Here’s how you charge an iPhone 7 and listen to music at the same time

Apple dropping the 3.5mm headphone jack from its new iPhone 7 will be debated for many months to come, but it generates some real changes to the way you might charge and play music from an iPhone. While Apple arrogantly dismissed its move as “courageous” on stage, it didn’t answer a key scenario for those who want to play music through headphones and charge the iPhone at the same time.

Obviously, Bluetooth headphones are the best option for this scenario, but if you’re using any wired headphones with the adapter then you won’t be able to charge at the same time. Apple doesn’t appear to have additional adapters ready for this, and the only option available is the existing $49 lightning dock. I regularly charge my iPhone and listen to music during flights, and I’m sure there are a number of times you might need to do this. If you’re using Apple’s new lightning EarPods that are bundled in the box then it’s even worse, you simply won’t be able to charge and listen to music at the same time as the dock doesn’t have an additional lightning connector for the headphones.

A $49 dock doesn’t seem like the ideal solution for something you’d expect any modern smartphone to handle with ease, but Apple is pushing ahead towards a wireless future and this is one of the many casualties along the way.