The only halfway-interesting rumor about the next iPhone is that it won’t have a regular headphone jack. Aaand, right on cue, a new video leak appears to confirm it. In the video, a man, speaking Vietnamese, shows off what looks to be the Lightning-to-3.5 mm adapter that is rumored to come bundled with every iPhone. The adapter was acquired from a Foxconn assembly plant in Vietnam, according to 9to5Mac.
Perhaps the best argument for the part’s legitimacy comes toward the end of the video. The man demonstrates that the adapter is unsupported on iOS 9 (an alert pops up), but works without a hitch on beta versions of iOS 10, which will come preinstalled on new models.
The 3.5 mm headphone jack has been the last major design problem standing in the way of engineers making the phone as slim as possible. Without the jack, you’ll have to use wireless Bluetooth headphones or use regular, corded headphones with the adapter part.
I realize that in four months, everyone will be over this, but for now: This sucks. Bluetooth headphones have lower sound quality and are another thing you have to remember to charge. And that adapter looks like the most breakable, loseable piece of hardware Apple has ever produced. On the flip side, that’s good for Apple, because then they can charge you $20 for a new one (I’m guessing about that price, but, to reiterate, this is Apple we’re talking about).
Also, I would like to be able to listen to music and charge my phone at the same time!
