As MacRumors noted, Apple began working with third-party manufacturers on developing Lightning-based audio devices as early as June 2014, though Phillips has been the only company to release two Lightning headsets since then.
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The report from MacOtakara also claims that Apple will change the bundled Ear Pods into the Lightning connector format, which would mean that a Digital to Analog Converter (DAC) would be required. Instead of plugging headphones into a dedicated jack, users will connect them to the iPhone’s Lightning data port. This will make new phones more thinner than the iPhone 6s, according to Japanese tech website Mac Otakara. This might be a problem for people who are used to the standard 3.5 mm jack however it is speculated that the Lightning connector will have backward compatibility with headphones using the 3.5 mm jack.
Apple’s quest for ever-thinner, ever-smarter devices may produce another casualty: theiPhone’s headphone jack. Alternatively, they may also make the leap to Bluetooth.
We have heard a number of iPhone 7 rumors over the last few weeks and now we have another one.
There is no official release from Apple concering the iPhone 7 rumors, however Apple Insider reported that the upcoming smartphone already has a lot of deatails leaked.
Lightning-connected headphones would bring an additional benefit: They would be able to draw energy from the phone, thus eliminating the need of an internal battery and consequently making them lighter and potentially smaller. It’s not like there aren’t any Lightning enabled headphones out there, check out the Philips Fidelio M2L, but it’s not common.
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According to the reports, the company will unveil new MacBook Air series at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in 2016. That said, we could be moving toward wireless headphones, which opens up a world of slimmer, lighter gadgets.
