It only has been three months since Apple launched its current flagship phones – the iPhone 6S and the iPhone 6S Plus – but rumors are already rife about its upcoming iPhone.
The latest rumor is that the tech giant is considering the iPhone 7 to do away with the circular 3.5mm headphone jack.
Japanese blog Macotakara first reported that Apple will be getting rid of the jack that has been a standard in all its iPhones.
It is important to take note that the blog has been accurate in the past. The blog predicted that the iPhone 6 will come in a 4.7-inch and a 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus variant.
According to reports, Apple is opting to integrate the headphone functionality into the same port being used for power and data transfer.
The blog states that instead of the headphone jack, the company is eyeing iPhone 7 to have an all-in-one lightning connector.
Users could also use Bluetooth wireless headphones as it has become increasingly popular nowadays.
The removal of the jack is reported to allow the tech firm to make the next and future line of iPhones become even slimmer.
Without the jack, users would need to buy headphones with a lightning cable. MacRumors states that if reports are indeed true, old headphones can still be used although users need to buy a lightning cable with a digital-to-analog converter and a 3.5mm plug in the end so they can use it.
Apple has yet to make an official statement about it, but some analysts are certain that the manufacturer is heading towards such direction.
The company’s latest MacBook only has a single port for power, data, and video output. Although, the laptop still has a 3.5mm jack, the possibility of having an all-in-one port for the iPhone is not that far-fetched.
The headphone jack rumor is just one of the many speculations about what the next generation iPhone will look like.
As per Venture Beat, the removal of the headphone jack should not surprise people especially iPhone users.
The report states that Apple has already introduced its EarPods in September 2012 alongside the iPhone 5. The EarPods was a revolutionized version of the standard earphones, with a remote and mic feature.
Since then, the EarPods shipped with the iPhones 5, 5C, 5S, 6, 6 Plus, 6S, and 6S Plus. It also shipped with the iPod 5th generation and the iPod Nano 7th generation.
It will be four years since the EarPods came out and the rumor of the removal of the headphone jack signals that a refresh is long overdue.
Other rumors suggest that the iPhone 7 will be one-millimeter thinner than the 7.1mm iPhone 6S. This means that iPhone 7 will be likened to the size of the sixth gen iPod Touch.
Forbes reports that thinner phones have been a trend these past few years as people opt for portability and compatibility.
However, users worry that if the iPhone 7 is going to be the slimmest phone Apple will be releasing, it might mean that there’s less room inside for battery, which in turn might have a huge impact on the device’s battery life.
However, Information Week reports that the Cupertino-based manufacturer is working on a design for the iPhone 7 that will be 6mm to 6.5mm thick.
No word yet if the iPhone 7 will be partnered with a much larger variant possibly called the iPhone 7 Plus.
However, Macworld UK speculates that by next year, Apple is going to launch two phones again — a 5.5-inch screen most likely called the iPhone 7 Plus and a 4.7-inch smartphone dubbed as the iPhone 7.
Forbes reports that the company’s next flagship phone will be changed to Touch ID. This means that instead of the home button acting as the fingerprint scanner, the fingerprint recognition will be the featured display allowing the phone to have an edge-to-edge display.