It is rumored that Apple is planning on removing the 3.5mm headphone jack from the oncoming iPhone models.
They Cupertino based tech giant is thinking of getting an all in one Lighting connector in place of it, according to MacRumors. It is also rumored that Apple might release the new Ear Pods in the future devices.
It is further speculated that the new lightning port will also be sized at 3.5 mm, and will be equipped with Bluetooth headphones. It is also rumored to be armed with a DAC, which will allow for a backwards compatibility with the headphones, according to Fast Company.
However, a 3.5 mm lightning adapter will also be required for this system to work. The upcoming model of iPhone 7 is strongly rumored to come with this configuration. Due to the presence of the new lightning port and the absence of the headphone jack, the much-anticipated iPhone 7 is also expected to be 1 mm thinner than the Apple iPhone 6.
It is also rumored that Apple will also release the lightning equipped Ear Pods iPhone 7 onwards. These new Ear Pods will most likely be included in the box with the iPhone 7. They are also rumored to be sold separately for other future iOS devices. The current Ear Pods come with a 3.5 mm stereo jack are expected to remain available for purchase even after the new configuration is released.
Apple introduced its new MFi Program specifications back in June 2014, which allows third party manufacturers to create headphones which can be connected to the iOS devices through a lightning cable.
The rollout of this configuration is yet to reach all the previous generations of Apple devices, but it will be completed soon. Apple's Lightening connector is expected to be launched soon, but the tech giant is yet to comment or confirm on the same.
In other Apple related news, it is speculated that Apple may release three devices in the near future. Three models of Apple iPhone 7 are expected to be released in total. A smaller version of the iPhone, namely Apple iPhone 7 Mini is expected to be released in March.