According to some reports from Japan, Apple is planning to remove 3.5 mm headphone jack on the next generation iPhone in favor of an all in one Lighting connector. Apple is also planning to release lighting equipped Ear pods to support the new audio output on future iOS devices.
The reports say, the new same sized Lighting connector will support lighting equipped and Bluetooth headphones and have a CAC or digital to audio converter for backwards compatibility with wired headphones using standard 3.5mm stereo jacks. A 3.5mm to lighting adapter would be required.
The next generation iPhone 7 will be 1 mm thinner than iPhone 6S which comes with 7.1 mm thick. The sixth generation iPod touch could be a comparable device with a depth of 6.1mm and the portable media player will have 3.5mm headphone jack.
Reportedly Apple will be releasing lighting equipped Earpods, which would likely be included in the box alongside the iPhone 7 and sold separately for use with other future iOS devices. Apple’s current Earpods with a 3.5 mm stereo jack will presumably remain available for purchase afterwards for the foreseeable future.
There is no any official announcement from the Apple about this replacing 3.5 mm headphone jack on iPhone 7. Hopefully soon we can get a news regarding next generation iPhone.