This $40 dongle is the the only way you can charge your iPhone 7 with headphones plugged in

This is the future of iPhone, kids. What you're looking at is the adapter you'll need if you want to listen to music on wired headphones while charging your iPhone 7 or 7 Plus. The $40 (£30, €35) dongle has been created by Belkin and is currently the only viable solution to the latest Apple-induced headache.

Apple's "courageous" (its words, not ours) decision to kill off the headphone jack is the company's solution to a problem that was never really there to begin with.

By the company's reasoning, ditching the traditional 3.5mm socket will allow us all to move on to newer, better things: namely Bluetooth headsets like Apple's new £159 AirPods.

But for those not ready to cut the cord, Belkin has its Lightning Audio + Charge RockStar adapter, which it has created in collaboration with Apple.

The adapter plugs into the iPhone 7's Lightning port and then lets you connect both a charging cable and Lightning-connected headphones.

This means if you're using headphones with a traditional 3.5mm jack, you'll first need to plug these into Apple's official Lightning to 3.5mm adapter, then plug this adapter into the Belkin adapter.

Sure, it's a solution, but perhaps not the one everyone is looking for from the sleek new iPhone.

The adapter supports up to 48 kHz, 24-bit audio output as well as remote control and microphone for Lightning-compatible headphones. It's compatible with the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus as well as any other Lightning-compatible devices running iOS 10.

The adapter goes on sale on 10 October through Belkin.com and in Apple Stores.