Apple decision to remove the headphone jack from the iPhone 7 was one of its more
controversial moves, one that pushed iPhone owners either toward the wireless world of Bluetooth, or the wide world of dongles. Apple's case for removing the classic port was ostensibly to allow for extra space inside the iPhone's ever slimmer body, but now we've got proof that there is still room, because one DIYer put the headphone jack back all on his own.
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YouTuber Scotty Allen of the channel Strange Parts, who previously built his very own iPhone from spare parts, took up the challenge and documented his progress over the course of about a dozen weeks, ultimately achieving success but with plenty of speed bumps along the way. His ultimate solution? Take a Lightning-to-headphone dongle, deconstruct it, and embed it inside the iPhone along with a custom-made switcher chip that automatically flips the connection back and forth between the headphone jack and the Lighting port, depending on what is plugged in.
Allen's success here definitely proves that there was and is room inside the iPhone 7 for a headphone jack. Plenty of it, even, considering that this hacked-together solution is probably twice as large as what Apple could manage. But even though Apple's move away from a traditional headphone jack may be more about pushing a wireless future—which includes its expensive and questionably-designed AirPods—there's no telling whether Allen's hack will hold up, or might compromise the phone's safety in some regard. All signs point to future iPhone's having much more cramped interiors, too.
The easiest solution to headphone jack-free life is to find a pair of Bluetooth headphones you like, but if you'd like to follow Allen's lead, he is making his custom switcher chip available for sale, though as a keepsake rather than a resource for doing the modification yourself. After all, the average tinkerer will be far more likely to destroy an iPhone than to successfully add a headphone jack. But hey, you never know unless you try.
Source: Strange Parts
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/news/a28092/strange-parts-iphone-7-headphone-jack/
