iPhone 7 will not have headphone jack

Since the beginning of this year, multiple rumors have claimed that Apple will ditch the 3.5mm jack for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, and will deliver audio output via the lightning port. Now Wall Street Journal reports that Apple is indeed ditching the headphone jack make the upcoming iPhone's slimmer and more water resistant, corroborating with earlier rumors which suggested the same.

Apple will reportedly offer a Lightning connector that doubles as a port for port for charging the iPhone and for connecting further headphone. Motorola and LeEco have already ditched the headphone jack on their Moto Z, and Le 2/Le Max 2 smartphone. Apple is expected to include a 3.5mm to Lightning adapter in the retail boxes of iPhone 7, along with the standard 3.5mm EarPods.

Apart from subtle changes (ditching 3.5mm jack), the iPhone 7/7 Plus will not have much of a design change. The design and form factor will be similar to iPhone 6s/6s Plus (4.7-inch & 5.5-inch), but the hardware will be upgraded. This move is strategic, as Apple has big plans for the 2017 iPhone model.

The 2017 iPhone model is tipped to bring major design changes that includes an edge-to-edge OLED display, elimination of home button and Touch ID (for fingerprint scanning) will be embedded into the display.

Apple will unveil the iPhone 7/iPhone 7 Plus in September.