With the iPhone 7 (or whatever Apple calls it) looking increasingly likely to lose the 3.5mm headphone socket, Chinese accessory makers are gearing up to meet demand from those who don’t want to replace their existing headphones. Macotakara spotted a couple of Chinese companies who are already advertising 3.5mm-to-Lightning adapters.
It’s unlikely these are real products yet, especially as one claims to be MFi-certified. They are more likely dummies or prototypes, perhaps created for submission for MFi status. Also pictured below are some smaller Lightning adapters and earbuds though probably not the ones Apple intends to bundle with the next iPhone.
Any adapter of this form would need to incorporate a digital-to-analog converter, so sound quality is likely to vary between devices. It’s a category we’ll be testing if the rumors are indeed true.
Reports that Apple plans to drop the headphone socket from the iPhone 7 in favor of Lightning and wireless headphones first surfaced six months ago, and have since been supported by a succession of later reports, as well as renders and sketches.
One interesting question will be what – if anything – Apple bundles with the new iPhone in the way of earphones if the change does go ahead. The majority in our recent poll expect Lightning EarPods.
