[jude]

After it was revealed that Apple's upcoming MFi (Made for iDevices) specifications would include digital audio output (48kHz stereo) and digital audio input (48kHz mono), Forbes reported that the iPhone 6 would abandon the standard 3.5mm headphone jack. (Forbes later added a question mark to the headline, acknowledging that the article was more an informed an opinion that a fact.) And Forbes was certainly not alone in at least suggesting that the iPhone 6 might not include a standard headphone jack.
 
I don't think too many of us Head-Fi'ers were convinced that Apple would be abandoning the 3.5mm headphone jack any time soon, and it looks like we were right.
 
Apparent iPhone 6 shell leaks revealed today clearly show a 3.5mm headphone jack. Here's one of the photos below:
 

(Photo by feldvolk.com)
 
Here's a video of the leaked shell:
 

 
It does look like the shell is unfinished, and certainly not in final form (if indeed this is a real iPhone 6 case leak, which it does seem to me to be). Some of the cutouts haven't been made yet (like the camera cutout), but a hole for the headphone jack is certainly there.
 
I think if Apple ever does get rid of the standard headphone jack, it won't be for a long time still.
 
Will they use Lightning for headphones? Yes, I think so. I think they'll use it for specially equipped headphones with any number of advanced functions (DSP, additional sensors, etc.), but alongside the standard headphone jack for a long time still.
 
Anyway, long story short, if Apple is going to one day get rid of the 3.5mm headphone jack, it doesn't look like it'll start with the upcoming iPhone 6.

 

[ToddTheMetalGod]

Anyone that thought it wouldn't was crazy . Do you really think that Apple would force their customers to use their headphones? People don't follow them that blindly, they would lose market share in the process because other phones with decent DACs have headphone jacks.

 

[Hapster]

Obviously haha, there were prototype videos released awhile ago! I agree though, maybe with the iphone 6s.

 

[Bansaku]

Apple isn't that cruel that it would release a non-headphone jack iDevice; Only Sony has ever (to my knowledge) released a digital device that needed a headphone dongle. Besides, Apple probably still has like 5 billion EarPods in storage
 

 

[Wyd4]

I dunno.
Of all the companies that would make their consumers buy their hardware only, my thoughts are it would be Apple!
 
Realistically, the general consumer market wouldn't care, so long as they were shipped with appropriate iBuds or they could get their hands on their lightning Beats.
 
The audiophile section is just a small subset of their market share at the end of the day.
 
Anyway, enough apple bashing lol, yes I am a google/android fanboy, but I am looking forward to seeing the new iPhone and how it sounds.
I jumped on the iPhone with the 5s (had to part with it due to wife's 5 dieing and her inability to persevere with android) and may very well jump on the 6 if the audio stands up.

 

[shigzeo]

Anyone that thought it wouldn't was crazy

. Do you really think that Apple would force their customers to use their headphones? People don't follow them that blindly, they would lose market share in the process because other phones with decent DACs have headphone jacks.

Indeed. And when have Forbes every had anything useful to say about Apple from an analyst position?

 

[Sko0byDoo]

Bigger screen iPhones?  I do like the iOS snappy speed over Android, but the 4" screen is a big downer for me.  If iPhone 6 gets 5.5" screen, I'm in...
 
Any idea if Beat will get into iPhone 6 somehow?  Don't know if this will be a good/bad thing.

 

[ToddTheMetalGod]

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure they'll make headphones that use the lightning plug for built-in DACs and claim it is better (which is certainly possible, but I'm doubtful they would bother improving their implementation considering their target market). Maybe they'll use it for a line-level amplifier to use inside of headphones marketed under the Beats brand, I think that's far more likely.

 

[zeppu08]

Bigger screen iPhones?  I do like the iOS snappy speed over Android, but the 4" screen is a big downer for me.  If iPhone 6 gets 5.5" screen, I'm in...

Any idea if Beat will get into iPhone 6 somehow?  Don't know if this will be a good/bad thing.

Rumors says iPhone 6 will have 2 sizes, a 4.7"and a 5.5".

 

[MegaMushroom]

That's good, but the rumors aren't a good sign for the future.  Anyway... think I'm gonna stick to WP8 for the time being. 

 

[Yazen]

  Apple isn't that cruel that it would release a non-headphone jack iDevice; Only Sony has ever (to my knowledge) released a digital device that needed a headphone dongle. Besides, Apple probably still has like 5 billion EarPods in storage
 

It used to be the norm for a 'smartphone' to require the use of their included proprietary adapter/jack, or had something just as inconvenient (2.5mm).  There were exceptions, such as the Nokia N91
That was a pretty good phone for music..

 

[jay628]

Probably Lightning plug Beats headphones coming

 

[miceblue]

I thought it was pretty clear the iPhone 6 was going to have a 3.5 mm output jack. The mockup model has been out for a while now:

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVpfhoi_uOM[/video]


^ that's where I first saw it, but clearly it's been out before then since MKBHD acknowledges it in the beginning of the video...this is from May


Tyll at Innerfidelity pretty much debunked the rumour too.
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/headphone-news-june-2014

Regarding the continuing existence of our litte friend jack, at 7:45 mark in the video Walsh does mention the 3.5mm jack as being supported by upcoming products saying:

And last but not least, all of our products also support the standard 3.5mm headphone jack, and we also provide a module for you to incorporate into your products, which allows you to take advantage of the remote control functionality that we offer over this jack."

And that's the complete statement about the 3.5mm jack. So, it will still be there—at least in the near-term upcoming product releases, but it doesn't sound like they're drawing much attention to it.

^ that information is from the WWDC 14 conference back at the beginning of June

 

[EskimoJoe]

It is true that apple is insanely proprietary but that goes for their internal parts i cant possible see them making a headphone jack like that because i do not believe people would be happy with that choice and (though i would never consider this) it would also remove the ability for non iphone uses to use ipod headphones.

 

[billybob_jcv]

I think you guys are missing one of the options Apple may take in the future: A dongle. Put a proprietary jack on the phone, then make you buy an adapter dongle for $29.95. Or, buy Beats for $300 and the dongle will be included...

They won't be doing it on the iphone 6, but there's always v7 or 8 or 9...