iPhone 7 Again Said to Ship With Lightning-to-3.5mm Headphone Dongle - MacRumors
Skip to Content

iPhone 7 Again Said to Ship With Lightning-to-3.5mm Headphone Dongle

With just over six weeks remaining until Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, leaked photos and rumors surrounding the smartphones are starting to become clear and consistent.

Deutsche Bank is the latest group to add its expectations to the mix, issuing a research note obtained by Business Insider that corroborates several previously rumored features coming in this year's refresh.

iPhone-7-Plus-dual-cameras

New photo of iPhone 7 and 7 Plus rear shell molds (Image: KK低调 on Weibo)

The bank, which allegedly made supply chain checks, believes the 4.7-inch model will have an improved camera and optical image stabilization, while the larger 5.5-inch model is set to gain a dual-lens camera and 3GB of RAM.

Both models are also expected to have no headphone jack, a touch-sensitive home button with haptic feedback, a new darker color, "professional class" waterproofing, and improved sound, possibly by way of stereo speakers.

Perhaps the most interesting bit is Deutsche Bank's belief that the iPhone 7 will ship with a Lightning-to-3.5mm headphone jack dongle in the box, rather than Lightning-based EarPods as previously speculated.

Many aftermarket Lightning-to-3.5mm adapters are bulky and clunky looking due to the need for a digital-to-analog converter, however, so it remains to be seen if Apple could create a dongle that meets its high standards of design.

Every single one of Deutsche Bank's predictions have surfaced previously:

- No 3.5mm headphone jack: WSJ, Fast Company, Mac Otakara, and many others
- Dual-lens camera for iPhone 7 Plus: Ming-Chi Kuo, Mac Otakara, and many others
- 3GB of RAM for iPhone 7 Plus: Ming-Chi Kuo
- Touch-sensitive home button: DigiTimes, Cowen and Company
- Improved waterproofing: WSJ, Fast Company, DigiTimes, Commercial Times, Weibo
- Stereo speakers: DigiTimes, Mac Otakara
- A new darker color: Mac Otakara and leaked photo
- Lightning-to-3.5mm adapter: Mac Otakara

Apple is widely expected to announce the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus in September. Other rumored features include a faster TSMC-made Apple A10 processor, repositioned antenna bands, faster LTE and Wi-Fi, a slightly larger battery, and a minimum 32GB of base storage. A larger 256GB model may also be available.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

Apple Event Logo

Apple's Next Era Begins September 1

Thursday May 7, 2026 10:36 am PDT by
Apple recently announced that Tim Cook will be stepping down as CEO later this year, after 15 years of leading the company. Effective September 1, Apple's hardware engineering chief John Ternus will become the company's next CEO, while Cook will become executive chairman of Apple's board of directors. In his new role, Apple said Cook will assist with "certain aspects" of the company,...
Four iPhone 18 Pro Colors Mock Feature

iPhone 18 Pro Launching in September With These 10 New Features

Saturday May 9, 2026 6:03 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not launching until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. It was initially reported that the iPhone 18 Pro models would have fully under-screen Face ID, with only a front camera visible in the top-left corner of the screen. However, the latest rumors indicate that only one Face ID component will be moved under the...
Apple Watch Series 10 Jet Black Touch ID

Apple Watch Series 12 and watchOS 27: What to Expect Later This Year

Friday May 8, 2026 2:07 pm PDT by
While not too much has been reported about the next Apple Watch models, there are a few rumors about potential design changes and watchOS 27 features. Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 models are expected to be released in September, and we have outlined some of the key rumored hardware and software changes below. A new Apple Watch SE is not expected this year, as that model was...

Top Rated Comments

Bubba Satori Avatar
128 months ago
Rumor is that the Swiss Army will be designing the next Apple adapter.

Score: 81 Votes (Like | Disagree)
128 months ago
Speakers 4/5 of an inch from each other are not stereo. But someone keeps pushing that theme to the ignorant.
Score: 45 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mad Mac Maniac Avatar
128 months ago
I'm so excited to skip the iPhone 7! My first time deviating from my standard biannual update!

6+ is going strong
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Crosscreek Avatar
128 months ago
Another dongle to lose or misplace.......brilliant.
Score: 42 Votes (Like | Disagree)
phenste Avatar
128 months ago
I used to hate comments on this site talking about how post-Steve Apple has been deteriorating…now I'm just sad because of how true it is (mainly as far as this dongle business goes)
Score: 41 Votes (Like | Disagree)
128 months ago
Does anyone else feel like the term "dongle" just is one of those words we shouldn't use?

Sort of like the words moist, or straddle....Just immediately makes one sort of cringe a bit upon hearing them.
While straddling my chair at work, my dongle became moist after reading your post.
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)