Rumours of the iPhone 7 dropping the traditional 3.5mm headphone jack have been growing over recent weeks – and the latest evidence that it could happen comes from Apple's own software code.

The iOS 9.3 public beta 1.1 is currently underway for developers, and some have been searching through the source code to see what new features can be divined.

A developer posted a string of code to Twitter that reads "Headphones.have.%sinput.NO".

The truth hurts

That may well mean Apple is preparing itself for a future without the 3.5mm headphone jack on the iPhone.

This doesn't mean for certain that the iPhone 7 will come without a headphone jack – there are already headphones on the market that use the Lightning port adapter, and this could be in reference to those.

But those headphones work on software before iOS 9.3 and the update has only just come in now – so maybe this really is Apple preparing to ditch the 3.5mm jack.

Earlier this month more than 200,000 people backed a petition asking Apple to keep the headphone jack on the iPhone 7 – and that was just in response to rumours, so imagine the uproar if Apple finally announces the update on stage later this year.

Via Phone Arena