Fully Functional iPhone 7 Lightning EarPods Shown Off in New Video

Over the past few weeks, images have claimed to show Apple's upcoming Lightning-enabled EarPods, but most were found to be fake as the design language of the headphones largely deviated from Apple's usual aesthetic, especially in regards to not having a thin, rectangular Lightning plug. Today, MobileFun posted a video of a working pair of Lightning EarPods, and the overall look of the accessory appears more in line with Apple's design than any of the previous leaks.

iphone 7 lightning headphones
As is expected, the headphone part of the new EarPods is structured the same as the EarPods currently being sold by Apple, with a clean, white design, right and left markers on each earpiece, and in-line volume and play/pause controls. Interestingly, the in-line controls are placed farther down on the EarPods, directly below the right/left split in the cable design. If real, this would mark a design change from the current generation, which places the volume rocker along the right cable, above the bifurcation in the cord.

The most notable part is, of course, the long-rumored addition of the Lightning plug onto the EarPods, adapted to take advantage of the removal of the 3.5 mm headphone jack from the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. The plug on the Lightning-enabled EarPods appears slightly bigger than Apple's traditional Lightning adapters thanks to the inclusion of a digital-to-analog converter needed for music playback and not just straightforward charging.


In the video, the EarPods are proven to be completely functional through the playing of a few songs as well as using the in-line controls to play, pause, and skip some tracks. MobileFun concluded to its viewers, "as you can see, these are fully working, they aren't just a mock-up of what you might receive," believing that the working headphones will be what Apple sells alongside the new generation of iPhone in September.

Multiple solutions for the removal of the 3.5 mm headphone jack have sprouted up over the past few weeks, with one of the most prevailing alternatives centering around a Lightning to 3.5 mm dongle that the company could potentially bundle into the box of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus to cushion the transition for customers. More recently, it was reported that Apple could be working on completely wireless "AirPods" as an option for iPhone users, allowing simultaneous iPhone charging and headphone music playback, which is one of the most commonly occurring grievances surrounding the loss of the 3.5 mm headphone jack.

Previous Coverage: Lightning Headphones: Are They Better or Just an Inconvenience?

Tag: EarPods
Related Forum: iPhone

Top Rated Comments

yesjam Avatar
93 months ago
I've been firmly on the fence about everything we've heard about the iPhone 7. As a musician, I place a fairly high priority on being unencumbered in listening to material on my phone. It is looking like it's increasingly likely that the use of the lightning port for headphones will not be mated to a method of charging by some other non-lightning means.

That's simply infuriating to me. And - get this - it's actually a deal breaker. I know, so many talk the talk about abandoning the iPhone, but I am willing to walk the walk. I will wait until the iPhone 7's official announcement before finalizing my decision, but since my contract's expiring this fall, I'm fully anticipating purchasing a Nexus device instead of a new iPhone. Further, the 6P is $0 from my phone provider; I'll save a couple of hundred bucks in the process.

In no way does the inconvenience of migrating some of my iCloud information to Google's cloud suite outweigh the inconvenience of not having the 3.5mm headphone jack on my phone.

Shame on you, Apple! While you may think the elimination of the 3.5mm jack is innovation or progress, I only see a reversion to the pre-smartphone era of awful proprietary earbuds bundled with flip phones. Except you could charge and listen simultaneously with those.
Score: 76 Votes (Like | Disagree)
calzon65 Avatar
93 months ago
Bad idea to remove the ubiquitous 3.5mm audio jack that works on laptops, desktops, automobiles, music players, mobile phones, even the in-seat audio connections on airlines.

Millions of people have spent good money on high quality headphones and earbuds that use the 3.5mm standard to be left out in the cold.

There have been almost a half dozen articles posted over the past few weeks that talk about the rumor of Apple removing the 3.5mm jack. If you look at those articles, the numbers of posts are astounding, more than most other articles, and the vast majority of reader responses are from people angry about the potential removal of the 3.5mm jack.

We are not talking about simply upgrading from floppy disks to CDs, from CDs to USB sticks, etc. I know people love to compare removing the 3.5mm jack to eliminating the floppy or CD drives. We are talking about the total elimination of one of the most reliable and useful audio standards that virtually all manufactures embrace.

Apple will take this proven and reliable open standard and give us their proprietary standard, and I'm confident no other equipment manufacture will ever embrace Lightning (No I'm not talking about headset manufactures, I'm talking about other desktop, laptop, tablet, phone, automobile, and aircraft manufactures).

So Apple does not move us forward, they lock us into a standard they control/own and move us away from the mainstream into a segregated solution that is not even available on their own computer line ... which uses the 3.5mm audio jack.

I think Apple's cult like mantra of making their phones thinner and thinner will go too far with the elimination of the 3.5mm jack.
Score: 75 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Krizoitz Avatar
93 months ago
If Apple really does ditch the standard audio jack its going to go down as the biggest mistake the company made since the round puck mouse. There is literally no upside to this. I don't need my phone to be one more mm thinner. I need it to have a better battery. Its small enough as is (actually the screens are too big, 4.5" would have been better than 4.7"). *sigh*
Score: 51 Votes (Like | Disagree)
magicschoolbus Avatar
93 months ago
So cool! Now i can't charge my phone and listen to headphones at the same time! What a fantastic innovation!
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jdillings Avatar
93 months ago
So, is it even possible to charge while listening to music or watching video?
Sure it is.....after you buy a $129 hub from Apple to solve the problem they created.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KingOfStuff Avatar
93 months ago
pretty sure you can have lossless audio from any headphone jack...
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iphone se 4 modified flag edges

iPhone SE 4 Details: Action Button, USB-C Port, Face ID, and More

Wednesday September 27, 2023 1:34 pm PDT by
Significant changes are expected to arrive with Apple's fourth-generation iPhone SE, in terms of both design and hardware, MacRumors has learned. The iPhone SE 4, known internally under the codename Ghost, is expected to receive a new design derived almost entirely from the base model iPhone 14. According to our sources, the iPhone SE 4 will use a modified version of the iPhone 14 chassis...
Multi Display CarPlay 1

All-New Apple CarPlay Launching Later This Year With These 5 New Features

Friday September 29, 2023 11:29 am PDT by
At WWDC 2022 last year, Apple previewed the next generation of CarPlay, promising deeper integration with vehicle functions like A/C and FM radio, support for multiple displays across the dashboard, personalization options, and more. Apple said the first vehicles with support for the next-generation CarPlay experience would be announced in late 2023, but it has still not shared any additional...
iOS 17

Everything New in iOS 17.1 Beta 1

Wednesday September 27, 2023 1:57 pm PDT by
Just a week after releasing iOS 17, Apple has seeded the first beta of iOS 17.1 to developers. iOS 17.1 adds some features that Apple promised were coming to iOS 17 in the future, plus it refines and improves some existing features. This guide covers everything new in the first iOS 17.1 beta. Apple Music Favorites You can favorite songs, albums, playlists, and artists in the iOS 17.1...
iPhone 15 Pro lineup

iPhone 15 Pro Overheating Concerns Highlighted in Two More Reports

Thursday September 28, 2023 6:25 am PDT by
iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max overheating concerns continue to make headlines this week, with the topic highlighted by The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg. Both of the reports document anecdotal complaints from customers, and outline potential causes, but it's unclear how many devices are actually affected. Bloomberg said the overheating could be caused or compounded by the iPhone's setup...
iPhone 15 Pro lineup

Apple to Address iPhone 15 Pro Overheating Issue With iOS 17 Update

Saturday September 30, 2023 9:28 am PDT by
Apple plans to release an iOS 17 update to address a bug that may contribute to the reported iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max overheating issue, according to a statement the company shared today with MacRumors and Forbes reporter David Phelan. Apple also says some recent updates to third-party apps have overloaded the system and contributed to the overheating issue. The report notes that...
iPhone 15 USB C Port Keynote

Some USB-C Power Banks Fail to Work With iPhone 15

Thursday September 28, 2023 2:06 pm PDT by
Apple added a USB-C port to the iPhone 15 lineup this year, allowing it to work with USB-C cables, USB-C power banks, and more. It turns out that some USB-C battery packs are not working properly with Apple's iPhone 15, resulting in charging issues. As highlighted on Reddit and the MacRumors forums, not all existing USB-C power banks can be used with the iPhone 15 models, perhaps due to the...
iOS 17

Apple Releases iOS 17.0.2 and iPadOS 17.0.2 for All iPhones and iPads

Tuesday September 26, 2023 12:47 pm PDT by
Apple today released iOS 17.0.2 and iPadOS 17.0.2 updates, with the software coming five days after the releases of iOS 17.0.1 and iPadOS 17.0.1. Today's iOS 17.0.2 and iPadOS 17.0.2 updates arrive as build 21A351 and can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Note that iOS 17.0.2 was previously made available for iPhone...