iPhone 7 rumours are already flying, even though the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus are only a couple of months old: Apple has applied for patents that give us hints about new features that could appear in the iPhone 7, from wireless charging to a touchscreen with built-in Touch ID. Here are the latest clues about Apple's next iPhone - which might not have a headphone port. Plus: Apple to adopt OLED screens - but not until 2018
When will iPhone 7 launch in the UK? What new features and design changes can we expect in the new iPhone for 2016 when it comes out? And what will Apple's next iPhone be called? iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus? iPhone 7 mini? Something new?
We're already thinking about next year's iPhone 7, even though the iPhone 6s andiPhone 6s Plus launched just a few months ago. The web is full of speculation about new iPhone(s) that Apple will launch in 2016, so in this article we're going to gather all the rumours about the iPhone 7: its release date, design, specs and features, fromwireless charging to a touchscreen display with built-in Touch ID. Plus any leaked photos of iPhone 7 components we get hold of, and all the cool iPhone 7 concept illustrations and videos that designers have come up with.
We're sure to see a next-generation iPhone in 2016, but what will the new iPhone 7 look like? (Traditionally, Apple alternates between internal upgrades for the 'S' update, then a physical redesign for the full-number update, so a radically redesigned chassis could be on the cards.) What new features should we expect? And when will the iPhone 7 come out? We round up the evidence to bring you everything there is to know about the iPhone 7 so far.
In this article we talk about the 4.7-inch iPhone 7 - the follow-up to the iPhone 6s. If you'd like to read about the 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus, take a look at our iPhone 7 Plus release date and new features rumour roundup.
Bookmark this page for a regularly updated summary of all the information currently available - and all the rumours doing the rounds - related to the iPhone 7: details, clues, hints and rumours, as well as any leaked photos of the iPhone 7 that emerge. We'll update the article whenever we hear worthwhile new information (or scurrilous but interesting gossip) on the subject of Apple's next iPhone.
Also read: Apple rumours and predictions for 2016.
Main sections in this article:
- Macworld's verdict on the iPhone 7
- Introduction: What is the iPhone 7?
- iPhone 7 launch date rumours
- iPhone 7 design rumours (updated, 30 Nov, to discuss the removal of the headphone port)
- iPhone 7 new features rumours (updated, 24 Nov, with a new patent that could let the iPhone 7 shoot unwanted water out of its speaker grills)
- iPhone 7 specification rumours (updated, 30 Nov, with the rumour that Apple will shift to OLED screens - but not until 2018)
- iPhone 7 images and videos: leaked images, concept illustrations etc
If you're looking for information about the current iPhone range, by the way, read our iPhone 6s review, Phone 6s Plus review, iPhone 6 review, iPhone 6 Plus reviewand iPhone 5s review; and our iPhone buyers' guide, which appears in video form below:
Finally, find out what's in store for Apple fans throughout the rest of this year: Apple predictions for 2015. And take a look at Apple patents and the clues they offer about the future of iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch & Mac.
In a nutshell: Macworld's verdict on the iPhone 7
In our iPhone 7 rumour roundup we cover a lot of ground: you'd be amazed by the clues, hints and general speculation about the iPhone 7 that people have managed to dig up. But for those who don't want all the detail, the following section sums up our verdict on the whole thing. Consider it a sort of TL;DR for the article as a whole.
In a nutshell, then, we reckon:
1) Apple will launch a couple of new iPhones in September 2016. This theory that Apple will push the launch forward to summer 2016 seems thin to us.
2) We expect a 4.7-inch phone (called the iPhone 7), and a 5.5-inch model (theiPhone 7 Plus). If Apple does make another 4-inch iPhone (which, thanks to the success of the larger iPhones, is by no means a certainty) then we think it'll be called something like the iPhone 7 mini.
3) The iPhone 7 is likely to get a substantial physical redesign after the largely identical iPhone 6/6s generations. It's too early to know what direction Apple will pick, but it's likely to be thinner than ever: putting the 'cut-down headphone socket' patent into action would be one way to help achieve this. Or even removing the headphone jack entirely, and forcing music fans to use wireless Bluetooth headphones, or headphones that connect via the Lightning port, or an adaptor.
4) Battery life in the iPhone 7 may be a little better than in the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, but Jony Ive's comments have made it plain that Apple doesn't consider a higher battery life to be worth significant sacrifices in other areas (we suspect that, if they're honest, most smartphone buyers would agree) and Apple's larger-screen iPhones have decent batteries already.
5) Higher screen resolution is a possibility - Apple undermined its own 'Retina is as sharp as your eyes can see' myth with the iPhone 6 Plus, and the company is playing catchup against many of its rivals in terms of screen resolution. Apple may well take the higher pixel density that was exclusive to the iPhone 6 Plus and 6s Plus (401 pixels per inch, as compared to 326ppi for all non-Plus iPhones), and apply it to all the models in the next generation; it could even raise the pixel density further than this, although we fear that this is unlikely. And a harder screen material would play well, whether Apple manages to resurrect the sapphire situation or goes with Corning's new Project Phire.
6) 16GB will surely be phased out as the lowest storage offering. It's nowhere near enough in this day and age. We hope and expect the iPhone 7 to start at 32GB, with 64GB and 128GB options.
7) The iPhone 7 could get a USB-C port, like the new 12-inch MacBook, but we think this is unlikely. The change from 30-pin to Lightning is recent enough (and was painful enough for many users) that to switch again now would be highly controversial.
8) And as for the other out-there rumours? 3D screen: no. Curved display: probably not. Flexible display: nope. Edge-to-edge screen: yes, quite possibly. Spring-out gaming joystick in the Home button: definitely not. Wireless charging: quite possibly. Better waterproofing: a reasonable bet.
Macworld poll: Which size of iPhone would you prefer?
What do you want from your next iPhone: a 4-inch screen, like on the iPhone 5s; a 4.7-inch phone, like the iPhone 6s; or a 5.5-inch smartphone, like the iPhone 6s Plus? Or something else entirely?
Let us know your preferred form factor for the next iPhone by answering our poll:
iPhone 7 rumours: What is the iPhone 7?
Sorry if that sounds obvious, but it's not as simple a question as it sounds. The iPhone 7 isn't the seventh iPhone (the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus were the 11th and 12th iPhones respectively, in the product's ninth generation, so that ship sailed a long time ago) but it's what we have been for convenience calling Apple's next iPhone launch.
At the moment Apple sells iPhones in three sizes: with 4-inch screens (the iPhone 5s); with a 4.7-inch screen (the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s) and with a 5.5-inch screen (the iPhone 6 Plus and iPhone 6s Plus). We're currently working on the basis that Apple will make at least one new model in the latter two sizes, and for now we're choosing to call those theoretical devices iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. There could be another 4-inch iPhone, though - which we like to call the iPhone 7 mini but could be called almost anything at this point.
(However, an anonymous source in Apple's supply chain recently claimed that the company isn't currently planning to make another 4-inch iPhone. We're not sure about that - and think it would be a mistake for Apple - but you can read more about the rumour in our iPhone 6c round-up.)
iPhone 7 release date rumours: When is the iPhone 7 coming out?
If Apple sticks to its traditions, we can expect the iPhone 7 to arrive in mid-September 2016.
The iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus were unveiled on 9 September 2015 (and released to the public on 25 September), iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were unveiled on 9 September 2014 (released on 19 September); the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5swere unveiled on 10 September 2013; the iPhone 5 was unveiled on 12 September. There's a pattern there that the eagle-eyed reader may be able to spot.
iPhone 7 launch date rumours: iPhone 7 could be released as early as next summer
AppleInsider is quoting a "reliable source" who predicts that 2016's iPhone 7 will launch several months ahead of the usual yearly upgrade cycle, appearing in the summer of 2016 instead of in September.
The site states that this particular source "has, in the past, provided accurate information about Apple's future product plans", but while this may be true, it must be pointed out that plenty of other sources have made this exact prediction about previous iPhone launches and they've always been wrong. It's just one of those things that gets repeated every year because it's such an appealing rumour.
Apple has significantly shifted its iPhone launch cycle only once: the first four iPhones all launched in summer, then Apple pushed the iPhone 4s back to the autumn, and then every iPhone since then has stuck to that launch cycle. (The iPhone 4s came along in October, admittedly, rather than the September launch date that Apple has followed ever since the iPhone 5.)
If Apple changed the cycle once, it can certainly change it again. But it won't do so lightly: an unexpectedly early upgrade is always infuriating for those who've just bought the previous generation model, and it creates the suspicion that the company might pull a similar trick the following year, leading to a customer base that is more cautious about upgrading. What's more, Apple's natural cycle of announcements sees iOS and OS X upgrades announced at WWDC in June, leaving enough time for the software to be completed in time for the autumn hardware launches. It seems like a risk for Apple to announce everything in the summer and leave its customers hungry for new releases for the rest of the year.
And the reasoning for why Apple would push forward the iPhone 7 launch date is thin.
"This year's iPhone 6s upgrade features largely the same external design as the iPhone 6," argues AppleInsider. "That has prompted concerns among investors that demand for the iPhone 6s could wane, particularly toward the tail end of the product cycle… Launching the iPhone 7 in an earlier window of 2016 would be one way for Apple to address those concerns."
The thing is, every S-class iPhone upgrade has been accused of offering only minor upgrades on the previous generation, yet they all still sell well. And if anything the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus represent more significant upgrades than the iPhone 4s and iPhone 5s did: Live Photos is fun, 3D Touch has the potential to alter the way we think about smartphone interfaces, and the processor and cameras are much improved. Even Touch ID is noticeably quicker.
So while this isn't out of the question, we can't see that any convincing reason has been given why Apple should shift its update schedule next year. (Mind you, as Boy Genius Report points out, this rumour might be a mixup based on Apple's imminent release of a new 4-inch iPhone, which wouldn't replace the iPhone 6s or 6s Plus and therefore wouldn't be such a disruptive launch if it came in the summer. Read ouriPhone 6c rumours for more on that, or read the next section for the theory that Apple will split its iPhone launches into two yearly events.)
iPhone 7 launch date rumours: Two iPhones a year
So much for the likely launch date. But it's possible - and has been widely speculated - that Apple will begin releasing new iPhones twice a year, to help it keep up with the ever growing and ever improving competition. This would mean an iPhone launch event in the spring of 2015 followed by another in the autumn.
In this case we would expect less dramatic enhancements in each update: perhaps the full iPhone 7 in autumn, followed by an 'S'-class update in the spring. Or Apple might choose to update its 4-inch smartphones in one set of announcements and its larger phones in the other.
It's an interesting theory, but if we were betting men and women Macworld would put its money on September iPhone launches for some time to come.
iPhone 7 launch date rumours: Stop selling iPhones in UK, says Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales
Mark this one as 'unlikely', but if Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales gets his way, Apple won't sell the iPhone 7 in the UK at all.
No, it's not going to happen. And it isn't really fair to call this a serious proposal: rather, Wales (who lives in London) was using the idea to express his dismay at draft legislation which would require technology companies to give users' communications data to the government when requested. We don't think he's being completely sincere, anyway.
"I would like to see Apple refuse to sell iPhone in UK if gov't bans end-to-end encryption," he wrote on Twitter. "Does Parliament dare be that stupid?"
Apple, of course, has made a number of statements recently in support of privacy rights - a stance which coincidentally helps to highlight certain aspects of rival Google's data-collection practices. But writing off one of the world's biggest iPhone markets? We imagine Tim Cook isn't that keen on privacy.
iPhone 7 rumours: Design
Apple usually keeps the same design for two generations of the iPhone (the 4 and 4s, say, or the 6 and 6s), before unveiling a physical redesign on the next update. We expect the iPhone 7 to be fundamentally different in look and design to the two generations of iPhone that precede it.
It's possible that Apple will use different materials to make the iPhone 7 more durable. Before the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were unveiled there was speculation that Apple would use Sapphire glass for the display and Liquidmetal for the chassis, and two generations later APple may be ready to unveil one or both of these upgrades.
iPhone 7 design rumours: Buttonless design
In mid October, Piper Jaffrey analyst Gene Munster (who is notorious for his Apple Television predictions, which have so far proved to be inaccurate) has suggested that the iPhone 7 won't have a Home button, thanks to the new 3D Touch technology found in the iPhone 6s display.
"3D Touch may provide Apple with a way to eliminate the home button on the phone and use the additional space to make the screen bigger or the device smaller," he said. "One barrier to this could be Touch ID, which is integrated into the home button currently. Apple would need to move the Touch ID reader to potentially the side of the phone to remove the home button."
As we discuss later in this article, an Apple patent has revealed that the company is investigating ways to build the Touch ID sensor into the screen itself, so Munster's theory doesn't seem implausible, but as proven with his Apple television predictions, Munster isn't always right... even he says that the odds of a buttonless iPhone 7 are 50%.
iPhone 7 design rumours: Slim headphone plug patent suggests next iPhone could be thinner...
Apple was not able to announce, in September, that the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus are the thinnest iPhones ever. In fact, they are a tiny bit thicker than their respective predecessors, because they had to squeeze in the components to power 3D Touch and some extra-thick aluminium reinforcement around the most bend-prone areas.
For the iPhone 7, therefore, we suspect that the company may like to trim a few millimetres. One way it can do this - and a clue that thinness is still on its designers' minds - is a newly granted patent, number 9,142,908, for a cut-down headphone connector.
If you look around the edge of your current iPhone, you'll see that the headphone aperture appears to be the external factor on exactly how much Apple can thin down the device. The headphone port is bigger, from top to bottom, than the Lightning port, bigger than the speaker grill, marginally bigger than the volume buttons (which could easily be cut down if necessary). It's an obvious target for miniaturisation.
Apple's solution to this is a "Low profile male connector", which sounds a bit like someone who isn't very good at dating but in this case means a D-shaped headphone port. Instead of being round, the headphone connector has a segment lopped off so it takes up slightly fewer precious millimetres.
Via Apple Insider.
iPhone 7 design rumours: ...or the headphone port could be removed entirely
Taking things a step further, the Japanese-language site Mac Otakara is reporting on a rumour that the iPhone 7 won't get a headphone port at all, enabling Apple to shave a further millimetre from the device's thickness.
This would have consequences. It wouldn't rule out headphone use entirely, but it would restrict it considerably. Users would have three options: wireless Bluetooth headphones; newly designed headphones that connect via the Lightning port; or an adaptor, which would probably be overpriced.
The iPhone is very much the iPod of its day, and music is a big part of its appeal, making this a big gamble in order to make an extremely thin phone even thinner. This would be even more unpopular than the removal of USB ports from the 12-inch MacBook. Is Apple really this obsessed with thinness?
iPhone 7 design rumours: Could we even get a thicker chassis? (Probably not.)
We expect the iPhone 7 to be thinner, as explained above, but a lot of users feel that the iPhones have already reached the peak of useful thinness - in the sense that reducing the thickness of the devices any further is going to compromise on qualities such as physical robustness without offering any real benefits in terms of portability. It's even possible that the iPhone 7 could be a bit thicker, if Apple feels it can use this change to incorporate useful new features. We think this is unlikely, but let's run with the theory as a thought experiment.
One reason why the iPhone 7 may be thicker than the iPhone 6s, for instance, would be so that it can feature what Apple calls "sidewall displays".
Apple has published a patent relating to such displays, hinting that a future iPhone could feature a display that extends on to the sides of the device (or a slim second display sitting on the side of the device). This could give access to the slide-to-unlock functionality, music player controls, messaging readout, caller ID, system controls and more.
iPhone 7 design rumours: Non-metal body
The Weibo source who spills the beans on Apple's waterproofing tests in our new features section also reckons that the iPhone 6s & 6s Plus will be the last iPhones to be made of metal. The iPhone 7 will have a chassis made of something else.
But made of what? We don't know. Although liquid metal, ceramics, plastics and sapphire have all been thrown around as possibilities. We find it odd that Apple would ditch its metal design so soon after upgrading to 7000-series aluminium, but radical design changes cannot be ruled out for a full-number iPhone update.
iPhone 7 design rumours: Curved wraparound screen
We're into the realm of patents here, which we would generally warn readers means we're talking about developments that could easily end up appearing in a shipped product several years down the line or not appearing at all - Apple, like most tech companies, routinely applies for far more patents than it's ever going to use. But this one has actually been granted (it was applied for a few years back) so it could be reasonably close to reality.
Patent 9,146,590 refers to an "electronic device with wrap around display". And essentially it describes a curved screen that allows for more screen elements to be displayed without making the device significantly bigger. (Remember that the illustrations rarely represent what the designer has in mind. In theory the display could wrap entirely around the device, or at least extend over one edge like the Note Edge.)
While the patent talks about a "flexible display assembly", it's important to note that this isn't a patent for a bendable screen: the flexible portion of the display is attached to the interior surface of the curved transparent housing, which "provides a rigid support structure that prevents deformation".
This patent, like the wraparound display patent mentioned in the new featuressection, was spotted by Patently Apple.
iPhone 7 design rumours: The flexible iPhone
If we can return to the subject of patents, here's one that's pretty leftfield. We don't expect this to appear in the next generation of iPhone, but it's an intriguing insight into the design directions Apple is considering - or choosing to pretend it's considering.
Apple was recently awarded a patent for 'Flexible electronic devices', covering both flexible device bodies on the exterior and flexible components inside.
"A flexible electronic device may include a flexible display, a flexible housing and one or more flexible internal components configured to allow the flexible electronic device to be deformed," the patent explains.
That really would be a bold riposte to Bendgate: transforming it from a bug to a feature, in effect (even though, as we've repeatedly pointed out, the iPhone 6 Plus is hardly unusual in its susceptibility to strenuous bending). The iPhone would bend, the screen would bend, the battery inside would bend, everything would be fine.
It's still hard to see exactly what this would gain us, though, as opposed to the converse rumour (discussed further down this section) holding that Apple will beef up the iPhone 7's durability by using the 7000 Series aluminium alloy from the Apple Watch Sport.
iPhone 7 design rumours: Touch ID built into the screen
In the continuing march of miniaturisation, one of the elements of the iPhone design that's proved resistant to shrinkage is the bezel below the screen - it can't get much smaller than it already is because it needs to house the Home button. Which is why a recurring theory is that Apple will extend the screen down past the Home button, or even incorporate the Touch ID sensor that lives in the recent iPhones' Home button into the touchscreen.
Technology that would facilitate such a development was recently announced by a biometric R&D company called Sonavation.
"Sonavation," the firm declares, "has reached an industry milestone by successfully developing and bonding an ultrasound biometric sensor which is compatible with Corning Gorilla Glass, providing a high-resolution 3D fingerprint image."
This would enable Apple (which is known to use Gorilla Glass in its iPhones, even if the supplier is apparently not permitted to say this publicly) to run the screen vertically edge-to-edge, with no cut-out for the Home button. The Home button could occupy the same position but appear only when needed, much like the software keyboard; and the technology for Touch ID would be bonded to the underside of the screen at the appropriate point.
Last year Apple filed a patent that appeared to back up the theory that it's looking into ideas like this. Patent application number 20150036065, for "a fingerprint sensor... incorporated in a display stack in an electronic device", was filed by a number of Apple's engineers in April 2014 and published recently. Here are some of the accompanying illustrations (although you should bear in mind that patent images are almost universally ugly, and shouldn't bear much resemblance to what the finished design would look like):
We're still not completely sure what this design would achieve, since (as you can see in the iPhone illustration in Fig. 1) it doesn't even do away with the Home button, and therefore doesn't increase the amount of screen area.
And we've not been blown away by the reliability of the Touch ID sensor on the iPhone 5s, which seems to be hyper-sensitive to any quantity of grease sitting on the Home button. (Granted, the 6s and 6s Plus sensors seem more reliable, as well as faster.) Given how smudged an iPhone screen can get, this seems like it could be even worse, even before you factor in potential complications of embedded the sensor within the screen elements.
In other words, this seems like a long shot, at least for now.
iPhone 7 design rumours: Sapphire glass...
Apple is already using sapphire in the display of the Apple Watch, and it's possible that the company is now ready to import this material into its smartphone lin-up. Sapphire glass is more durable than Gorilla Glass, so could be an ideal material to use for the bigger display.
Apple was backing a Sapphire plant in Arizona - run by GT Advanced Technologies - that could have been used to manufacture 200 million 5-inch iPhone displays per year, according to reports. But that company has now been declared bankrupt and was unable to meet Apple's demands.
There could be a further twist, however. New reports suggest that long-term Apple supplier Foxconn is gearing up to build its own sapphire plant in Asia, and could be able to take GT Advanced Technologies' place.
Foxconn's planned plant in Taiwan will cost it $2.6bn to set up, but could give it a huge advantage as companies jostle to be involved in the production of the next iPhone.
iPhone 7 design rumours: ...or super-hardened 'Project Phire' Gorilla Glass
Sapphire glass sounds nice, but don't write off Gorilla Glass (the material used on current iPhones) just yet.
Corning, the company that makes Gorilla Glass, has responded to the looming threat of Sapphire glass. It announced a new development at the start of February 2015: an ultra-hardened composite material that at this point is known by the name Project Phire.
At an investor meeting, James Clappin, president of Corning Glass Technologies, explained how the firm expects to beat sapphire: "We told you last year that sapphire was great for scratch performance but didn't fare well when dropped. So we created a product that offers the same superior damage resistance and drop performance of Gorilla Glass 4 with scratch resistance that approaches sapphire."
Cnet has the full story.
iPhone 7 design rumours: Liquidmetal chassis
Liquidmetal is also said to be under consideration as a material for the chassis, because it's more durable than aluminium: a smaller quantity of this material can be used to achieve the same degree of strength as the metal used for Apple's current iPhones. This would enable Apple to keep the bigger iPhone light and thin, despite the bigger screen.
(But is Apple bothered about device strength any more? Device strength may have been on Apple's mind before the iPhone 6s launch, following the 'Bendgate' controversy that afflicted the iPhone 6 Plus, but 7000-series aluminium and reinforced sides have made the new iPhones almost unbendable.)
Plus, removing the bezels in the bigger iPhone to create an edge-to-edge display would mean Apple could introduce a bigger display without the need to increase the overall size of the iPhone too much.
It's also possible that Apple will bring some other elements of the technology used in the Apple Watch to the iPhone 7. For example, the Apple Watch's display can detect finger pressure, so the iPhone 7's display (or perhaps just a portion of it) could be capable of doing the same.
iPhone 7 rumours: New features
There's a lot more to the iPhone 7 than screen size, of course. What new features can we expect to see?
iPhone 7 could 'dry itself by shooting water out of its speakers'
One of the most-read articles on Macworld is a tutorial discussing ways of drying out an iPhone that's got wet: it's a distressing, and distressingly common, thing to happen to a device that costs several hundred pounds and contains important, sensitive and possibly unrecoverable data.
For this reason readers and pundits frequently speculate on the possibility that future iPhones will be waterproof. Indeed, the most recent generation of iPhone models are the most waterproof yet; but we still wouldn't be pleased if the iPhone 6s fell in a paddling pool.
A patent published on 12 November suggests a radical new solution to the water logging issue: a mechanism whereby the iPhone can dry itself by pumping water - or other liquid - out through its speaker grills.
Patent application 20150326959, wonderfully, is called LIQUID EXPULSION FROM AN ORIFICE.
"The embodiments described herein are directed to an acoustic module that is configured to remove all or a portion of a liquid that has accumulated within a cavity of the acoustic modules," the patent's summary reads.
The concept is centred around modules within the speaker cavities that can be made more or less hydrophobic, depending on the charge applied to them: when liquid is detected, charges would be applied across the various modules in such a way that the liquid would be moved across the modules and ultimately expelled from the cavity.
We love the idea almost as much as the name of the patent, but as with most of the more interesting patents we hear about, it's unlikely to bear fruit in a real shipped product for a little while.
iPhone 7 new features: Waterproofing - and official waterproofing this time
And while we're on the subject of waterproofing...
It's been claimed on the Chinese micro-blogging site Weibo that Apple is testing out waterproof designs for the iPhone 7. (Mac Otakara, which picked up on the claims, says that dustproofing is also being looked at, although we can't spot any mention of this in the original posts. Perhaps it's an issue related to translation.) This is reportedly and unsurprisingly at a very early stage - "volume production is very low!", the (translated) post points out - but is being assessed ahead of work starting on prototype designs.
The claims remain just that at this point, of course, since we have only the word of a Weibo user to back this up. (A user who cites 15 years of experience in integrated circuit design and has - a presumably respectable - 32,904 fans on the site, but still.) If they are true, though, it's likely that more leaks and evidence will emerge in the months to come, and we'll update this article with any developments.
What we're talking here, at any rate, is proper official waterproofing, since brave early buyers have discovered that the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus are themselves much better at dealing with submersion than previous Apple devices. Apple evidently doesn't feel quite confident enough about this upgrade to name it as a new feature (which is odd, since this would be a big step forward to boast about). We saw similar reticence with the Apple Watch, which Apple would only claim as splash-proof but appears to be basically waterproof in any reasonable conditions.
Whether the iPhone 7, then, will be announced as Apple's first officially waterproof phone (regardless of its true capabilities) remains to be seen. Some commenters to the original Weibo post, indeed, predicted that waterproofing wouldn't be seen until the iPhone 7s… but now we're really getting ahead of ourselves.
iPhone 7 new features: Wireless charging
It's a perennial rumour for upcoming Apple devices, but wireless charging could be a reality this time around: it didn't arrive with the iPhone 6s as some had predicted, but was introduced to the Apple Watch as inductive charging.
As iMore's Rene Ritchie points out, inductive charging hasn't been practical for the iPhone in previous years because the technology available at the time didn't work through an aluminium backplate (the Apple Watch, which does offer wireless charging, has a ceramic back). But this could all be about to change in the near(ish) future. In July Qualcomm announced a wireless charging breakthrough that does work through metal. This came too late for the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, but the technology may appear in a subsequent generation of Apple smartphone.
It has to be said that, whatever the reasoning behind it, Apple is behind a lot its rivals in this respect. The Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge both offer wireless charging, as does the Google Nexus 6 and the Motoroloa Droid Turbo, but the tech has been available in a handful of phones since around 2010. (Electric toothbrushes have had it since the 1990s.)
Indeed, there have been inductive charging cases available for the iPhone for some time, and nearly two years ago we were talking about the technology appearing in what we were then referring to as the iPad 5: iPad 5 patent: inductive Smart Cover contains battery.
Wireless charging sounds amazing, but we should stress that at the moment inductive charging has a very short range; so you wouldn't be able to just sit at your desk and have your iPhone (in your pocket) charge from the plug several feet away. Rather, you'd place the device on a wired mat. Convenient, but not quite as space-age as it might have sounded when we talked about 'wireless charging'.
The artist Yasser Farahi, whose work appears lower down in the images and videos section, has come up with a mocked-up advert for this feature:
iPhone 7 new features: Anti-overheating tech
Some iPhone 6s users have been complaining that their Touch ID fingerprint sensors have been overheating, causing the home button to become "burning hot," but that should soon be a thing of the past if Apple's latest patent is anything to go by.
On 13 October, a new Apple patent was published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office that describes a method of automatically capping its power usage in order to cool down. It would use a built-in temperature sensor that would monitor the heat of the iPhone and adjust its power usage accordingly.
This tech could well make its way into the iPhone 7 in order to address the overheating issues.
iPhone 7 new features: Gesture passcode
There was a small amount of mild irritation when iOS 9 launched and Apple started to ask us to set up 6-digit passcodes on new iPhones (instead of 4-digit ones) by default. Our tutorial explaining how to go back to 4 digits has been quite popular, but we should probably point out that improved device security isn't an entirely terrible thing.
Meanwhile, the next iPhone - or one a few generations down the line, since we're talking patents again - could entirely transform the way we unlock our devices. Apple has been granted a patent for a gesture-based passcode system.
The patent - number 9,147,058 - is labelled "Gesture entry techniques", and describes its claims thus:
"The present embodiments relate to the use of security measures based on non-alphanumeric inputs that are user configurable (as opposed to purely biometric inputs) to control access to restricted information or functions. For example, access to confidential information may be based on a gesture input via a touch sensitive input device, such as a touch sensitive display or touchpad. A gesture may be used to invoke one or more authentication screens, such as, a gesture entry screen, a gesture replay screen, and a gesture re-entry verification screen, for accessing confidential information or functions that may be otherwise unavailable."
We've seen this before in Android world, but it would be a nice option for iOS users. Apple's been on the case with this since 2012, but has finally been granted the patent, so we're hopeful that it could make an appearance at some point in the near future - whether touted as a feature of the iPhone 7, or as a software update as part of iOS 10, or as a feature that relies on both.
iPhone 7 new features: No SIM card…
Will Apple ditch SIM cards?
A report in the Financial Times [paywall] in late July suggests that smartphones with physical SIM cards may soon be a thing of the past, as Apple and other smartphone manufacturers come closer to agreeing a standard for a built-in software/electronic SIM.
The FT predicts that this project is more likely to bear fruit in the 2016 generation of iPhones than the ones released in autumn 2015; this year's iPhones (the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, perhaps) are more likely to come with an Apple-branded hardware SIM like the iPad Air 2. The Apple SIM (which we discuss in the next section) works with multiple networks, offering many of the same benefits as a software SIM but requiring less wrangling with the networks.
iPhone 7 new features: …or a pre-installed 'Apple SIM'
The same source who told AppleInsider about the RAM increase (in the specs section, above) also reckons that the iPhone 7 is likely to come with a pre-installed Apple SIM.
"[The Apple SIM], which also made its debut with the iPad Air 2, allows consumers to sign up for mobile data plans from any participating carrier directly from the Settings app without long-term contracts and to switch providers at any time," says the site.
This is unlikely to be a popular move with the carriers, although it may be a hit with users. Read more about the Apple SIM in this article:
iPhone 7 new features: Dynamic Home button
This one sounds a little like the 'joystick Home button' rumour we look at below, but is rather more plausible.
Apple has published a new patent for a Home that is sensitive to gestures: you'd be able to swipe across it, or lean a thumb in one direction to scroll the screen of a game, for example, that way.
As BusinessInsider puts it:
"The patent details an iOS home button capable of detecting various gestures along with the force of each touch. In other words, imagine Force Touch [see below], albeit applied to the home button as opposed to the device's display."
It certainly sounds less damage-prone than the 'pop-out' Home button we heard about earlier this year, and which we find very hard to imagine appearing in the iPhone 7. Then again, plenty of pundits have been speculating about Apple doing away with the Home button entirely - as is the case on a number of Android smartphones - and installing Touch ID on the screen itself. Colour us unconvinced.
iPhone 7 new features: 'Joystick'-style Home button for gamers
This rumour is pretty far out there, and we're not sure it's realistic to expect this to appear in any Apple devices for a while yet. But it's definitely an interesting idea.
Essentially the concept is this: the Home button on the iPhone 7 would be able to 'pop up' on a little spring and turn into a sort of mini-joystick for playing games. There are plenty of iOS games that would benefit from a hardware controller (this explains the enduring popularity of Bluetooth gaming controller accessories) and this sounds like a lot of fun.
But gamers remain only one section of the iPhone's audience, and it seems like a risky idea to potentially compromise the resilience of everyone's iPhone Home button (which has famously been very prone to breakage in the past) for a feature that would benefit only some users.
A wacky idea that we're not convinced by, then - but one that is backed up by an Apple patent: application 20150015475, originally filed on 9 July 2013 but only published by the US Patent Office on 15 January 2015. So somebody at Cupertino thinks the idea is worth a thought.
(Bear in mind, however, that Apple often patents ideas that it doesn't actually build - to cover itself for future changes of plan, to avoid patent trolling, and perhaps even to mislead rivals about its direction.)
iPhone 7 new features: New charger
In August 2014, rumours about a new iPhone charger emerged, suggesting that the USB part of the charger could be reversible, just like the Lightning connector.
A video showing what's believed to be a new charger for a future with a reversible fully reversible USB Lightning cable emerged on the web earlier in 2014. It shows the USB being plugged in to the adapter both ways, in the same way that the Lightning connector itself is reversible.
iPhone 7 new features: iOS 10
iOS 10 is also likely to introduce new features at a software level. Among the features we're hoping to see in iOS 9: improved parental controls and group FaceTime calls.
iPhone 7 new features: Apple patents
Looking closer at Apple's patent portfolio, we can come up with some further iPhone 7 features that could well be on the cards for 2015. Face recognition could be used to unlock the device, or the entire display of the iPhone 7 could be a Touch ID fingerprint sensor, eliminating the need for a Home button and making room for a larger display.
Take a look at our Apple patent round-up for more features that Apple is investigating for future products.
iPhone 7 rumours: Specifications
It's time to get a bit more technical. Let's talk iPhone 7 specs.
iPhone 7 specs rumours: iPhone 7 to get 3GB of RAM
Unusually reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has predicted that the iPhone 7 Plus - but not the iPhone 7 - will feature 3GB of RAM, according to AppleInsider.
We weren't expecting an upgrade in this department just yet; three generations of iPhone (from the iPhone 5 to the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus) came with 1GB of RAM, and this was only bumped to 2GB last year for the 6s and 6s Plus. We expected at least one more generation with 2GB, and potentially two.
Still, Kuo is right more often than he's wrong, and the idea of offering an additional differentiator for the Plus model is appealing. (Other than a larger screen, the 6s Plus offers longer battery life than the 6s and optical image stabilisation for video. It's debatable whether this is enough to justify the extra £80 to £90.)
iPhone 7 specs rumours: Intel LTE chips
According to new reports, Intel has 1,000 people working to get its 7360 LTE chip ready for the 2016 iPhone. Currently, Apple uses Qualcomm's 9X45 LTE chips in all of its iPhones, so this could be a huge deal for Intel.
iPhone 7 specs rumours: A10 processor could be six-core... possibly
A Weibo-sourced rumour, this one - and one that requires even more pinches of salt that the chap who told us about the waterproofing tests. (The Weibo user we're going to quote has just 1,688 fans, compared to the 32,904 who follow our previous source.)
Be healthily sceptical, then, when we report the prediction that the A10 processor in the iPhone 7 will have six cores - a huge leap after sticking with dual-core systems-on-a-chip from the iPhone 4s to the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. It goes without saying that this would create an absolute beast of a smartphone, but whether Apple would consider such gains worth the undoubted compromises and costs required to achieve this - we can't say we're convinced.
Via Cult of Mac.
Incidentally, Cult of Mac also reckons that Apple is already ordering supplies of the A10, 10 months ahead of the expected launch of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.
"Apple has placed LCD driver orders with Synaptics for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, indicating that the touch and display driver (TDDI) single-chip solutions its been developing in-house aren't quite ready for prime time," writes the site.
iPhone 7 specs rumours: Stacked battery cells
One rumour holds that Apple will take the battery developments it deployed in the12-inch MacBook - whereby contoured, layered battery units are stacked inside the chassis in order to take up every possible inch of space - and use these to squeeze more battery volume inside the iPhone 7.
(According to Wired's write-up, Apple actually claims to adjust its battery contours on a machine-by-machine basis, by photographing the inside of the chassis and modifying the battery stack to fit all the tiny imperfections - which, if it's true, is amazing.)
Apple could even, thanks to the new battery technology, make more radical changes to the overall design of the iPhone, because its engineers no longer to base their work on a fixed battery shape; although the idea of Jony Ive coming up with aBlackBerry Passport-esque square design at this point in the iPhone's history is a little off-putting.
Smartphone battery life is one of those things that everyone says is important, and once again Apple will hear many requests for improved battery life in the iPhone 7 - but you do wonder how much of a compromise the average Apple fan would be willing to make in return. What if, in order to achieve a superb battery life, the iPhone 7 was twice the weight, or cost significantly more? What if the screen was less powerful or the processor scaled back?
Mirroring these thoughts somewhat, Jony Ive discussed battery life briefly in an interview with the Financial Times' 'How to spend it' supplement recently. And he gave fairly heavy hints that Apple doesn't think battery life is a high enough priority to make compromises in other areas worth it.
"Talking of performance, when the issue of the frequent need to recharge the iPhone is raised, [Ive] answers that it's because it's so light and thin that we use it so much and therefore deplete the battery. With a bigger battery it would be heavier, more cumbersome, less 'compelling'."
It's possible that will see conservative increases in battery life, as we did with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. But those advances were feasible because the bodies of those devices were larger, and they could therefore accommodate larger batteries. And it sounds like Apple won't be sacrificing portability to make the iPhone 7 have a significantly better battery life.
Sorry, everyone. Still, cheer up: as the Express reports, Apple was recently granted a patent that would allow it to embed solar panels under the screen of future iPhones, thereby doing away with the need to charge them up at all. No, it's not going to appear in the iPhone 7, but some day…
iPhone 7 specs rumours: Camera
It's possible that the iPhone 7's cameras will see another bump in megapixel rating, after the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus went from 8Mp to 12Mp (rear-facing) and 1.2Mp to 5Mp (front-facing). But we tend to think that Apple prefers to change the way its iPhone cameras work rather than focusing on their specs. And if a patent published in March (but applied for back in 2011) is any indicator, Apple is pondering a bold new camera miniaturisation technology based on what it calls "a light splitter cube".
"The cube splits the incident light into first, second, and third color components that emerge from the cube through a first face, a second face, and a third face of the cube, respectively," the patent explains. "First, second, and third image sensors are provided, each being positioned to receive a respective one of the color components that emerge from the first, second, and third faces of the cube."
Above: a selection of the illustrations provided as part of the patent application. That's an interesting placement for the dock connector, isn't it? (Note, too, that it appears to take the form of the old 30-pin connector, since Lightning wasn't introduced until 2012.)
As Business Insider points out, this isn't a wholly new development, but rather a miniaturisation of an existing system (used in video camera, for instance) in order to make it suitable for a smartphone or similar ultraportable device. If this does make an appearance in the iPhone 7, it could lead to improved colour and light capture and reduced blur when the camera moves.
On the other hand, patent-based rumours should always be viewed with a certain degree of scepticism, since the majority either never see the light of day as actual shipped products, or do so many years after the public hope or expect them to. It's widely believed that Apple routinely files patents it has little intention of using, in order to head off or mislead competitors, and in any case these were very much at the concept stage when the patent was filed. Who knows how the company's plans have changed since 2011.
A more reliable gauge of near-future camera upgrades - since Apple has spent $20m on it, and is therefore rather more commited to the idea - is its recentacquisition of a company called LinX, which makes 3D camera sensors.
LinX's cameras are tiny, but the company claims they are a match for digital SLR cameras in performance terms. And their depth-sensing capabilities make them ideal for facial recognition and 3D-scanning, as well as post-shot refocusing. The possibilities that this would open to developers - apps that translate 3D scans into plans for 3D printers, for instance - are highly appealing.
Daring Fireball's John Gruber has quoted a source who claims the iPhone 7's camera will have a two-lens system that could help allow users to capture "DSLR-quality imagery".
A dual-lens design offers a number of advantages over the present (admittedly highly acclaimed) iPhone camera setup, including the option to add an optical zoom. It's also been suggested that future iPhone cameras will have better performance in low-light conditions.
For a real-world example of the technology, the HTC One M8 already features a rear-facing camera that uses a dual-lens system. (See iPhone 6 vs HTC One M8 comparison.)
iPhone 7 specs rumours: Storage capacity - The end of 16GB?
Each time the iPhones get updated we speculate about the possibility that Apple will boost storage: removing the 16GB baseline option and starting at 32GB. (At the moment, for the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus at any rate, there is a curiously isolated 16GB model, a gap, and then the 64GB and 128GB models above. You can buy a 16GB and 64GB iPhone 6 and 6 Plus (no 128GB option any more), while the iPhone 5s comes in 16GB and 32GB.)
We're hopeful that this will finally happen with the iPhone 7, and we'd be glad to see the back of the 16GB storage tier, which we increasingly find unrealistically restrictive for the average user.
Many iPhone users find that 16GB isn't enough for their day-to-day needs, but the price jump up to 64GB (the 32GB models have been phased out) puts them off shelling out for more storage.
iPhone 7 specs: Screen size
What screen size will the iPhone 6s Plus have? There are a number of competing theories.
Of the three smartphone screen sizes Apple currently sells, the 4.7 inches of the iPhone 6 appears to be the favourite among customers. The iPhone 6s Plus and its 5.5-inch screen strikes many people as too big; the 4-inch iPhone 5s seems too old-fashioned and titchy to many more. 4.7 inches may be the sweet spot for the average Apple fan.
But it seems unlikely that Apple will give up on its other screen sizes as easily as that. For one thing, there are definitely smartphone users out there who still value smaller devices: those with smaller hands, those who prefer to use their smartphone one-handed, people who just don't like change. (That last category includes the author of this article, to be quite candid. I wrote a little about the significance of very small alterations in the size and shape of smartphones in an article that I called The handbag theory.)
Apple may seek to placate this market by updating its 4-inch line-up. And while they have been consistently outsold by the iPhone 6 and 6s, the Plus models haven't been a sales disaster either - and they're important products for Apple in terms of prestige and acquiring a foothold in new markets.
For simplicity, therefore, we're predicting three new iPhones from Apple over the next year or so. An update of the iPhone 5s with a 4-inch screen, which could be called the iPhone 7 mini; a 4.7-inch update of the iPhone 6, which we're calling the iPhone 7; and a new phablet, based on the iPhone 6 Plus, with a 5.5-inch screen. This last update is the one we're calling the iPhone 7 Plus.
Does the new iPod touch make an updated 4-inch iPhone more likely?
Our colleague Jason Snell, writing for Macworld US, discusses the theory that Apple’s recent refresh of its iPod touch line may signal a similar update to its line of 4-inch iPhones.
"The new iPod touch, for all its advancements, still sports the same 4-inch Retina display as the iPhone 5, 5s, and 5c. And it makes me wonder if maybe, just maybe, it's the first hint that we’ll be seeing an updated 4-inch iPhone this fall.
"My guess is that there will be a new 4-inch iPhone this fall. It might look more like a small iPhone 6, or it might take a cue from the new iPod touch and remain exactly the same on the outside, while being completely different internally. But will it be a "cheap iPhone"? I doubt it. More likely, it'll be outfitted with last year’s iPhone 6 technology and fill the slot that’s one step down from whatever replaces the iPhone 6."
There are plenty of fans of the smaller, 4-inch-screen form factor here in the Macworld UK office, and we think it would be unwise of Apple to abandon this market entirely.
Read the rest of Jason's thoughts here.
iPhone 7 specs rumours: 3D display
The iPhone 7 could feature a 3D display, according to Economic Daily News, which claims that Apple supply chain partner TPK is working on a project that relates to "naked eye 3D screen" - in other words, a 3D screen that doesn't require glasses to see.
iPhone 7 specs rumours: OLED display
We leave this until last, because it's a rumour that apparently affects the iPhone 8 generation rather than the upcoming iPhone 7.
Samsung, which supplies components for the iPhone range despite being a major rival in the smartphone market, has reportedly been pressuring Apple into using OLED screens rather than the LCD ones currently included.
BGR claims Apple will give in to this pressure and start using OLEDs in 2018, which (assuming Apple continues to follow current traditions) would be the year of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, the 7s generation having launched in 2017.
OLED screens are more desirable than LCD in a number of ways: they produce sharper, more brightly coloured images, and are more power-efficient. (The Apple Watch uses an OLED screen.) But they cost more to manufacture, which explains Apple's reluctance to deploy them in iPhones thus far.
iPhone 7 images, leaked photos and videos
We can't wait to see what the iPhone 7 looks like. We won't know for sure until Apple reveals the new design in September, but there are ways to get a sneak preview before then.
Every year one or more factory workers in the Apple hardware supply chain gives into temptation and starts posting photos of prototype or even production units, and we'll post them here as soon as they emerge. There are also loads of talented designers and illustrators out there who have put their minds to work on coming up with iPhone 7 concept images: artists' impressions, if you like, of what the iPhone 7 could look like. (See also: The 10 weirdest Apple concept art designs.)
Here are the latest images, photos and videos of the iPhone 7.
iPhone 7 concept videos
Let's take a look at some iPhone 7 videos next.
The latest, by a design firm named DeepMind, shows an iPhone 7 running iOS 10 on a stunning edge-to-edge screen. Interestingly enough, it retains the traditional screen allocation most of the time, with the menu bar sitting across the top of the screen about an inch down from the top of the phone and what appears to be a blank bezel at the top and bottom of the device - but when required, these areas spring to life as spare screen area.
It's a lovely bit of work. Take a look:
Next up is a fan-made concept video examining the 'dynamic Home button' concept that we talked about in the new features section (among other new ideas). It's really well-made; Jony Ive, eat your heart out.
And here's a rather terrifying iPhone 7 parody video. None of it is real (thankfully), but it's quite funny.
If you've recovered from that, shall we look at some iPhone 7 concept illustrations?
iPhone 7 concept illustrations
First up is a truly remarkable set of designs that take a key element of the Apple Watch design - the digital crown control - and transplants it on to the side of the iPhone. It's really far out there, in terms of plausibility, but a fascinating imaginative leap. What do you reckon?
A little radical for our taste, as we say, but what a great bit of lateral thinking! These renders are by ADR Studio. Visit their website to see the rest of the set.
Design student Marek Weidlich has also created an iPhone concept that takes inspiration from the Apple Watch, particularly when it comes to the OS.
Designer Martin Hajek is well known for his work in this area. He's created some beautiful images of the next iPhone, and his designs, like ADR's work above, looks at the ways in which its design could be informed by the Apple Watch - but in terms of colour options rather than drastic changes to the controls. Here are his visualisations of a Rose Gold iPhone:
You can see the full set on Hajek's website.
We've also seen some beautiful concept renders from the artist Yasser Farahi. Here are some of Farahi's stunning designs:
As you can see above, Farahi has come up with some smart new colour options for the iPhone 7 - more varied than on the iPhone 6 series, but more restrained and adult than on the iPhone 5c. Here are the new 'wine' and 'copper' options in more detail:
Take a look at Farahi's site for more.
Let's return to our old friend Martin Hajek for a moment. A slightly older iPhone 7 design concept that Hajek came up with is based on the idea that the screen of the next iPhone will reach all the way to the edges, allowing the phone itself to be slightly smaller than the current iPhone 6 while accommodating the same amount of screen space.
The illustration above shows a second concept that Hajek has come up with: putting holes in the display for the Touch ID button, speaker and front-facing camera
They're lovely, aren't they? There are lots more iPhone 7 concept images on Martin Hajek's website.
If that's not enough for you, we're also starting to see concept images of the iPhone 8. (Yep, the iPhone 8. This is getting ridiculous.)
On the Behance website, designer Steel Drake has posted some images of what the iPhone 8 might look like when it arrives a few years from now. This concept of the iPhone 8 is entirely covered in glass apart from metal sides.
We'll be updating this article with more iPhone 7 information as we get it. See also:Android M vs iOS 9 comparison.
