iPhone 7: Wireless earpods off the cards contrary to earlier reports due to pricing decisions?

In some disappointing news for iPhone 7 enthusiasts, Apple may not pack wireless earpods with the iPhone as earlier reported. Instead, it may include a pair of lightning-connected earpods by fitting them with connectors/adapters to make up for the absence of the current 3.5mm headphone jack it plans to do away with.

Barclays analysts have reported that Apple will not be purchasing noise-cancelling technology for in-box headphones until 2017 from Cirrus Logic, one of Apple's audio suppliers that specialises in audio-related technology for mobile devices. This is in line with what Cirus CEO Jason Rhode had said during the company's last earning calls that such a technology may not be cost-effective.

Rhode had hinted that putting such technology in-box a handset is a tough call as pricing decisions can force companies like Apple to stay undecided. "Any time somebody talks about adding content inside a box, inside the box it ships with the phone, you can imagine the agonizing that goes into any additional micro-penny that gets added to the box," he said.

The technology, however, will surely be rolled out in the near future, possibly with the iPhone 7S model, as Cirrus already has the capability to produces these but is probably waiting for a better pricing strategy. If Apple decides to introduce such an expensive technology, instead of raising the price for the device it may ask consumers to buy the accessory separately as has been done by many companies like OnePlus and Xiaomi to reduce the final retail cost.

Whatever the case may be, as of now we can say that the current 3.5mm headphone jack surely will be axed from iPhone 7. The space freed up by clearing the jack may be used for another speaker, for which Cirrus is expected to provide an amp, according to the report.