According to a new report from Fast Company, Apple’s iPhone 7 may feature a thinner waterproof body with no headphone jack, in addition to wireless charging. The report is in line with several past rumours coming out of the Asian supply chain.
Citing a source with “knowledge of the company’s plans,” Fast Company says the iPhone 7 will not include a headphone jack in an effort to make the device even thinner than the iPhone 6s.
The device will reportedly be waterproof and support some form of wireless charging.
Apple is said to be working with Cirrus Logic to adapt the audio chipset in the iPhone to work with the Lightning port. With no 3.5mm headphone jack, the Lightning port, which is currently used for charging, will also be used to transmit sound to wired headphones.
The chipset may also include new noise-canceling technology to remove background noise during music playback and phone calls.
It is still unclear whether the iPhone 7 will come with no EarPods or if Apple will ship standard EarPods with a 3.5mm headphone jack to Lightning port adapter.
While Fast Company’s source sounds sure of the removal of the headphone jack, there is a caveat about the potential inclusion of wireless charging technology and waterproofing. Apple is said to be working on these technologies at the current time, but the report warns that the features could be pulled ahead of when the iPhone 7 goes into production.
The removal of the headphone jack was first reported by Japanese site Mac Otakara and has since been backed up by a supply chain rumour, but Apple has been laying the groundwork for the elimination of the jack for several months.
Wireless charging is also a feature that has been long rumoured for potential inclusion in the iPhone and it’s certainly technology that Apple has been exploring for many years, based on patents and earlier iPhone and Apple Watch rumours.
