The iPhone 7’s release date is now just a few days away so it’s hardly a surprise that even Apple’s stringent security measures aren’t stopping the leaks from getting through.
With a new design that potentially ditches the headphone jack but gains an incredible new camera and waterproofing, the 7 could be one of Apple’s boldest new products in years.
While iPhone 6s was never going to be the design overhaul of the century, instead what it did bring was a revolutionary new pressure-sensitive screen and an outstanding new camera that could shoot 4K.
With the iPhone SE now out in the wild, the next product set to be released alongside the iPhone 7 is the Apple Watch 2.
Rumoured to feature GPS, a thinner body and a faster processor the Apple Watch 2 is expected to be Apple’s no compromise solution to the smartwatch.
Back to the iPhone though as a major leak has seemingly confirmed everything we had predicted about the iPhone 7.
It comes courtesy of well-respected KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Here’s his full breakdown of the iPhone 7:
- A10 chip - This is expected to be honest, Apple always announced a new chip for a new iPhone.
- Five Colours - That’s right, this iPhone will apparently be available in: Silver, Gold, Rose Gold, Black and a new glossy Piano Black.
- IPX7 Water Resistance - This is the same water resistance as the Apple Watch which means you should be able to take your iPhone running, drop it in water and even submerge for brief periods in water up to 1m deep.
- No headphone jack - This has practically been confirmed by almost every company other than Apple in truth.
- Stereo Speakers - The earpiece at the top will now become a speaker too allowing for stereo sound when holding the phone in landscape.
- 256GB Storage - The iPhone will reportedly be offered in three sizes: 32GB, 128GB or 256GB.
iPhone 7 Headphone Jack
Once considered a sin beyond reproach, it seems as though Apple may finally be ready to let go of the traditional headphone jack on the iPhone.
You wait ages for a bus and suddenly three turn up, a new photo claims to show the outside sticker on the new iPhone 7 which not only claims that there will be a 256GB version of the iPhone 7 but that there will be no headphone jack.
The image comes courtesy of nowhereelse who claim to have found the image on the Chinese social media site Weibo. Now it’s important to take this image with a massive dose of salt, not only are labels like this incredibly easy to fake but once a rumour takes hold people love to run with it.
9To5Mac claims to have discovered a video which shows the official Apple adaptor which will come with the new iPhone.
According to the site, this will be the adaptor that will come with the new iPhone 7 allowing users to plug their normal headphones into the device via the iPhone’s Lightning port.
Instead the headphones would connect via either Bluetooth or through the iPhone’s Lightning Port on the bottom.
While the news had sparked some controversy among the general public we did point out that if true, Apple’s decision could be a brilliant one.
Adding fuel to the flames were a number of tweets reportedly showing a basic concept drawing of the iPhone 7’s new design.
Along with new wired headphones, Russian tech site mobiltelefon.ru claims to have found Russian trademark filings which point to a brand-new pair of wireless headphones by Apple called ‘AirPods’.
These would not be sold with the iPhone 7, but would be a premium extra which customers could buy now that the iPhone doesn’t have a headphone jack.
iPhone 7 New Colours
These renders are courtesy of the incredibly talented Martin Hajek, an artist who specialises in taking gadget rumours and then converting them into photorealistic concept images.
Rather understandably Hajek has imagined the iPhone 7 in several new colours which better reflect the changing colourways of Apple’s products generally.
While Space Grey remains a solid part of the Apple ecosystem it doesn’t take into account that the company now has a highly successful black Apple Watch.
To help people pair their gadgets, Hajek imagines the iPhone 7 in both black and a dark blue which could both more comfortably pair with Apple’s wearable products.
iPhone 7 Screen
The new iPad Pro 9.7-inch has quite simply the best display we’ve ever seen on a tablet. Thanks to its astronomically wide colour range and True Tone display it’s almost unbeatable.
Well the folks over at DisplayMate happen to agree and have even gone so far as to suggest that the display is so good that it seems certain that Apple will try and shrink it down into the iPhone 7.
This would mean you have an iPhone 7 with drastically low reflectivity, even in direct sunlight, and a phone that has the ability to change its display dependent on the colour range around it.
iPhone 7 Camera
That’s right, and adding further fuel to the fire of this rumour is respected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo who reports that the dual-camera function will be exclusive to the larger 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus.
According to Kuo the dual-camera system is expected to provide ‘DSLR quality’ photos that could finally mean you’ll never have to buy a dedicated camera again.
A dual-camera sounds odd but YouTube channel Unbox Therapy claim to have got hold of a leaked iPhone 7 case which seemingly confirms a number of the big changes coming to the iPhone 7 (including the headphone jack).
What it shows more crucially though is a radically change camera design which suggests that the iPhone could come with two lenses on the back. A dual-lens iPhone would be able to achieve better depth-perception and also take better pictures in low-light.
Furthermore, new images showing what is reported to be the camera module of the iPhone 7 suggest that even the smaller model will still get optical image stabilisation - a feature that has previously been exclusive to the iPhone 6 and 6s Plus.
The images, obtained by NWE, show a larger module in comparison to the iPhone 6 and 6s but still slightly smaller than the larger phone.
iPhone 7 Wireless Charging
Wireless charging isn’t what you might call an ‘essential’ feature, rather it’s something that adds convenience. On top of that it could be space inside the phone’s case that Apple is simply not willing to spare.
There have been rumours that Apple is working on a innovative new WiFi-powered charging technology that would allow you to charge the iPhone wirelessly over long distances.
iPhone 7 Waterproof
Apple’s flagship smartphone has remained stoically, sometimes infuriatingly, vulnerable to water damage.
While phones like the Sony Xperia Z4 and Samsung Galaxy S7 now feature some form of waterproofing as standard Apple is one of the last companies to not include the feature on the iPhone.
With one less port to worry about (the headphone jack) it now seems more likely than ever that Apple could finally add waterproofing to the iPhone.
Indeed there have been claims by some that the iPhone 6s seems to be incredibly resistant to water in general, although Apple has made no formal confirmation that the product uses waterproofing.