iPhone 7: Headphone jack to be replaced by new speakers for stereo sound, reports say
But reports that Apple will give its new headphone noise cancellation might be a little too eager
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The iPhone 7 could ditch the headphone jack to make way for a stereo speaker, according to reports.
Rumours have swirled for weeks that Apple might be dropping the headphone jack entirely, and encouraging people to plug headphones into the Lightning port or use Bluetooth instead. A new report has lent further credence to the rumour, as well as suggesting some of the ways that Apple will replace the headphone jack.
The part of the phone that currently holds the jack — on the left hand side of the bottom of the phone —will be used for an extra speaker to allow the phone to send out stereo audio, according to a research note from analysts at Barclays.
At the moment, iPhones feature just one speaker panel on the right hand side. Wider audio has been an interest of Apple in recent devices, such as on the iPad Pro — which uses speakers on all of its sides to produce a bigger, stereo sound.
Many phones already include stereo speakers, mounting them together or on either sides of the phone so that the audio seems much wider when listening to music or watching films.
Apple is expected to replace the existing headphones, which use the headphone jack, with an upgraded model that plugs into the Lightning port on the bottom of the phone. Some rumours have also suggested that Apple could offer entirely wireless headphones over Bluetooth.
Some rumours had suggested that the company would add noise cancellation to those headphones, using the extra power and space to allow the phones to keep out audio. But that is likely to be kept until the next phone is release — probably known as the iPhone 7s, and likely to be released towards the end of 2017.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments