Latest iPhone rumours: no headphone jack but 256GB of storage and a bigger battery - UPDATED

Do people still get excited over smartphones? Rumoured production cuts suggest not

The new Apple iPhone 7 won't have a handy headphone jack, requiring users to use either Bluetooth wireless headphones or headphones sporting Apple's proprietary Lightning adaptor instead. However, it will come with a 256GB storage option - at a (high) price, no doubt - and a bigger battery.

That is according to rumours coming out of China from the websites Anzhuo.cn and Wei Feng, which also suggest that Apple is planning its next major smartphone launch in March. The Chinese-language websites cite sources in Apple's supply chain.

Instead of being able to plug your favourite headphones into Apple's flagship smartphones, Apple will either provide Bluetooth wireless headphones for the device or headphones that connect via its proprietary Lightning adaptor instead. However, the new iPhone may also come with a converter enabling conventional headphones to be connected to help ease the shift, according to the reports.

The design choice mimics the MacBook released last year, which comes with a single USB-C port for both charging and connecting external devices - and nothing else. Users are expected to use wireless connectivity instead.

Apple introduced the Lightning port on its iPhones with the iPhone 5 in 2012. The aim of stripping out the headphone jack is intended to help make the devices even slimmer.

Apple has encouraged third-parties to develop products that connect via the Lightning port but, having been stung when the company suddenly and unexpectedly shifted from its 30-pin dock connector in 2012, few have come forward. The move left electronics manufacturers with a large inventory of suddenly obsolete stock that had to be discounted to clear.

Only Philips currently offers a limited range of headphones sporting a Lightning connector rather than a standard headphone jack.

The reports suggest that Apple is planning to incorporate bigger batteries into both the iPhone 7 and an iPhone 7+, with the 7+ sporting a battery increased in capacity from the current 2,750mAh to 3,100mAh. That compares to the 3,410mAh battery in the latest BlackBerry Priv or the 2,600mAh battery in the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge.

Rumours have also resurfaced that Apple is planning to introduce wireless charging with the iPhone 7, which might even enable the company to do away with even the Lightning port altogether. The Nokia Lumia 920 Windows Phone introduced wireless charging in 2012, while Samsung introduced Fast Charging wireless charging with its high-end Galaxy Note 5 and S6 Edge Android smartphones last year.

A range of other devices have supported wireless charging for a number of years, but only with the installation of after-market alternative backplates purchased by the user.

Historically, the problem with wireless charging from Apple's perspective is that it has added both weight and width to devices, while Apple has been focused on making them slimmer and lighter.

A new iPhone 6c device is also expected to be unveiled this year, with Apple's entry-level smartphone offering the same four-inch screen as the current 5c and 5s iPhones, but it won't, though, offer the pressure-sensitive 3D Touch screen of Apple's current iPhone 6s. Coming in an all-metal frame, like the current 5c device, it will be offered in a variety of colours.

UPDATE: New reports coming out of the Far East suggest that Apple is preparing to cut production of its current iPhone 6s and 6s Plus devices in the current quarter by one-third. The reports suggest a growing inventory glut, rather than preparing for the introduction of new ranges.

"The slowing down of the market is the truth," one Taiwanese supplier told Reuters, which also reported that Apple device maker Foxconn had been awarded subsidies totalling 82 million yuan (£8.5m).

Reuters continued: "Another Taiwanese supplier said Foxconn had granted its factory workers time off around Chinese New Year, which falls on 8 February, rather than follow its past practice of paying overtime to keep its production lines humming through the biggest holiday in China."