhone is garbage BECAUSE IT’S ALREADY TOO THIN. Charging whilst listening is absolutely critical, especially for in car GPS use.

    Apple makes idiotic decisions sometimes. This, should it happen, would be a crowning glory of moronic, brain dead, anti consumer bad decisions.

  24. modeyabsolom - 8 years ago

    That surprised me…the USB-C socket is larger than Lightning! Actually thought it was more or less the same size or even smaller, but its at least twice the volume it seems…if the diagram above is accurate.

  25. modeyabsolom - 8 years ago

    I recently looked over the tech specs of the iPod Nano, and according to them its a mere 5.4mm thick, yet still has room for a full size 3.5mm headphone socket.

  26. uniszuurmond - 8 years ago

    Yes, they will be dropping the 3.5mm audio jack in the next year or so, to be replaced by bluetooth audio or even Airplay. But the Lightning port will stay another three years or so, then it will be replaced by conductive charging, so that the iPhone is completely portless.

  27. gadgetbazza - 8 years ago

    I call “Bendgate”. I can’t see the phone getting much slimmer without exaggerating this issue, so I don’t think the port will disappear just yet… But I do agree with the comment about the “Airpod” name and hopefully Apple will throw in a pair of bluetooth buds with the phone going forward.

    Along with the lightening to 3.5 adapter that others have mentioned to keep all parties happy, I suspect also that these will be “accessories” rather than necessity and have to be purchase though.

  28. macnificentseven48 - 8 years ago

    If Apple ditches the 3.5 jack to make the iPhone thinner, competitors will be left behind. They’ll no longer be able to compete by building thinner smartphones unless they follow Apple in also ditching the 3.5 jack. You know they’ll have to follow whatever Apple does because they’re copycats. If Apple leads then the others will follow. Other smartphone manufacturers likely won’t want to make the transition to another connector but they’re not going to have a choice after while. They’ll have to change their roadmap and they won’t like that. The industry will continue to say how Apple can’t innovate but that will be a lie if the whole industry moves to a smaller headphone connector.

    I honestly don’t see what the big deal is in ditching the 3.5 jack. I remember when headphones used to have 1/4″ plugs and most people made the transition to smaller plugs when it became necessary. Holding back change is kind of useless. The transition period tends to bring temporary discomfort but for those who want to hold off, then there will be adapters available to use their older headphones. I think it’s inevitable that the 3.5 jack will disappear for something smaller. For the most part it will be quick and painless.

    • ag80911 - 8 years ago

      While I agree that progress is great – we are talking about drawing power from an even thinner (and presume smaller) battery – unless Apple will manage to draw the same amount of power as the 3.5 plug.

      • Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 8 years ago

        There would likely be the capacity gained from the battery getting 7mm longer than it would lose to get a little thinner.

        Consider this. Most people do’t use the jack from more than a few hours a day vs that extra capacity would be useful for everyone almost all of the time. Even if Bluetooth or thunderbolt use more battery I bet people would notice the average life expanded.

  29. Paul Schram - 8 years ago

    This really annoys me. First of all the 3.5 inch plug is a non-issue as far as I’m concerned. I mean, how bloody thin does the device have to get. Especially considering most people put their phones in a case of some kind, so any fraction of a millimeter reduction in size is negated by the case. Plus this definitely falls in the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” category. I have a set of $300 headphones. I don’t have any of this ear bud crap. You can’t get good sound out of ear buds. So all this talk of getting better digital sound…..through ear buds???? I think not. And I’ve tried wireless headphones as well. The sound is not as good as wired phones. So if Apple does decide to change the jacks, I pray that it’s something that will accept and adapter to go from 3.5 to whatever they decide upon. Also I better be able to listen to music and charge my phone at the same time as well. I love Apple. I’ve had every iPod, every iPad, and the iPhone 6, which I still have is my first iPhone. But come on, Apple. This is getting ridiculous.

  30. ChristianGeek - 8 years ago

    Forget the whole headphone jack argument…who wants a thinner phone? I would pay good money to have a slightly thicker phone with increased battery life. I can’t be the only one!

    • Danny Dudzik - 8 years ago

      I couldn’t agree more!!

    • Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 8 years ago

      why not both? batteries are 3 dimensional and so is the space the jack takes up. The jack is far lager in both width and depth than it is tall. There is no reason to assume If Apple removed the jack and made the phone a little thinner that they couldn’t also increase battery life.

      • o0smoothies0o - 8 years ago

        Only guy that actually bothers to think about the space it takes up.

  31. meckernburg - 8 years ago

    All apple has to do is put a pair of Beats Bluetooth earphones in the box instead of wired earbuds. Mind, first they need to fix the horrible charging arrangements that all Bluetooth phones suffer from. Why do none have wireless charging?

  32. Rich Davis (@RichDavis9) - 8 years ago

    The problem I have with switching from the stock connector is that i have a decent set of ear buds and i don’t want to have to get an adapter to use it. I think Apple was a little dumb in the Lightning connector if the USB-C connector was right around the corner. Apple needs to stick with what will be a ubiquitous standard rather than these Apple-only connectors. Sorry guys, but I think Apple should just go with USB-C connectors on all devices for this date moving forward for mobile devices for the power/connectivity. But with headphone jack? Stick with the current method.

    I don’t want a thinner iPhone, I have the iPhone 6+ and it’s plenty thin enough already.

  33. Michael Harwell - 8 years ago

    I think both lightning and wireless. Although Apple should simply make a new wireless standard for headphones and speakers. Bluetooth is terrible compared to Airplay when it comes to just audio.

  34. Danny Dudzik - 8 years ago

    If the Head phone jack is removed, I won’t be buying the new phone. Who really wants a thinner phone anyway? Please make it thicker and increase the battery life.

  35. Robert - 8 years ago

    I don’t think removing the 3.5mm jack is all about making the thinner.

    There is a huge shift toward Bluetooth (which is required if you want to listen with Apple Watch). Audiophiles are not happy with the 3.5mm jack since it relies on the iPhones DAC. For more and more users the port is just a trap for fluff.

    My guess is that Apple will launch a new line of Beats product that is Lightening enabled. The new product will boast audiophile quality DAC’s that are optimized for the product, these will of course sound much better than current Beats product (which is not great). At the same time they will switch on some kind of high def. music feature in the Apple Music service which users of the new hardware can benefit from.

    For legacy headphones (with no DAC and a 3.5mm jack) there will be some kind of adapter but Apple won’t provide it with the phone, it will be an optional accessory.

  36. kjl3000 - 8 years ago

    I really can’t take this discussion anymore, everything that needs to be said has been said a thousand times… Anyway, recent Polls have shown that about 2/3 of the voters wish the 3.5 mm jack to stay on the next iPhone, and only 1/3 want it to be removed. Still, as long as nobody brings up reasonable arguments for making the iPhone even thinner (which results in a worse grip, especially with the round edges, instead of increasing battery life… but I’m bringing up old arguments again…), the whole discussion is completely obsolete. Regarding the 2.5 mm jack: I used to have a phone with 2.5 mm audio jack, it broke so many times, it’s just too thin not to brake, especially in your pocket … this would be the most stupid alternative for the 3.5mm jack I could imagine …

    • Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 8 years ago

      The same people have not been fully thinking about this top and rehashing the same poorly out arguments. The jack is wider and longer internally than it is tall. removing it frees up more space than making the phone a little thinner.

      hahah consumer polls… If apple made products based on polls their products would be as bad as all the other manufacturers.

      • kjl3000 - 8 years ago

        Ok, I didn’t want to repeat everything, I should have said: As long as there aren’t any arguments that the headphone jack is preventing any really, really important changes that would bring any significant benefits to the iPhone, I think there’s no need to get rid of it. Regarding Polls: I agree with you, some decisions apple made have been necessary and logic (remove of optical drives, etc etc), but I think this is a point where they should listen to their customers, like they did in 2008 when they fixed the recessed headphone jack of the original iPhone …

      • Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 8 years ago

        @kjl3000, making it slightly smaller and still fitting a larger battery wouldn’t be a good reason? I think that would be a fair tradeoff and I think the jack is actually going to prevent drastic changes if we don’t start making this transition now.

        The headphone jack and the home button are the two things that are flush with the screen and are preventing he top and bottom bezels from shrinking. With rumors of touch ID going behind the screen there is no reason for the home button to remain there (at least not a physical one) since it could also be moved to the side. That leaves the headphone jack.

        Apple can work up to that awesome design by removing the jack now which will only have a small benefit but also help spur the adoption of 3.5mm alternatives leading up to when the jack really can’t be there anymore.

      • kjl3000 - 8 years ago

        @greg ok, first of all, to me, the iPhone 6 is not thinner than the iPhone 5 since I count the cameras height to that dimension. In fact, if you do that, it’s even slightly thicker than the 5. It has been a well hidden (on the website, in ads, even on the tech-spec page/dimensions) trade-off Apple (hopefully) is not proud of. This is, where in the first place, I wouldn’t have made the iPhone thinner to keep camera and housing streamlined. Second: if you want to remove the bezels, you want to remove both upper and lovel bezels, right? What about all the components on the upper bezel, especially the unshrinkable back camera mentioned before? Or the ear Speaker? iSight cam? Proximity and ambient light sensors? These are the real challenges to get the bezels reduced, as long as you don’t want to sacrifice design & aesthetics (again, see bulge camera) and give up symmetry.

  37. godrifle - 8 years ago

    You can bet that whatever puts the most money in Apple’s pocket (i.e. cables adapters, MFi) will be what Apple does. I’m guessing lightning port so fees can be collected from all manufacturers except Beats.

  38. kjl3000 - 8 years ago

    Ben, you forgot the option “3.5mm audio” in the first poll and “never” in the second… I can’t vote on this, sorry.

    • Ben Lovejoy - 8 years ago

      There’s no such thing as ‘never’ in tech …

      • kjl3000 - 8 years ago

        Ok, agreed, we believe in technology … But you agree with me that you completely left the option of Apple may/should be keeping the “old” 3.5 mm jack as one strong anticipated possibility out of the poll. I just think you should have added this, since it’s still considered as a future option by many users … Not very democratic, your poll! ;)

      • Ben Lovejoy - 8 years ago

        If you think Apple will keep the 3.5mm jack beyond the iPhone 8, simply choose the option you think it will *eventually* adopt and select ‘Later.’

      • kjl3000 - 8 years ago

        sigh… ok. (:

  39. twalkerp (@twalkerp) - 8 years ago

    I want a slightly thicker iPhone not thinner. And remove the Jack. easier to pickup and not as slick. thinner is lame. I agree that if they remove the jack they should use space to fill with a speaker or battery or something.

  40. charismatron - 8 years ago

    If Apple’s going to go full wireless, and we’re going to have that conversation, an article concerning the current pro and cons of bluetooth headphones ought to be produced to get that info on the table. Most bluetooth headphones get mixed reviews, so while tirelessness would accomplish a lot for Apple’s phone, a cruddy listening experience would be an endless bundle of headaches as well.

    Have you already penned that article, Ben?

    • charismatron - 8 years ago

      *wirelessness

      Can I get an edit function all up in here?

  41. o0smoothies0o - 8 years ago

    My highly inaccurate opinion:

    Drop the headphone jack, and lightning port. Replace the lightning port with the smart connector, and include smart connector equipped wireless AirPods which can connect to the iPhones port and be quick charged by it. This negates the worry of having to charge or carry around more devices/cables. This also gets significant space inside the iPhone which they can use to reduce the bezels greatly, and in doing so, reduce the size of the devices tremendously. Moreover, it makes the devices inherently more water and dust resistant.

    Also, remove the home button and SIM card. Go back to square edges and bring the screen to the edges and the screen to the curves on the top and bottom.

  42. distressedcactus - 8 years ago

    Anybody else realize that Apple now owns a major headphone/earphone manufacturer that could easily ensure that whatever option they choose, it already will have a huge backing? The Beats purchase makes more sense now, even past the Beats Music aspect of it. Now, Apple can make whatever changes they want to the iPhone 7, and make sure that someone will still be pumping out popular equipment made for it.

  43. mallwill2 - 8 years ago

    The issue with the 3.5mm jack is not so much it’s overall height, but it’s depth and width it takes up inside the device.

    If you look at how small the board and chipset are in the new iPhone 6s you can see the audio jack is a huge chunk of it. It just gives them a large amount of packaging volume back in the device.

    The same will be for the SIM tray – I would expect the 7 to also remove this to give them a lot more space back.

    • o0smoothies0o - 8 years ago

      You mean it’s not so much it’s depth but its height and width, but yes you are correct, that’s why they’re getting rid of it, few people are aware of this. They all just assume the article is accurate in saying to make the device thinner, but the real reason is internal device volume which is by far the most valuable thing in a smartphone.

  44. harotukan - 8 years ago

    Well, Apple is apparently scouting the home-buttonless iPhone since the release of 3D touch and the ability to bring on the multitasking just by pressing on the edge of the screen. I really believe this is first step towards and iPhone without physical home button.

    Also, I have read countless articles and rumours about the Apple’s “virtual sim card” which also makes sense and that would be the most welcome change for me.

    And then there’s the jack that just came into focus. If they could remove all these things, and I probably wouldnt mind it at all (in case of Bluetooth headphones coming with the iP in the box), they could increase the battery life tremendously without making the phone and thicker. I really believe that they wont make the phone any slimmer, since they cant really make the camera any thinner (hence the protruding camera on the 6/6S).

    However, I highly doubt it will be the iPhone 7 with all these drastic changes. I do believe the home button will be gone next year, though.(or I hope so atleast)

    • o0smoothies0o - 8 years ago

      They can make the camera dramatically thinner actually, and it will likely be seen in the iPhone 7. They bought the company LinX and have been researching dual array camera sensors for years. The iPhone 7 I think will have a pill shaded camera which doesn’t protrude, and has two camera sensors sitting side by side. Two 6MP sensors sitting beside each other, and a new 6-element lens. Dual array sensors allows the camera module to be thinned by 1.5-2 times or more. Probably see OIS in the regular 7 too.

      • Dominik Javorek - 8 years ago

        Ugh. I don’t think dual camera sensors are something Jony Ive would allow to happen. But well, we will see.

      • Danny Dudzik - 8 years ago

        If the camera is a problem then why not just get rid of it also? If they are getting rid of things like the 3.5mm jack that some depend on and use daily then I guess we really don’t need to take pictures either. In fact I guess we wouldn’t need the new iPhone at all since it will no longer be enhancing our lives.

      • o0smoothies0o - 8 years ago

        @dominik They would be side by side except it would be slightly oval instead of circular.

  45. Paul Douglas - 8 years ago

    iPhone 7. Leverage the Beats division to make some relatively low-cost but decent-quality bundled Bluetooth EarPods which come with the phone and also stick a Lightning to 3.5mm converter in the box for legacy. By the time the iPhone 8s comes around, the move to Bluetooth audio will be well underway so you’ll probably even be able to ditch the converter and sell it separately instead.

  46. xiingli - 8 years ago

    Can’t be the lightning. Apple would never disallow a user the ability to both charge their phone and have headphones plugged in.

    • kjl3000 - 8 years ago

      They didn’t have a problem to do almost the same with the only usb-c port on the MacBook…

  47. vertsub2015 - 8 years ago

    Didn’t they have to make the iPhone 6S thicker to stop bending? It already has a 3.5mm jack…

  48. Jake Becker - 8 years ago

    I support losing it for Bluetooth but I hope the pairing process for headphones in particular can somehow be simplified in the next rendition of iOS. If people are going to use them, they will be expecting to put them on, hit the switch, and it just works. They don’t want to go in Settings and wait and tap things.

  49. Chris J. Caine - 8 years ago

    It would also cut down on counterfeits, and raise proprietary control.

  50. PJ (@D00mM4r1n3) - 8 years ago

    It would make more sense for Apple to drop the 3.5 and stick with Lightning. As the industry moves towards adding USB-C ports to computers at the end of 2016 Apple can simply release a Lightning to USB-C cable, no need to drop Lightning. USB-C is just a connector after all, be careful not to confuse it with USB3.1.

  51. Rich Davis (@RichDavis9) - 8 years ago

    Here’s a new headphone with built-in 24 Bit DAC, pre amp, power amp with a Lightning connector. https://www.audeze.com/products/el-8-collection/el-8-titanium
    .

  52. sufferingidiots - 8 years ago

    Isn’t the lightning connector proprietary to Apple? Meaning that people have to license it from Apple to make accessories for it? I imagine that some headphone manufacturers may not get on board with paying Apple to make headphones that work with an iPhone. Apple is going to be fighting the market on both ends.

Author

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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