If you want to use non-proprietary headphones on future iPhones, it looks like you’ll have to buy another adapter.
A rather disturbing rumor is surfacing regarding Apple’s iPhone, that suggests that the tech giant may ditch the headphone jack in future revisions of the phone. If true, headphones on future iPhones would instead be plugged in to the proprietary “Lightning” jack on the phone, meaning that any non proprietary headphones would require users to purchase yet another adapter to use them.
This rumor comes following the earlier news that Apple bought Beats Audio for a fairly ludicrous $3 billion. It certainly makes sense for Apple to acquire a high-end headphone manufacturer, and then force all of its customers to either use it, or purchase a pricey adapter (for reference, the standard Lightning to 30-pin adapter costs $29).
The rumor was first reported by 9to5mac, which has learnt that Apple submitted a specification to its MFi (Made For) licensing program for headphones which connect using the company’s proprietary Lightning port instead of the standard 3.5mm jack. Reportedly, all it will take for the Lightning port to start accepting these new headphones is a firmware update.
As well as the obvious downsides, this update would come with some upsides. Piping audio through the Lightning port will enable a switch from analogue to digital audio with an exceedingly high lossless stereo 48 kHz digital output and mono 48 kHz digital input. The Lightning port would also allow headphones to perform more advanced functions over the standard lower/increase volume, end calls and skip tracks, such as cause a specific app to start when they are connected.
Source: Forbes
