The news cycle surrounding new iPhone launches each year follows the same general mold. Details begin to trickle in slowly at first, and then they gather pace as component production picks up. Slow leaks become a gushing river once full production begins, of course, and there’s typically almost no mystery left at all once Apple finally gets around to unveiling its new iPhones each September.
While the rumor mill has grown increasingly accurate over the years — especially when the same reports come from multiple sources — there are still bumps in the road every now and again. As it turns out, the latest such bump suggests that the single most controversial iPhone 7 rumor to date is completely wrong.
There have been so many leaks at this point that it feels like we already know exactly what to expect from the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus that are set to debut later this summer. Of course, it’s important to remember that nothing is confirmed until Apple makes it official during its iPhone unveilings, so we should always expect the unexpected.
One of the earliest rumors that emerged surrounding this year’s iPhone refresh was also one that many Apple fans found upsetting. According to early reports, Apple planned to remove the standard 3.5mm headphone jack from the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus in order to make the phones as thin as possible.
Lightning adapters would undoubtedly be made available if that was to be the case, and wireless headphones have grown increasingly popular in recent years. Even still, tens of millions of iPhone owners would no longer be able to use their headphones with Apple’s new iPhones as they do now. Naturally, panic erupted.
When a leak finally gave us what is believed to be our first look at a real iPhone 7, the angle of the photo didn’t show the bottom of the phone where the headphone jack may or may not be located. And now, a new leak suggests that earlier reports were misinformed or plans changed.
Chinese smartphone repair shop Rock Fix has posted a number of photos (viaEngadget) on Weibo that show components that will supposedly be included in Apple’s upcoming iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. There’s nothing to prove that these components are authentic, of course, but we have seen similar leaks from this shop in the past that ended up panning out. And among the components shown in the photos, we see a Lightning port assembly that includes a 3.5mm audio jack.
Is the headphone jack gone or not?
Ditching the standard 3.5mm audio port is believed to be a crucial step in making smartphone thinner. We recently saw Motorola unveil two new phones without headphone jacks, and one of them is just 5.2mm thick. Rumors suggest Apple’s upcoming iPhone 7 is slightly thicker at between 6 and 6.5mm thick, but it might still be difficult to build a phone that thin with a headphone jack.
Also of note, this new leak shows a dual-SIM tray as well as 32GB and 256GB memory chips, which aligns with earlier rumors suggesting that Apple’s new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will have a 256GB storage option and will start at 32GB instead of 16GB.
A few of the leaked images follow below.
