Apple may be about to piss off their user base once again by doing away with the traditional headphone port, meaning you’d be forced to use their pricier version.
If the rumours are true then it means that anyone using the iPhone 7, and beyond, would have to upgrade their headphones to the new format or use an adapter.
In fairness to Apple, the buzz is that they are ditching the traditional 3.5 mm headphone jack to make the phone slimmer and lighter. Tech blog MacOtakara reports that Apple is considering moving to a Lightning port which would make them 1 mm thinner, that’d take it down to 6.1mm.
Word is Apple will also release its own pair of EarPods with a Lightning connector at the same time as the iPhone 7, while a special adapter will also be available.
Headphones which use the Lightning port are already on sale, like Philips’ M2L headphones which offer better sound quality by using the port’s power to power a built in amplifier. However they do cost £200, which isn’t cheap. Users could also use wireless Bluetooth headphones or use the adapter to attach older headphone jacks.
As annoying as it, Apple have got a track record of knowing what we want before we do. They ditched the built in DVD drive and although criticised at the time Macbooks still sell well, so who knows maybe this is a headphone revolution.
Needless to say, expect rage next autumn when Apple’s latest phone finally drops.
More of a concept than a journalist, Tom Percival was forged in the bowels of Salford University from which he emerged grasping a Masters in journalism.
Since then his rise has been described by himself as ‘meteoric’ rising to the esteemed rank of Social Editor at UNILAD as well as working at the BBC, Manchester Evening News, and ITV.
He credits his success to three core techniques, name repetition, personality mirroring, and never breaking off a handshake.