Apple kills Headphone Socket in iPhone 7

The upcoming addition to Apple fleet, iPhone 7, will not have a headphone socket, a new leaked case design has shown.

Case manufacture nowhere else.fr claims the new handset, expected to be revealed in September, will feature stereo speakers – but could dump the headphone socket to slim it down.

Apple’s next iPhone will be as thin as the firm’s iPod Touch, it has been previously claimed.

Tech blog MacOtakara says that the iPhone 7 will be 1mm thinner than its predecessor, the iPhone 6S, and will measure 6.1mm in thickness.

It is also expected to have a thinner lightning port – although it is believed the same cable will still work with the handset.

It is also been rumoured that Apple will lose the ‘bump’ from the camera lens.

It is believed the larger of the expected two models will use a radical dual lens camera, and a Sony executive appeared to confirm the move earlier this year.

MacRumours said: “According to a source who has provided reliable information in the past, the iPhone 7 body will appear very similar to the design used for the iPhone 6 and 6s, with two significant exceptions.

“The first involves the rear camera, which protrudes slightly on the iPhone 6 and 6s.

“On the iPhone 7, the camera is said to sit flush with the rear casing, enabled by a thinner camera module.’

The other significant change with the body of the iPhone 7 is the removal of antenna bands across the rear, allowing for a cleaner all-metal look on the back.

Antenna bands at the sides and around the top and bottom edges are said to remain, however.

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed last year the iPhone 7, which is unlikely to launch until at least September 2016, will be the firm’s thinnest handset to date at just 6mm thick.

This would put on a par with the iPod touch, and would be almost a millimetre thinner than the current iPhone 6.

If Mr Kuo’s claims are true, Apple’s next-generation handset would be its thinnest yet, but it would still be significantly thicker than the thinnest phone in the world – Vivo’s X5 Max.

Vivo’s Android handset is just 4.75mm, while rival phone-maker Oppo’s R5 is 4.85mm.

Samsung also has a super-thin phone called the Galaxy A8 which measures 5.9mm.