New iPhone: 2018 model might give up on headphone jack entirely, reports suggest

Even the bundled dongle is disappearing, as Apple embraces wireless audio

Apple is expected to remove the headphone adapter with its next iPhone, leaving people unable to use traditional headphones with their new mobiles.

The company famously – or infamously – dropped the headphone jack from its handsets with the iPhone 7. But at the time it promised that nothing much would change for people with traditional headphones, since the box would come with an adapter that would allow them to be plugged into the charging port.

Now that adapter is being removed, according to an analyst report first spotted by Macrumors. As such, people will be required to stop using their traditional headphones, or get an adapter of their own.

Apple has been clear that it is embracing a wireless future, expecting people to use Bluetooth headphones rather than plug them in. With the iPhone 7, it released wireless ear buds of its own, and made clear statements that it saw them as the future of listening.

But that decision upset the many iPhone users who wanted to keep using their traditional headphones, which plugged in using a jack. So Apple bundled a dongle in the box, which could be used to adapt a headphone jack into the Lightning cable required to plug into the bottom of the phone.

With the new iPhone – expected next month – that adapter will no longer be provided for free, according to multiple reports. The latest evidence comes from a Barclays analyst report into Cirrus Logic, which supplies parts for the adapter and suggested that it had confirmed it would no longer be providing the dongle.

Apple will probably continue to sell the adapter, which is available on its website for the relatively low price of $9 or £9. But the reviews on that page demonstrate the lingering anger over the decision to drop the headphone jack: it has one star out of five, and the reviews page is full of complaints about having to use the adapter.

It continues to be one of Apple's best-selling accessories, even nearly two years after the headphone jack was dropped.