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Finally, Real Proof That the iPhone 7 Will Come with a Headphones Lightning Adapter

Jul 29, 2016 05:50 PM

Lightning to headphone adapter on a wooden surface.

We've been hearing rumors for months now that suggest Apple will be getting rid of the 3.5 mm headphone jack in the iPhone 7, which will presumably be replaced by an adapter that connects your earbuds directly to the Lightning port. But finally, thanks to Vietnamese site Tinhte, we now have some hard evidence to back up this claim.

The adapter cable looks to be about as simple as it can get—you just plug one side into your iPhone's Lightning port, then connect your earbuds to the other end. The design and form factor are in line with previous Apple adapters, which is a solid indication that this leak is the real deal.

Adding to the credibility, the above video includes a little demonstration. We can clearly see that the new adapter works fine on a device running the iOS 10 beta, but an error message appears when the leaker plugs it into an iOS 9 device. At the very least, this would be pretty hard to fake.

Amazingly enough, this leak wasn't recorded on a potato, for once. The video gives you a great look at the new adapter, and the leaker even snapped a few pics in crystal-clear quality, which you can check out below.

Lightning to headphone jack adapter on a wooden surface.

The downside to this new adapter is that it doesn't let you charge your iPhone while you listen to music, but hopefully we'll see some third-party accessories that let you do both at once.

This new 3.5 mm-to-Lightning adapter is rumored to be included with the new iPhone, so it's likely that Apple's signature EarPods will come with the same 3.5 mm jack they've always had (other brands already make Lightning headphones). Apple is said to be working on wireless earbuds, but you'll probably have to make an additional purchase for those—if they even materialize.

Apple will surely face some backlash for releasing a device without a headphone jack, but this move should allow them to make the iPhone 7 a bit thinner, in line with the new Moto Z, which also axed the headphone jack in favor of a 3.5 mm-to-USB C adapter.

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Cover image and screenshots via Tinhte

The next big software update for iPhone is coming sometime in April and will include a Food section in Apple News+, an easy-to-miss new Ambient Music app, Priority Notifications thanks to Apple Intelligence, and updates to apps like Mail, Photos, Podcasts, and Safari. See what else is coming to your iPhone with the iOS 18.4 update.