iPhone 7 — The Headphone Jack Removed

The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus were announced on 7 September 2016, opened for pre-order on Friday 9 September and went on sale together on Friday 16 September 2016. Apple's release listed more than 25 first-day countries and regions, Japan and China among them — a contrast with the iPhone 6, which reached China four weeks late. A second wave followed on 23 September, and India on 7 October.

US prices started at $649 for the iPhone 7 and $769 for the 7 Plus, each in 32GB, 128GB and 256GB.

The new jet black finish was offered only on the 128GB and 256GB models.

What Apple removed, and what it put in the box

The iPhone 7 has no 3.5 mm headphone jack. Apple's press release did not frame this as a removal at all. It described what came in the box: EarPods with a Lightning connector, and a Lightning to 3.5 mm Headphone Jack Adapter "that allows customers to use old headphones and accessories". The adapter was also sold on its own for $9.

From this model on, the Lightning port carried both power and wired audio.

"Courage"

At the launch event, Phil Schiller explained the decision. The Ringer's transcript has him saying that it "really comes down to one word: courage. The courage to move on, do something new, that betters all of us."

The line was mocked almost at once. The Ringer's article, published the same day, read it as dressing a practical design choice in the language of virtue.

A connector from the transistor-radio era

The jack Apple removed was far older than the phone. The 3.5 mm "miniature" plug was designed in the 1950s as a two-conductor connector for transistor-radio earpieces. Its three-conductor stereo form became ubiquitous with the Walkman in 1979, which, unlike earlier transistor radios, had no speaker of its own. The larger 6.35 mm plug it was scaled down from traces back to telephone switchboards of 1877–78.

Not the first phone without a jack

The iPhone 7 was not the first phone to drop the 3.5 mm jack. Motorola's Moto Z, unveiled on 9 June 2016, had already done it, routing headphones through its USB-C port and shipping an adapter in the box; Android Police called it by far the most mainstream phone to skip the jack at that point. What the iPhone 7 added was Apple's weight behind the same decision.

AirPods: shown in September, sold in December

The wireless answer was shown at the same event. AirPods were promised for late October. On 26 October Apple delayed them, telling the press that "we need a little more time before AirPods are ready for our customers", as 9to5Mac reported. Apple announced on 13 December 2016 that they were available to order at $159, with deliveries and store stock following the next week.

So for its first three months on sale, the phone that removed the jack had no Apple wireless earbuds to replace it.

Japan: FeliCa and Suica

The iPhone 7 matters in Japan for a different reason. Alongside it, Apple announced that iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus and Apple Watch Series 2 sold in Japan would support FeliCa, the contactless standard Apple described as used for more than 160 million transactions a day across the country. That made it the first iPhone that could carry Suica from JR East, and pay through iD and QUICPay.

Apple Pay went live in Japan on 25 October 2016. NFC World reported that the first day was rocky: JR East said heavy demand caused problems registering passes and topping up. Earlier iPhones, including the iPhone 6 that had introduced Apple Pay in the US, could not use these services.

Other changes

• Solid-state Home button: no longer a moving part; a Taptic Engine supplies the click, and Apple said the feedback was customisable
• Stereo speakers: Apple said they were twice as loud as the iPhone 6s
• A10 Fusion: Apple called it the most powerful chip ever in a smartphone, with CPU cores up to twice as fast as the iPhone 6 — Apple's own claims
• IP67 water and dust resistance under IEC standard 60529

Where the iPhone 7 sits

The Lightning port that the iPhone 7 made carry audio lasted until the iPhone 15 moved to USB-C. The Home button itself went with the iPhone X the next year.

The whole line is on the iPhone timeline; the company on Apple.