All the iPhone devices to-date have come with a 3.5mm headphone jack, but for iPhone, the headphone jack’s future looks bleak given the rise in the number of reports claiming that the upcoming iPhone model won’t feature a 3.5mm audio jack. Now this new report from Barclays is another nail in the coffin.
In a new report, analysts Christopher Hemmelgam and Blayne Curtis outlines their expectations of what new features the iPhone 7 will come equipped with and what won’t make its way into this upcoming iPhone model. The analysts report states that Apple will indeed ditch the 3.5mm headphone jack in favor of a Lightning headphones right in the box.
Despite the growing number of rumors and reports that Apple’s new headphones will come equipped with noise-canceling technology, this new report says otherwise. The report states that the introduction of Lightning headphones won’t bring along the noise-canceling technology into the iPhone 7. There is “potential” for a noise-canceling tech to be developed by Apple, but it won’t debut until 2017 – the year of iPhone 7s, states the report.
We still believe there is potential for AAPL to add ANC in the IP7S but believe AAPL is including just the digital headphone in the IP7 this year. Recent speculation surrounding the elimination of the headphone jack in the IP7 is consistent with this move as AAPL will need to provide a digital headset inbox but likely was not willing to spend the extra cost for the ANC functionality.
The analysts expect Apple to introduce basic digital codec in the iPhone 7, apparently to get ample time to develop the noise-canceling technology for the Lightning headphones, and for the installation of the parts, and to roll everything smoothly. This is how Apple will get enough time to roll out support for Cirrus Logic’s noise-cancelation smart codec in the 2017 model of the iPhone. This is in-line with a previous report that stated Cirrus Logic is aware of Apple’s plan to introduce noise-cancelling headphones sometime in the future.
Other than the Lightning headphones, the fruit company is also rumored to be working on truly wireless earbuds or EarPods. These rumored Earbuds are also said to include noise-canceling technology. Please note that these rumored EarPods/Earbuds would come as a separate product, sold separately and won’t be included with the iPhone 7 or iPhone 7s.
What’s your take on Apple ditching the 3.5mm headphone jack in its upcoming iPhone model?