Next iPhone may abandon headphone jack

The next iPhone, likely to be called the iPhone 7, is reportedly going to abandon the headphone jack.

Apple is supposedly attempting to reduce the thickness of its handsets by 1mm and the traditional 3.5mm headphone jack is one of the things that stands in its way. Instead, the new iPhone will utilise the Lightning connector.

Citing sources familiar with Apple's plans, Mac Otakara says that the iPhone 7 will be the thinnest iPhone ever made as a result of the decision to scrap the headphone jack. Apple will bundle EarPods that will work with the Lightning connector, and third-party manufacturers will have to do likewise.

Apple previously hinted at this move at a "Designing Accessories for iOS and OS X" session at WWDC last year. The company has been investigating alternatives to the 3.5mm jack for some time, so it doesn't come as much of a surprise that it's allegedly planning to go through with an alternative.