New EarPods equipped with a Lightning connector have again been pictured ahead of the iPhone 7’s launch this fall. It’s thought Apple’s next-generation devices won’t have 3.5mm headphone jacks like all their predecessors, but these EarPods could ease the pain of that loss.
Early rumors claimed Apple was pulling the headphone jack from the iPhone to make it even thinner. That could be the case in the future, but we actually expect the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus to be ever so slightly thicker than their predecessors.
That means Apple is removing the port to make room for other components this year — like improved cameras, Smart Connectors, additional speakers and more. The company could make up for the missing headphone jack by providing us with Lightning-compatible EarPods instead.
Would Lightning EarPods ease sting of missing headphone jack?
Photo: Weibo
We’ve already seen images of EarPods with Lightning connectors, and the latest pictures are almost identical — although they do provide a clearer and closer view. The supposed Lightning EarPods look just like the ones you get free with an iPhone today, only they have new connectors.
It would make sense for Apple to bundle these with every iPhone 7, and it would likely appease a lot of customers who are upset about losing the beloved headphone jack. But we’re still not convinced these EarPods are genuine.
Look closely and you’ll notice the plastic that surrounds the EarPods themselves and the plastic that surrounds the Lightning connector are two different shades of white. Apple’s insane attention to detail tells us that wouldn’t be the case with official EarPods.
Photo: Weibo
And as I noted after the last EarPod “leak,” that rounded Lightning connector doesn’t look like typical Apple connectors, which have flat edges. It’s likely this is a third-party connector that someone else has slapped onto a pair of EarPods.
That doesn’t mean we won’t get EarPods with Lightning connectors this fall — we probably will — I’m just not convinced they’ll look quite like this.
