While it’s widely rumored that the iPhone 7 will drop the headphone jack when it launches later this year, known Apple audio supplier Cirrus Logic may have hinted about how Apple plans to handle this transition. Speaking to analysts and investors during the company’s latest earnings call (via BI), CEO Jason Rhode made a few interesting comments about what might be planned for later this year.

Cirrus Logic, which specializes in audio-related technology for mobile devices, has been traced back to hardware inside iPhones through product teardowns in the past, although the company is quiet about its relationship with Apple like most firms that partner with the iPhone maker.

With that in mind, it’s easy to connect Apple and the upcoming iPhone 7 to a few of Rhode’s comments this week. For instance, the firm expects to push noise-cancelling headphone technology for this reason:

There are definitely people considering putting [it] in box … any time somebody talks about adding content inside a box, inside the box it ships with the phone, you can imagine the agonizing that goes into any additional micro-penny that gets added to the box.

Considering the Apple and Cirrus relationship, it’s easy to read that to potentially mean Apple’s next iPhone headphones could feature noise-cancelling tech. Noise-cancelling headphone technology has already been rumored for the next iPhone.

The Cirrus executive also spoke positively to the prospect of Lightning-based headphones, some of which are already on the market:

The amount that we can talk about that outside of other folks who are MFi [made for iPhone] partners is relatively limited, but yeah, there’s things that are up and running via the MFi program that people can take and design with today.

Lightning-connected headphones would become the only wired connection on iPhones without the headphone jack, save for using an adapter.

Beyond reading between the lines about what could ship in the box with the next major iPhone release this fall, we reported earlier this month that Apple through Beats is currently developing a cord-free, wireless earbud solution with a charging case. These premium wireless earbuds are said to feature noise-cancelling technology of their own.

Even ahead of the annual flagship iPhone upgrade event later this year, Apple is currently planning to introduce a headphone-jack equipped 4-inch iPhone 5se and new iPad Air 3 at a special event currently slated for mid-March.

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