You'll want to take this rumor with a big grain of salt. MacOtakara doesn't have the greatest track record, and a lot could change in the 10 months between now and the future iPhone's possible launch in September next year. We'd add that such a change-up might be a little beyond the pale -- only a handful of companies make Lightning-based headphones, and there's no guarantee that others will bend over backwards to join them.

With that said, there is precedent for moves like this. A few Chinese vendors already make super-thin smartphones that drop the headphone jack in favor of USB sound. Apple would just be expanding on that concept by giving you features that aren't possible with a simple USB audio passthrough.

Photo by Will Lipman.