Friends, Romans, Apple fans, lend me your ears: the iPhone 7 is here and, as suspected, it's lost its 3.5mm audio port . If, like most, your headphones very much require one of those until-now-ubiquitous sockets, you have three musical options with your upgrade: use the new Lightning-connected...

After Apple's big announcement of the iPhone 7 lineup on Wednesday, there's probably one major question that's lingering in the minds of Apple fans: How will my life change without the iPhone headphone jack?

Apple finally went through with it. It killed the headphone jack on the iPhone 7 . In its place, you can use headphones that connect to the Lightning port. But Apple thinks the future is wireless headphones. And AirPods are its vision for that future.

With Apple kissing the standard headphone jack goodbye, it's hoping people will buy these completely wireless earbuds instead. They're elegant in some ways, with a simple pairing process and good voice-call quality.

Dead-simple to set up; Siri and calls work very well; Solid battery life

Controls aren't flexible enough; Mediocre audio quality; EarPods-inspired design isn't for everyone

The ultra-low power Apple W1 chip operates at one-third of the power of traditional wireless chips, enabling AirPods to deliver up to 5 hours of listening time on one charge. The custom-designed charging case holds additional charges, for an industry-leading more than 24 hours of total listening...

AirPods aren't meant for everyone. The EarPods that come in the box with the iPhone 7 are the earphones meant for the proletariat; AirPods are meant for people who want to free themselves from a life of tangled wires and a physical tether to their phones.

I waited for the catcalls, odd looks and derision. They never came. Through two long walks along the streets and avenues of a crowded city, not a single person looked at my ears, asked me about them or, as far as I could tell, noticed me at all.

With no headphone socket on the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus , you've either got to go Lightning connector or Bluetooth wireless. And the company is hoping you'll opt for the latter and buy into its wireless in-ear AirPods.

Easy to connect; work instantly across the Apple eco-system; carry case is the charger; sound isolation for calls and Siri control

Design will polarise opinion; lose the charging case you're stuffed; expensive; no audio upgrade compared to EarPods; can fall out; Siri control is sluggish

Apple's AirPods are the best fully wireless earbuds you can buy.

Rock-solid wireless reliability; range; Best-in-class battery life; Fast; compact charging case; Independent earbud operation; Replacement parts available

Not suitable for fitness activity; Average sound quality; Expensive replacement parts

The Apple AirPods haven't had the smoothest rollout . Finally available at year's end, the $159 cable-free wireless earphones now have plenty of competition. But where some competing models, like the Bragi Dash , are loaded with swipe and gesture controls, the AirPods simply use your voice and Siri...

Clear audio performance; Seamlessly pairs with multiple iOS devices on the same iCloud account; Carrying case doubles as backup battery

Lack of ear canal seal means less bass response and potential ear-to-ear stereo image discrepancies; Limited onboard controls virtually require you to use Siri; In-ear fit could be more secure