iPhone 7, 7 Pro & SE - Leaks & Rumors Part 11
One of the minor issues that Expert Reviews had with the iPhone 6Swas that it had a smaller battery than the iPhone 6, which meant that it lasted less time from a single charge in our tests. Well, Apple has clearly taken complaints from users to heart and for the iPhone 7 it"s upping the battery size. Leaked shots featured on MacRumoursallegedly show the new battery for the iPhone 7. You can clearly see in the image below that the battery is a 7.04watt-hour model, which is up from the 6.61watt-hour model on the iPhone 6S and similar to the 7.01watt-hour battery on the iPhone 6.
Given that the iPhone 7 is said to be Apple"s thinnest phone yet, how has it found more room inside the case? Well, there"s certainly some room saved by ditching the headphone socket and using the Lightning adaptor only. On top of that, continued miniaturisation of components, such as the processor, will leave more room inside the case. Finally, there"s a good chance that Apple will have worked out how to save room with its 3D Touch components, too. It"s hard to say what this will do for battery life: I"d expect at least the same as from the iPhone 6 (around 13hours in our video playback test), but you may see better performance due to a more efficient processor and OS.
It would seem as though the headphone port has well and truly been ditched. In the Unbox Therapy video below, you can get up-close and personal with the leaked iPhone 7 case. The video confirms that the iPhone 7 is practically the same as the iPhone 6S in design and size, but that there"s definitely no headphone port and that there"s going to be a big change to the camera.
What"s clear when chasing rumours is that you have to be very careful about the information you"re presenting. There are plenty of people out there that love to fake recent leaks, getting everyone else super-excited about might what be. A good example of this in recent days is the leak that seemed to show that the iPhone 7 would no longer have a home button.
Now, I didn"t print this rumour, as I simply didn"t believe it at the time. The Home Button is and remains an important part of the iPhone and iOS, particularly as it has the Touch ID sensor built in. To me, it makes no sense that Apple would simply remove it and integrating the button into the screen doesn"t really seem feasible.
Yet, rumours that Apple wants to do that persist, giving people a golden opportunity to fake some shots and pretend that they"ve seen the phone for real. The latest example of that has been debunked by PhoneArena, showing that the image has clearly been digitally edited. As you can see in the image, the phone has no headphone jack (as expected), but the reflection on the table shows that the model shot originally had one. If that headphone jack has been edited out, it"s clear that the Home Button would also have had the same treatment. I firmly believe that the iPhone 7 will have a Home Button, so ignore all "evidence" to the contrary that says otherwise.What you need to know, quicklyNeed the information fast - here"s everything you need in a quick, bite-sized digest. Obviously, everything here is based on unconfirmed rumours, so things can change quickly, but the below is, at least, a quick view of how things stand at this point in time.
What is it?Apple"s brand new smartphone, complete with a new design and the successor to 2015"s iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S PlusWhen is it out?If Apple sticks to its normal release schedule, and it tends to, then we should see itlate September 2016What"s new?It will have a completely new design and look different to all iPhones before it. That opens up huge potential, but we"re expecting a better screen, faster processor and a much batter cameraiPhone 7 releasedateIf there"s been one reliable thing about Apple"s iPhone launches, it"s that they happen just once a year. Given that theiPhone 6Swas launched in September 2015, a year after the iPhone 6, it doesn"t take a genius to work out that the iPhone 7 will come in September 2016.
Case leaks show everythingIs the iPhone 7 going to have a dual-sensor camera or not? That"s the big question, with plenty of, often conflicting answers. So far, it has been suggested that there will be three models of iPhone 7, with only one to have the dual camera sensor (unlikely, in my opinion - see below for more information); that all models will have dual sensor cameras; and that none will have this. However, as more information leaks out, we"re starting to get a bit closer to the truth.
Leaked photos, posted onnowhereelse.fr, show the iPhone 7 case for the first time. The image, which you can see below, shows the iPhone 7"s chassis for the first time. It"s a shot of a design document, taken by pointing a camera at a monitor, so the detail isn"t very clear; however, from this image, we can see that the new phone looks similar to the existing iPhone 6/6S, except there are no antenna lines on the back breaking up the design. Instead, a thin antenna strip at the bottom is all that"s needed: that certainly makes the new phone look neater.
Intriguingly, there"s not enough space for dual cameras, with only a single hole in the case. Look a little closer and you"ll see that the camera hole is considerably larger than on previous iPhone models. This seems to make it clear that we are getting a camera upgrade of sorts: perhaps a larger lens and sensor are in the works.
No OLED until 2017If there"s one thing that Apple needs to change about its iPhones, it"s a move to OLED display panels, away from LCD. As good as Apple"s LCD displays are, OLED screens have a couple of massive advantages: they produces darker blacks and, as each pixel is self-illuminating, they use less power. The latter point is incredibly important, given that Apple wants to manufacture thinner phones with less space inside for larger batteries. As such, it seems inevitable that Apple will make the move eventually, particularly as it already uses OLED technology in theWatch. The question is when and with what device?
The bad news is the iPhone 7 will definitely not get OLED. We"re too far along and the supply chain has already kicked into gear in order to manufacture enough models for the September release date. But, we most likely won"t have to wait until 2018 and the iPhone 8 for OLED, as Apple has apparently boosted its OLED plans and wants to release an iPhone (most likely the iPhone 7S) with an OLED display in 2017. According toApple Insider, Apple is way ahead of schedule and the improved display technology should be with us a lot sooner than we expected.
However, a more recent report onThe Motley Fool(originally from DigiTimes) has suggested that Apple will only have one OLED device in 2017: a 5.8in new model. I have to say that I really don"t believe this rumour. It makes no sense for Apple to release a phone that"s 0.3in bigger than the Plus version of the iPhone, as it"s not a big enough difference. Then, there"s the normal Apple product cycle: it reuses the same design, roughly, for two years (an iPhone 7 and iPhone 7S, for example); adding a new model in 2017 would mean creating a new 7S design, which doesn"t make financial sense. I say, ignore this one.
No headphone jackIt"s official(ish), the iPhone 7 will not have a headphone jack, as widely reported a few months ago. Now we have a little more proof, in the form of some leaked case photos posted by@onleaksand featured onnowhereelse.fr. While the pictures shown below don"t show the actual phone, the accessory leaks often give us substantial clues as to how the final phone will look and feel. For starters, from the image, we can see that the new iPhone will have a flat back and curved sides, much like the existing iPhone 6S. However, look at the bottom of the case and there"s one big difference: there"s no hole for the headphone jack.
Instead, there"s just a Lightning port connector. And, no, there"s no headphone port on the top of the case either, suggesting that Apple has decided to remove this legacy port once and for all. This means that you"ll either need headphones with a Lightning connector (see below for more details) or a Lightning to 3.5mm audio adaptor. Apple is said to ditch thisport,because it"s goingfora slimmer body thanks to a slimmer LCD screen.
The case has another clue in it, too: the rear has an enlarged camera cut-out in it. This could suggest that rumours of dual camera sensors is true, although it"s not conclusive from this view. Some sites have taken this case image, inferred that the design will be similar to the iPhone 6S" and have worked out that the iPhone 7 might not be waterproof. I say, don"t believe this. TheGalaxy S7looks very similar to theGalaxy S6, yet the newer model is waterproof and dustproof.
Rather than make a simple replacement, Apple is working on new technology for the Lightning port, according to the same sources. Apparently, Wolfson Microelectronics will provide noise-cancellation technolgy that"s baked directly into the iPhone. This will let any set of compatible headphones be noise-cancelling versions, removing background noise. However, noise cancellation technology has to be licensed, so the headphones that support the new tech will cost more. There are some advantages to moving the noise cancellation onto the iPhone: it removes the need for headphones to have their own battery and noise-cancellation circuitry. However, the phone will still need to use its microphone to pick up background noise to eliminate it and it remains to be seen how effective this could be if the iPhone were, say, in a pocket.
Using Lightning can be an advantage, with existing pairs of headphones, such as the Philips Fidelio M2L, having their own Digital to Audio Convertor (DAC) for high-resolution audio; using the 3.5mm output, you rely on the iPhones DAC. For people that dont want to buy new headphones and think that the quality is already good enough it seems likely that Apple will either supply (or sell) a Lightning to 3.5mm adaptor: the Lightning port already supports analogue audio outputs, so the adaptor needs no electronics in it.
The big downside is that you wouldn"t be able to listen to music and charge your phone at the same time, unless you buy a charging dock. For that reason, the same Apple source has said that the company is planning to introduce wireless charging, which the Apple Watch already supports. Finally, the source reiterated a rumour that the iPhone 7 will be waterproof, by virtue of a special coating applied to the internal components.
Three versions? UNLIKELY!While it was obvious that Apple was definitely going to release two new models of its latest handset, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, more recent rumours have suggested the company would also be releasing a smalleriPhone 5se. However, what I didn"t see coming was the possibility that there would be another iPhone 7 due for release. That"s what KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is predicting, witha report on MacRumourssuggesting that a second 5.5in iPhone 7 Plus is also due to come out in September. So, what"s the difference?
According to Kuo, the second iPhone 7 Plus (called the iPhone 7 Pro by some, which is a naming convention I"ll use here to avoid confusion) will have a better camera. In fact, it will have a dual-lens camera, using the technology that Apple acquired when it bought LinX imaging. I"ve got more detail on the camera tech on page two of this article, but the short version is that the iPhone 7 Pro will have a two camera sensors, which will improve low-light performance, 2-3x optical zoom and deliver better image quality. It should also mean that the camera bump can go.
So, why two models? Well, according to Kuo, supply chain issues will mean that Apple will not be able to manufacture enough dual-sensor modules, so it will have to have the two models. I can"t quite believe that this is true, for several reasons. First, I"ve lost count of the number of times that Apple has been accused of having supply chain issues, only for the final products to arrive without issue. Secondly, adding a third model with tiny differences into its line-up would confuse things a little, and Apple likes to focus on a few, high-quality models. Finally, supply chain issues don"t last forever, if they exist. So, how would you feel if you bought an iPhone 7 Plus at launch, only to find out three months later that iPhone 7 Pros were suddenly available in greater numbers?
What I can believe is that Apple would only use the dual-camera technology in the iPhone 7 Plus, leaving the iPhone 7 with a regular camera. This would give a point of distinction between the two models, without any unnecessaryconfusion. I"ll bring you more on this, as I have it.
Components ready for manufacturingIt looks as though the final design and components are locked and ready to go for the new iPhone, with reports stating that Apple"s production partners have started to book in production capacity now. According toDigiTimeschip suppliers, including Cirrus Logic and Analog Devices (ADI), have asked their production facilities to reserve significant capacity for production of the iPhone 7 in the second and third quarters of this year.
So, who are Cirrus Logic and ADI? These two companies are significant IC partners, expected to produce the components that Apple needs for its latest and greatest smartphone. Their work will besignificant,as Apple plans to develop a super-slim handset with no 3.5mm headphone socket. Out of the two companies, it"s ADI that has one of the most interesting jobs, as it"s going to be responsible for producing the driver components for the dual-lens cameras.
Other partners will also develop other components for the Apple handset, before theyre shipped to a different factory entirely (usually Foxconn) for the production run to start and the handsets to be put together. Whats important about this information is that it shows that Apple has now finalised all of the important aspects of its new handset and is ready to start building the components that will make it. Its good news for us, because at this stage were likely to get more and better leaks, showing us, as close to possible, what the new iPhone 7 will really be like.
This news follows on from previous information that said TSMC (Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) was set to manufacture all of the iPhone 7"s A10 chip, rather than splitting the work between TSMC and Samsungs fabrication plants as it has often done. Aside from being rather bad news for Samsung this could impact on the iPhone 7 in a number of ways.
The good news is that there will only be one chipset inside the iPhone 7. Both Samsung and TSMC chipsets featured in theiPhone 6Sleading consumers to worry about whether they had the good one or the bad one. The Samsung chip was supposedly more power hungry in tests, though battery drain on a phone comes mainly from the screen and real-world differences appeared to be marginal. Anyway that wont be a problem this time around.
Despite what we said above, though, its possible that the iPhone 7 may benefit from using a TSMCchip this timearound. TSMC has apparently been chosen due to its new 10nm manufacturing process, which should create a more powerful efficient and cooler chip than Samsungs current 14/16nm process.
However, 10nm is a new technology and we have no idea whether using a single fabrication company and a new process could create a situation where stock of the iPhone 7 becomes limited compared to previous Apple phone launches. This is purely speculation, admittedly, but with two factors pointing to a potential bottleneck in chips its entirely possible.
Camera bump goneIf there was one thing that didn"t feel very "Apple" about the iPhone 6 and subsequent models, it was the protruding camera bump on the rear. Due to the thinness of the phone and the existing camera technology, the iSight camera had to protrude a little, even if it slightly spoiled the flat design of the phone. IfMacRumors"sources prove to be right, then the iPhone 7 might rectify this with a smooth finish to back and the camera sitting flush.
According to these sources, Apple is said to be keen to use a slimmer camera module, which would make the flush design possible, even with the super-slim iPhone 7. It"s looking even more likely now that we"ve seen leaked pictures of the Samsung Galaxy S7, which has also shed its camera bump since the last model.
On top of that Apple is said to be looking at the design of the phone to remove the plastic bands integrated into the rear. These are currently in place for the phones" antennas, but some people think that they"re a little ugly. A redesign of the phone would let Apple have a complete metal back.
In addition, Apple is also investigating wireless charging that would operate over greater distances, according toBloomberg. The technology, which could be made available as soon as next year, would mean that you"d only need to put your phone in proximity of the wireless charger, rather than directly on a connector or charging mat. There are several hurdles to overcome, including reducing the power wastage at distance.
As such, I have to point out that it seems unlikely that this technology will be ready in time for the iPhone 7, so regular wireless charging seems like the only option now.
Li-Fi NOT comingA recent rumour has surfaced suggesting that the iPhone 7 may have built-in Li-Wi, a super-fast light-based wireless system that"s similar in operation to Wi-Fi, only capable of transmission speeds of up to 224Gbit/s. However, it"s very clear to point out that this almost certainly will not be the case, although Li-Fi remains an interesting technology. So, why won"t the iPhone have this, you may ask?
Well, the fact is that the information we have is a little tenuous at best, with coderChase Frommspotting "LiFiCapability" in the iOS 9.1 library cache, tweeting a screen grab as proof. All this means is that Apple is, potentially, interested in Li-Fi and may have been running some tests. That makes a lot of sense: Apple has to stay at the top of its game and try out all of the new tech if it wants to maintain its market dominance. However, having a bit of code is a long way from having a finished product that will appear in the iPhone 7.
Besides, there are some limitations to Li-Fi that need to overcome. The technology currently works by using an LED to rapidly blink faster than the human eye can detect in order to transmit data. However, you need line of sight to get the best transmission rates (light that bounces of walls can deliver up to 70Mbit/s) and the signal can"t penetrate walls, bags, etc. Solving the issue of having Li-Fi everywhere would involve having receivers in every room and then using location tracking to work out which room your phone"s in, so it can talk to the right receiver.In other words, we"re simply not there yet. That"s not to say that Li-Fi doesn"t have its benefits. As well as being extremely quick, light doesn"t cause electromagnetic interference and there"s much more visible light spectrum available than there is radio spectrum (10,000 times more!).
Improved 3D TouchOne of the best features of the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus was 3D Touch. This added pressure sensitivity to the iPhone"s multi-touch screen, so pressing down hard brings up additional options, such as a shortcut to dial your favourite contacts when you hard press on the Phone icon. I thought that it was a huge improvement and radically changed how touchscreens could be used to interact with a phone. Apple looks set to improve on the technology and is said to be looking at introducing multi-touch 3D Touch.
At the moment, 3D Touch can only detect additional pressure when you use one finger, but the improvement would allow the system to detect pressure and the number of fingers that you"re using. For example, if you used 3D Touch with two fingers, the iPhone could show different context-sensitive information or it could perform a completely different operation, such as deleting an email or marking it as unread. This kind of technology could well make the iPhone even easier and quicker to use, but it"ll be interesting to see if Apple will go that far that quickly, or if it will wait until people are used to its existing 3D Touch.
I have to point out that the information is unsubstantiated and is reported atGforGames. As always, this early on, everything is subject to change and Apple may not even be actively developing this technology. Still, it"s interesting to see where 3D Touch could go.
Source: http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/mobile-phones/1402717/iphone-7-release-date-price-and-specs-rumours-8
