Apple’s iPhone 7 Might Not Feature Two Speakers, According to Freshly Leaked Schematics
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For almost a year now, much of the talk surrounding the iPhone 7 has been about Apple’s decision to axe the traditional 3.5mm headphone port.
The lack of a headphone port, which is all but confirmed at this point, opens up some much needed real estate on the interior of the iPhone 7 – real estate which many had theorized would be taken up by a second set of speakers on the bottom of the device. Almost every alleged “leak” of the device so far has displayed a row of holes on the bottom of the device that seemed to be a grille for a second set of speakers.
According to new “leaked” schematics of the device, however, those holes are only cosmetic. If the schematics are legitimate, the iPhone 7 will only have one speaker.
French website NowhereElse, which has become somewhat notorious lately for their plethora of Apple leaks (both legitimate and fake), has allegedly acquired a set of iPhone 7 schematics from an assembly plant producing the device. The schematics don’t appear to show anything that hasn’t already popped up in previous leaks. However, if the schematics are to be believed, the second “speaker grille” on the bottom of the device won’t actually contain a speaker at all. The row of holes will really just be there to match the row on the other side of the phone. While one of the holes in the grille will indeed be used for the microphone, the rest serve no functional purpose, and are there entirely for symmetry.
Many flagship phones contain two sets of speakers, as do several of Apple’s other products. The iPad Mini, for instance, has two sets of speakers for stereo sound. However, Apple has also put faux-speaker grilles on other products in the past – the iPhone SE, for example, only has one speaker despite having two speaker grilles, as did several iPhone models in the past.
Assuming that the iPhone 7 will, indeed, get rid of the 3.5mm headphone port, and assuming that the leaked schematics are accurate, that leaves a bit of unused space on the interior of the device. Apple will, of course, take advantage of the newfound space – the question is, with what, exactly?
If not a second speaker, perhaps we will see a larger battery. Getting rid of the headphone port for extra battery life is a trade-off I’m sure many people would be willing to make, assuming the new iPhone ships with Lightning-enabled headphones. Although there are plenty of new leaks hitting the internet every day, we likely won’t find out until the official announcement, rumored to take place on September 7th.
[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]
