iPhone 7 to Ditch 3.5mm Jack in Favour of Dual-Speaker Setup: Report

As you may have heard from past reports, Apple is said to be considering shipping the iPhone 7 without a 3.5mm headphone jack. Reports that began coming out last year claimed that the Cupertino-based company will be getting rid of the decades old port in an attempt to further slim the iPhone's waistline, and introduce a new set of Bluetooth headphones. Earlier reports speculated that those who want to use wired headphones would be forced to buy a 3.5mm to Lightning port adapter, or buy a new certified Lightning port headphone. Analysts are now able to shed more light on the things Apple could do.

Apple could replace the 3.5mm headphone jack with another speaker, believe Barclay analysts Blayne Curtis and Christopher Hemmelgarn. The current set of iPhone models ship with one speaker at the bottom, placed next to a lightning connector and a headphone jack. According to the analysts, the iPhone 7 will sport a dual-speaker setup.

The Barclay analysts also noted that the iPhone 7 is likely to launch with Lightning-equipped headphones, as has been reported earlier. These headphones, however, are unlikely to support the dynamic noise-cancelling system. The Cupertino-based company will instead basic digital code for this year's flagship smartphone, they expect. For the iPhone 7s, the supposed handset that Apple will launch next year, the company will include Cirrus Logic's for more advanced noise-cancelling, which interestingly also requires a digital codec.

"We still believe there is potential for AAPL to add ANC in the IP7S but believe AAPL is including just the digital headphone in the IP7 this year," they wrote. "Recent speculation surrounding the elimination of the headphone jack in the IP7 is consistent with this move as AAPL will need to provide a digital headset inbox but likely was not willing to spend the extra cost for the ANC functionality."