Everything about the rumoured iPhone 7 launch next week

With the launch date already announced, the seventh generation of the popular iPhone is about to peek from the Apple orchard. The date is September 7th. The name is iPhone 7, allegedly.

iDevices are probably the most leaked, rumoured and dogged gadgets in the universe. The tech world has been awash with rumours, alleged leaks and expectations for the next iPhone generation even before the keynote speakers left the stage during the previous iPhone generation’s unveiling. This is expectedly so since these devices are as popular as they are unpopular. Other than Android, iOS is the most popular smartphone & tablet operating system and mobile platform in the world.

At the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco where the Apple event is set to event, there has been talk of the unveiling of an updated MacBook Pro (the current one has been getting a bad rap for being quite dated) and an Apple Watch. But the iPhone 7 is the MVP here, taking all the attention, being the lady in red at the invite-only ball.

There have been tons of rumours about the upcoming iPhone, some more ridiculous than others.

 

Design

First, there apparently will be three versions of the iPhone 7, the smallest being a normally-named iPhone 7 that will come with a 4.7 inch screen, which would make it snug in the hand. The other two versions will probably come in at 5.5 inches for the iPhone 7 Plus and the uber-premium iPhone 7 Pro.

It has been said that the iPhone 7(s) won’t be too removed, design-wise, from the current iPhone – the 6S and 6S Plus. Other than the purported dual-camera setup at the back of the iPhone 7 Pro, the differences with the current Apple flagship phones will be minimal and subtle.

The antenna bands that markedly define the iPhone’s design are said to be removed in the iPhone 7 as well, moving them to the top and bottom curved edges of the phone giving it a cleaner look out back.

Pegatron, the newly-contracted vendors will build the 4.7 inch iPhone 7 and the traditional Foxconn vendors will build the two larger versions.

Add water resistance to this improved design and you’re bound to have an iPhone that finally matches up to the amazing Samsung flagships.

 

Display

Sadly, the much-hyped onset of OLED screens on iPhones is said to be next year. This year’s iPhone is expected to have a traditional LCD panel with next year’s radical phone featuring a curved AMOLED panel sourced from Samsung. We can’t wait to see that.

 

3.5mm Headphone Jack

One of the most notable ones are those that say the iPhone 7 (let’s just call it that, okay? I know it will probably be different but come on. Yeah?) will come without the 3.5mm headphone/audio out jack. To be frank and technically speaking, it is a bit dated in design. With current & new interfaces half its size capable of doing more than one task, the universal audio jack is like one of those boys or girls too big/grown for the class they are in. It is out of date, old and can definitely do more.

But it is universal; the English lingo of audio jacks. And Woz (Steve Wozniak) is still a fan of this. It should definitely stick around. But this is Apple again, it is not exactly known for sticking to norms.

 

Other improvements are said to come to the stereo speakers

 

Connectivity

The iPhone 7 is also said to have dual-SIM capabilities, a catch-up attempt with the tons of Android and Windows Phone devices that have had this for a while now.

Wireless charging is also rumoured to debut on the next device, a first in an iPhone.

People living in Japan are in for an extra treat in the iPhone 7 with addition of a tap-to-pay feature for the country’s subway system. This is possible with the use of FeliCa chips, a popular NFC-like Sony-developed system that has become Japan’s payment standard.

 

Home Button

This is one of the hot ones. Apple has been pegged on dropping the home button that has been a signature feature and, dare-I-say beauty spot of the iPhone from its first generation design in the 2017 edition of the device. (Not the September 7th launch.) So in an effort to achieve slim/zero bezels, the iPhone is dropping this hallmark feature to become, sadly, yet another run-of-the-mill slab, like the thousands of devices out there today. What then, happens to the fingerprint reader traditionally embedded in the home button? Does it go to the back of the device? That is so not Apple-like.

The device being launched next week is, however, going to sport that good old homey button, for the last time. It, however, will have pressure-sensitive capabilities, much like the 3D Touch screen of the current iPhones. This will bring on a whole suite of new interaction options with iOS 10.

 

Camera

The camera in the smaller 4.7 inch iPhone 7 is said to be ‘larger and improved’. The wow-factor, however, is said to be on the bigger iPhone 7 Plus / iPhone 7 Pro that is said to have a dual camera setup as seen on the Huawei P9 and LG G5 Android flagships. This according to CNET, is a small improvement but an improvement nonetheless, especially for the iPhone.

 

Memory & Storage

The grapevines say it will come rocking 3GB RAM (in order to support the dual-camera setup) and ditch the 16GB versions of the iPhone (which, frankly isn’t worth squat in today’s media-intensive storage demands). Therefore, there will be 32, 128 and 256 storage options of the device as seen in reported leaks of pictures of SanDisk memory chips showing as such.

 

Processor & Operating System

A faster A10 processor is said to run things in the upcoming iPhone, with performance improvements. Coupled with the 3GB RAM, iOS 10 and the above-mentioned rumoured features, it will apparently come with a host of features improvements and capabilities.

 

Remember, however that these rumours should be taken with water as none of them can be truly confirmed till the next week (7th September) during the official unveil. Surprise is still a beautiful thing and Apple pulling one over our eyes is not out of question. Keep it here for the full report on how this goes.

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