Apple's iPhone 7 ditches traditional headphone socket

The iPhone 7 will not have a traditional headphone socket.

Apple said its lightning connector could be used instead, which would make room for other components. It will also promote the use of wireless earphones, and has released a set of its own called Airpods.

The firm said it had taken "courage" to take the step.

However, it risks annoying users who will now require an adapter for existing headphones.

The US company unveiled its latest handsets at an event in San Francisco following a year in which its phone sales and market share shrank.

 

 

Other new features include:

• the home button can now detect how firmly it is being pressed and provide vibration-based feedback, but no longer moves into the phones
• the handsets can be submerged in water up to depths of 1m (3.2ft) for 30 minutes at a time
• the larger iPhone 7 Plus model gets a two-lens camera on its rear, allowing it to offer a choice of focal lengths

The launch comes a week after the European Commission demanded Apple pay up to €13bn (£11bn) in back taxes to Ireland - a ruling the firm is appealing.

"The current difficulties with the EU will have little bearing towards the iPhone 7 at this juncture," predicted Ben Wood from the CCS Insight consultancy.

"But the dispute will drag on for years, and if sentiment turns against Apple that could have major implications for the brand.

"For now, there's a strong argument that the iPhone 7 is more than an iterative update.

"Upgrades are all important to Apple and for consumers coming from an iPhone 5S or iPhone 6, the iPhone 7 will feel like a considerable step up."

Airpods

The 3.5mm headphone jack was made popular by Sony's Walkman cassette players, but was first introduced in one of the Japanese company's transistor radios in 1964.

Apple has repeatedly been willing to ditch connectors and other ageing tech from its products earlier than its rivals.

However, it was not first in this case.

"Lenovo's Moto Z and select models from Chinese manufacturer LeEco have launched without the 3.5mm socket in 2016," noted IHS's Ian Fogg.

"These manufactures have had little adverse reaction, in part, because they sell many fewer smartphones than Apple."

One audio expert also had doubts.

"If you've been interested purely in the audio quality then a wired connection has always been best," said Simon Lucas, editor of What Hi-fi magazine.

"You have greater stability - there's no possibility of drop-outs. Wireless headphones also need to be charged, and the louder you listen to them the quicker they will run out of power.

"With regards to headphones with a lightning connector, there's only about eight pairs currently available and they will all have had to pay Apple a licence to use its proprietary connector."

Apple, however, suggests there are advantages to using its Airpods, which will cost £159.

It demonstrated that the wireless headphones could be paired with the phone much more quickly than is normally the case with Bluetooth sets.

The Airpods also contain infrared sensors to detect when they are in the user's ears. This allows them to automatically stop music when they are taken out.

Motion sensors in the buds also allow the firm's virtual assistant Siri to be activated for voice commands by double-tapping their sides.

Users will, however, have to get used to charging another device.

Apple said the Airpods would last "up to five hours" on a charge, and come with a recharging case that can extend their life up to 24 hours before a plug socket is required.

Another related change is the introduction of stereo speakers - one at each end of the handset - which Apple said meant the iPhone 7 could deliver twice the volume of the iPhone 6S.

Manufacturer	Handset shipments	Year-on-year change	Market share at end of June 2016
	July 2015 - June 2016
Samsung	323.3 million	+4.3%	23%
Apple	214.4 million	-3.6%	12%
Huawei	120.3 million	+38.2%	9%
Oppo	68.2 million	+91.3%	7%
Vivo	53.7 million	+68.4%	5%
Lenovo	61.0 million	-28.5%	3%
Xiaomi	60.5 million	-10.6%	4%
LG	57.6 million	-6.9%	4%
Source: IDC

One company watcher said removing the 3.5mm socket would still annoy some users, but added that their frustration might be short-lived.

"Apple changed the charger port a few years ago and people got upset," said Francisco Jeronimo from the research firm IDC.

"But it didn't stop people from buying the iPhone. Removing the headphone jack won't either.

"What's more important is whether a consumer likes Apple's ecosystem or Android's, because at this point Windows and Blackberry phones have an extremely low market share."

Two cameras

The iPhone 7 Plus has both a wide angle and telephoto lens on its back, both using their own 12 megapixel sensor.

This allows the owner to quickly switch to a tighter shot without sacrificing image quality, and also allows the device to offer 10x zoom - double the amount than before - by digitally cropping the photo in the camera app.

A similar feature is already available on LG's G5 phone.

But Apple says it will also be able to combine data gathered by both camera sensors to simulate an effect associated with larger DSLR (digital single-lens reflex) cameras.

It said software would be able to automatically pick people's faces out from the background, keeping the humans in focus while blurring the rest of the shot in order to enhance the portraits.

The feature will not, however, be available at launch but will rather be provided as an update later on.

The iPhone 7 ranges from £599 to £799, depending on the amount of storage. The iPhone 7 Plus ranges from £719 to £919.

That marks an increase on last year's prices, when the entry-level iPhone 6S was £539 and the iPhone 6S Plus was £619, albeit with less storage. US consumers have not seen such significant increases.

They are available to buy from 16 September.

Apple has also raised the prices of other products in the UK, including its iPads, despite the fact that the tablets have just been given price cuts in the US.