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

iphone duo

Apple Announces Foldable 'iPhone Duo'

Wednesday September 9, 2026 10:56 am PDT by
Apple today announced the "iPhone Duo," a new kind of iPhone featuring two screens and a foldable inner display. The two halves of the iPhone Duo connect into a single continuous frame with the same aspect ratio across both displays, and Apple said the transition between open and closed is designed to feel fluid. When fully open, Apple says it is the thinnest iPhone ever made, with an...
Surprise and Shine Live Coverage Article

Apple Event Live Blog: iPhone Duo, iPhone 18 Pro, and More

Wednesday September 9, 2026 9:10 am PDT by
Apple's "Surprise and Shine" event kicks off today at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, where we're expecting to see the foldable iPhone Duo, the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 models, new AirPods 5 earphones, and perhaps some other announcements. Apple is providing a live video stream on its website, on YouTube, and in the company's TV app across various platforms. We...
iOS 27 Feature Dark

Apple Announces iOS 27 Release Date

Wednesday September 9, 2026 10:46 am PDT by
At its event today unveiling the iPhone 18 Pro, AirPods 5, Apple Watch Series 12, and more, Apple announced that iOS 27 will be released later this month. iOS 27 has already been available as a developer beta since June and as a public beta since July, and Apple today said that the update will be released for all users with a compatible iPhone model on Monday, September 14. iOS 27 is...

Top Rated Comments

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

Score: 81 Votes (Like | Disagree)
132 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
132 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
132 months ago
Another dongle to lose or misplace.......brilliant.
Score: 42 Votes (Like | Disagree)
phenste Avatar
132 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)
132 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)