Apple iPhone 7 dock is the only way to charge and listen to music with normal headphones at the same time

Now the traditional jack is gone, people can only plug headphones in to the lightning port. The trouble is that you need that to keep your phone turned on

Apple is going to require people to spend £49 if they want to charge their iPhone and listen to music at the same time.

The company’s decision to drop the headphone jack has caused controversy among people who worry that their earphones are about to become defunct. But perhaps the biggest controversy is yet to come – how exactly you can listen and charge at the same time.

Apple now requires everyone who uses headphones to plug them into the Lightning charging port at the bottom, either by buying ones that plug straight in or using the adapter that will come bundled in the box. But since that same port is used while charging, there appears to be no way of doing both at once.

The only way to solve that problem is to buy the Lightning Dock that Apple sells for the iPhone 7. The back of that product includes a traditional 3.5mm headphone port and a charging port – meaning that people can listen and charge at the same time.

According to the website, that is the only part of the new Apple line-up that allows for both to happen at once. Some had presumed that there might be another adapter for sale that would provide both ports, but it appears that no such thing is for sale.

The dock costs £49 or $49, and is available for ordering now. It’s actually the same dock that Apple sold with the 6s, though it appears to have been updated to include the new Black colour that the phone comes in.

The company actually hopes that people will move towards wireless headphones – preferably by buying some of its new AirPods or Beats. But it does still support wired listening, including by giving earphones in the box that plug into the Lightning port.