Do my ears deceive me?

Now with the iPhone 6s out, it’s time to talk turkey about the potential build of the iPhone 7.  We’ve got to be nearing cell phone saturation, right?  Especially since there have been so many iPhones sold that must still work.  Right?  That said, one of the rumors about the new iPhone 7 is that it will lose its headphone jack. 

What?

Yes, the headphone jack, which has been largely been in use since the 19^th century at telephone switchboards in its ¼” form is going the way of the dodo.  There must be a better way to listen your music that doesn’t impede the thickness of an iDevice says Apple (hypothetically).  That’s the real reason.  Apple devices are almost at their thinnest with the retention of a standard ¼” jack socket.  Everything else in the phone can shrink, from the processors to the memory to the screen and, most importantly, the battery.

Why is this good news then? Supposedly, Apple has been licensing the “Lightning” specifications to headphone companies in an effort to get in front of this maneuver.  After this transition, you’ll plug in your headphones the same way you’re currently charging your device, through the lightning port on your phone.  Also, in addition to streamlining the technology, it may afford new Apple iDevices to be that much more water resistant.  Less openings means less chance of yucky things getting inside.  So there’s that.

The big question is: will I have to buy new headphones?  Yes and no.  Certainly, there will be an immediate market for lightning supported headphones.  However, I also estimate that tech companies will be creating lightning-compatible Digital to Analog Converters (DACs) where one end will plug into the phone, and the other will allow you to plug into your conventional headphones.

Yes, if you are committed to buying a new iPhone where the socket has gone bye bye, you will now need to either be stuck with Apple’s consistently poor headphones, or buy one of these DAC adapters for your already-owned headphones.  And, while that sounds annoying, or expensive, I think it may be good news for wannabe audiophiles like myself.  Why?  I’ve been waiting for the iPhone to be able to reliably play hi-definition music.  This may force the issue.  Right now, while iPhones can support Apple Lossless Audio Codec files (read: Hi Def), they can’t push that extra sound out through the headphones…because the built in DAC in the iPhone doesn’t have the power.  Instead, we’ll be able to buy DAC/headphone amplifiers that specifically work to push those highfalutin sounds out to our ears in our already too expensive headphones with high impedance ratings.

Translation: I’m pumped!  As an industry leader in portable entertainment (which is really what an iPhone is…less so a phone), this may bring new capabilities for audio quality to those of us who care. 

For the rest of you, which should be the majority, I’m terribly sorry.  I’ll be thinking about that as I am jamming out to Dark Side of the Moon in my 32ohm cans…hearing none of your complaints…hearing all of the wonderful bassline and subtle screams during “The Great Gig in the Sky.”