Subscribe to Orbital, The Gadgets 360 podcast via iTunes or RSS and just hit the play button below to listen to our iPhone 7 special episode.
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People quickly realised that, although Apple will include a 3.5-mm audio adapter in the box, the fact that this plugs into the Lightning port means that you won’t be able charge your phone or plug in a peripheral (a MIDI controller, for example) at the same time. We’ll show you how. A 3.5mm headphone jack to be more precise. Apple’s only option for cable aficionados is the iPhone’s £49 Lightning dock, which has a Lightning socket and a 3.5mm headphone socket on the back, but is a bit impractical to carry around.
If you have a pair of your favorite headphones, then you can rest assured they’ll work with this bad boy. It probably speaks to how much control Apple has over the Lightning connector that the “double-dongle” still forces you to abandon the 3.5mm jack. While the iPhone 7’s original shipping date (September 16) still holds for some preorders, if you try to preorder from Apple now, you’ll likely see a wait time of two to three weeks. But the problem with this is that you’re limited to using Lightning headphones only.
The Lightning Audio + Charge RockStar will be available to purchase from Apple’s retail stores and Belkin’s website on Monday, October 10.
Accessory-maker Belkin to the rescue then, with it’s new £35 Lightning Audio + Charge RockStar – awful name, likely an essential buy for many just to use the included headphones and charge.
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The future is wireless, people. Also, if you have Bluetooth headphones in hand, you also grant yourself the freedom to roam around while listening to tunes without worrying about being tethered to a wall outlet.
