Viewers of the livestream of the Apple event were either pleasantly surprised, or furious at some of the new features introduced in the new iPhone 7. When I play my digital drum kit at home, I plug my phone into my kit via the headphone jack for music backing. While Apple has historically been known to abandon legacy technologies, the 3.5mm headphone jack is another matter entirely.
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Apple’s removal of the headphone socket on its latest iPhone 7 has had several knock-on effects, but one thing most people might not realise is that if you’re using wired headphones with it, you can’t charge it at the same time.
Initial impressions suggest that the headphones do what Apple says on the tin, but we’ll only know how well they work on a day-to-day basis when in-depth reviews arrive closer to their launch. Eliminating this connection could render these devices unusable, or at least force everyone to carry around an extra adapter.
At the time of this writing, pre-ordering most versions of the iPhone 7 in Apple’s US store – Black, Silver, Gold and Rose Gold – will get you some sort of delivery date. The new edition iPhones ditched the long-standing headphone jack in order to make room and extend the battery life.
If you still have your heart set on purchasing one of those shiny-black iPhones (even though matte is clearly the better choice), don’t worry. Fewer holes in the case means fewer ways for water to seep in. Removing it also allowed for water resistance and larger batteries.
All other models of the iPhone 7 Plus have delivery times of “two to three weeks”, although some 256GB models are down to be delivered between 27 and 29 September.
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Headphones plugged into a Lightning connector can also produce better sound than ones that are plugged into a headphone jack. Since they’re usually connected using Bluetooth, you can listen to music without taking your phone out of your pocket. Apple took plenty of time at its most recent product showcase to trump up its new shooters, particularly with regard to the dual cameras it’s put in the iPhone 7 Plus. Of course, you can solve that problem as well by using the Lightning to headphones dongle which Apple ships with the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Otherwise, there’s also an Apple solution: buy one of the company’s new $49 Lightning docks. Perhaps, the lack of headset jack for iPhone 7 was needed for it to be waterproof? Consumer Reports has some wireless headphones for those who’ll want to cut the cord.
