iPhone 7 requires Apple’s $50 dock to charge while listening to ‘normal’ headphones

Removing the traditional 3.5mm headphone jack from the iPhone 7 has been widely regarded as a bad idea, but Apple appears dead-set on compounding its error by making adapters for the iPhone expensive and annoying to deal with.

We’ve already seen the Belkin-manufactured dongle that adds a second lightning port for simultaneous charging and music over Lightning. What about a good old-fashioned headphone jack? Apple will let you have one of those, but only as a $50 phone dock. It’s not exactly pocketable.

The updated version of Apple’s Lightning Dock is now available for pre-order and priced at $49. That’s $10 more than last year’s model. The new one is available in multiple colors to match the new iPhone 7. That’s pretty much the only difference. The phone plugs into the top of the dock via its lone Lightning port. On the back is a Lightning input and a 3.5mm headphone jack output. That means the dock can connect to your existing speakers without adapters or dongles while the phone is also charging.

The Lightning Dock appears to be the only way you’ll be able to charge the phone and use a traditional 3.5mm jack at the same time. Apple maintains tight control over Lightning accessories, so it gets to call the shots regarding what sort of adapters will come out for the iPhone. Someone could certainly design an adapter that had power and a headphone jack, but there’s little chance Apple would certify it. The Cupertino company is going all-in on its move away from the headphone jack.

Apple plans to release its own wireless earbuds for the iPhone in the coming weeks (AirPods), but they’re priced at $159. The iPhone 7 also comes with an adapter for standard headphones and headphones that plug directly into the Lightning port. Your options if you want to charge and listen to music over a wired connection are limited, though.