Leaked Photos Allegedly Show New Lightning Equipped EarPods for Apple’s iPhone 7

It’s all but confirmed that Apple’s upcoming ‘iPhone 7’ handset will be shipping sans the industry standard 3.5mm headphone jack. However, what still remains unclear is exactly how the Silicon Valley iPhone-maker plans to make right by that rather substantial omission of hardware on the user’s end.

While some reports have suggested that the Cupertino-company will be including a 3.5mm to Lightning adapter within the iPhone 7’s packaging, others have suggested more far-fetched theories — such as that Apple would be including those all-new wireless AirPods.

Even with all the lingering rumors, however, a set of the most recently leaked imaged appear to show us what looks like the good-old, standard pair of EarPods — which were originally released alongside the iPhone 5 back in 2012; only this pair, interestingly enough, shows us that Apple might have reconfigured its iconic headset to feature a standard Lightning connector in place of the 3.5mm input.

Featuring the same built-in remote microphone and volume controls as the current EarPods provided by Apple, these images were recently leaked by the popular Chinese social media blog, Weibo — which is often a reliable sources for Apple product leaks, primarily in light of its vicinity and connectedness with the Cupertino-company’s Far East supply chain.

The authenticity of these images, unfortunately, is difficult to determine. However, it should be noted that Apple has for long been expected to either update its EarPods altogether, or provide users with a reasonable alternative — given the company’s move to shake up the 3.5mm standard that most of us have grown accustomed to over the years, entirely of its own volition.

Of course, in addition to whatever audio source is ultimately provided by Apple, customers will also be able to use their own Bluetooth-enabled headset, or any of the existing Lighting-enabled audio headsets currently on the market. Even still, a gratis set of standard headphones has become a staple of the iPhone’s box contents from the get-go — and therefore, most of us would expect that trend to only continue, right?

Despite the grief that most of us might be enduring due to Apple’s transition, however, it should also be noted that Lightning-enabled audio is largely expected to be far superior and better sounding than that transmitted by the standard 3.5mm input. Although, for what it’s worth, such a transition would render the latter majority of headsets on the market inherently useless — unless Apple includes one of those new Lightning adapters, or better yet, if these images actually turn out to be authentic.

What do you think about Lightning-enabled audio on the ‘iPhone 7’? Let us know in the comments!

[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]