When will the new iPhone 7 launch? What new features and design changes can we expect in the iPhone 7 when it comes out? And will the next iPhone even be called iPhone 7 – shouldn’t it be ‘iPhone 6s’, based on the naming conventions of previous iPhones (iPhone 4s, iPhone 5s etc)?
iPhone 7 is an astonishingly hot topic, eight months on from the launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus and a good four months before we’re likely to hear any official news from Apple about its new iPhone launches for 2015. The web is full of speculation about the new iPhone(s) that will launch in 2015: rumours about the iPhone 7’s release date, its design, specs and features, and even its name.
In 2015 we’re sure to see a next-generation iPhone. But what will the new iPhone 7 (or perhaps iPhone 6s, iPhone 6c, iPhone 6s Plus or simply ‘New iPhone’) look like? What new features can we expect in the iPhone 7? 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.
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 the next iPhone.
Main sections in this article:
Macworld’s verdict on the iPhone 7
Introduction: What is the iPhone 7?
iPhone 7 launch date rumours (updated, 21 May, to discuss rumours of an August launch)
iPhone 7 specification rumours (updated, 21 May, with the rumour of a 12Mp camera)
iPhone 7 new features rumours
iPhone 7 design rumours
iPhone 7 images and videos: leaked images, concept illustrations etc (updated, 7 May, to include a nightmarish new iPhone 7 parody video)
If you’re looking for information about the current iPhone range, by the way, read our iPhone 6 review, iPhone 6 Plus review, iPhone 5s review and iPhone 5c review; and our iPhone buyers’ guide. And for more future-gazing, you can read our iPhone 6s and iPhone 6c release date and rumours. (We explain the differences between the iPhone 6c, iPhone 6s and iPhone 7 in the Introduction section of this article.)
Plus, find out what’s in store for Apple fans throughout the rest of the year: Apple predictions for 2015
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 iPhones – probably two, maybe three – in mid-September 2015, much as it does every year. Rumours have floated August for a possible early launch, but we’re not convinced by that.
2) We think this will be a 4.7-inch phone called the iPhone 7, and a 5.5-inch iPhone 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) But this is Apple we’re talking about, and consistent naming conventions aren’t its strong suit. It could be called the New iPhone Max for all I know.
4) The iPhone 7 won’t be a fat phone, but we can’t see that the iPhone 6 series phones need to be significantly thinner. At all. We expect roughly the same dimensions as the current generation. Tim Cook will probably be able to boast that it’s “the slimmest iPhone ever”, but the minor reduction in thickness will be exaggerated by favourable lighting.
Read: How to spot ‘free iPhone’ scams
5) Battery life may be a little better, but it won’t be a lot better. 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. (And we suspect that, if they’re honest, most smartphone buyers would agree.)
6) Higher screen resolution is a possibility – Apple exploded the ‘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 this department. Apple may well apply the pixel density of the iPhone 6 Plus to all the models in the next generation; it could go even higher. And a harder screen material would play well, whether Apple manages to resurrect the sapphire situation or goes with Corning’s new Project Phire.
7) We find the rumours of a dual-lens camera offering ‘DSLR-like’ picture quality highly convincing. The camera is a key area for every new iPhone and this new camera tech would be something Tim Cook could build a launch presentation around. The effects of the LinX acquisition probably won’t be felt for another generation of iPhone, but the company’s 3D camera sensors should make an appearance in future iPhones.
8) A higher megapixel rating (maybe as high as 12Mp for the rear-facing camera) is also possible – Apple hasn’t increased the megapixel rating of its iPhone cameras since the iPhone 4s – but the company is known for worrying less about specs and more about qualititative differences in the user experience.
9) 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.
10) And as for the other out-there rumours? 3D screen: no. Curved display: almost certainly not. Curved or flexible iPhone: nope. Edge-to-edge screen: yes, quite possibly. Spring-out gaming joystick in the Home button: definitely not. Wireless charging: maybe, but probably not yet.
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 6 and 6 Plus were the ninth and tenth iPhones respectively, so that ship sailed a long time ago) but it’s what we are for convenience calling Apple’s next large-screen (phablet-form) iPhone launch.
At the moment Apple sells iPhones in three sizes: with 4-inch screens (the iPhone 5cand iPhone 5s); with a 4.7-inch screen (the iPhone 6) and with a 5.5-inch screen (theiPhone 6 Plus). We’re currently working on the basis that Apple will make at least one new model in all three sizes, and for now we’re choosing to call those theoretical devices iPhone 6c, iPhone 6s and iPhone 7.
(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.)
[Find out about the Apple Watch: Complete Guide to Apple Watch: release date, UK price, specs, size & weight]
iPhone 7 rumours: What will the next iPhone be called? Will it be iPhone 6s or iPhone 6c instead?
Before we get on to specs and other technical details, one of the first things we want to address is the name of the next iPhone. If Apple sticks to its traditional naming conventions, then it’s more likely that the 2015 iPhone will be called the iPhone 6s instead of the iPhone 7. (This could be accompanied by a cheaper iPhone 6c.)
However, it’s been rumoured for a few years that Apple is considering dropping the ‘S’ naming convention (and the more recent ‘C’ convention, seen on the iPhone 5c), as it’s beginning to be perceived negatively. After all, it does make it seem like it’s not a completely new device, but rather a stepping stone to the next iPhone.
Well-known (and usually reliable) Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who works for KGI Securities, has issued a prediction note to investors in which he forecasts that Apple will indeed launch an iPhone 7 in autumn 2015, skipping the 6s generation entirely. Part of his reasoning for this is the contention that Apple will add a significant upgrade feature to the next iPhone: Force Touch. And the in-betweener ‘S’ generations of iPhone are traditionally more conservative updates that don’t offer any terribly exciting new features.
(Against this, Expert Reviews points out that “with the iPhone 5S Apple introduced Touch ID and went 64-bit: these huge changes weren’t enough for the company to jump straight to iPhone 6, and Force Touch isn’t even in that league” – although the site does suggest that Apple may skip the ‘S’ generation simply to reduce confusion.)
We won’t know what the next iPhone is called until Apple confirms it, of course.
Another option that’s been proposed by keen Apple followers is that the iPhone 7 will be called the iPhone Air, following the example of the MacBook Air and iPad Air lines. But that’s a bit wacky for our tastes.
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 2015 – we think 8 September is a fair bet. The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were unveiled on 9 September 2014 (and released to the public on 19 September); the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s were unveiled on 10 September 2013; theiPhone 5 was unveiled on 12 September. There’s a pattern there that the eagle-eyed reader may be able to spot.
However, a new rumour holds that Apple will actually launch the new iPhones in August. Economic Daily News (a Chinese-language site) cites supply-chain sources to support its claim that the new iPhone 6s is already in production, and that the devices will launch in August, a month earlier than expected.
We’re not wholly convinced by this: let us just say that we’ll need to hear this corroborated by other sources before we start updating our diaries. Apple’s supply chains, in contrast with its in-house design and engineering teams, are notoriously leaky, and if something as big as that is going on we can expect to hear more about it. So until we hear more, we’ll continue to predict a September launch for the iPhone 7.
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 an ‘S’-class update in the spring followed by the full iPhone 7 in autumn. Or Apple might choose to update its 4-inch smartphones in one set of announcements and its larger phones in the other.
Indeed, another tech site says it has a source in the supply chain that backs all this up – claiming that, while the iPhone 7 will have to wait until September, the iPhone 6s will be launched in spring alongside the Apple Watch.
It’s an interesting theory, but if we were betting men and women Macworld would put its money on a September launch for the next range of iPhones.
iPhone 7 rumours: Specifications
It’s time to get a bit more technical. Let’s talk iPhone 7 specs.
iPhone 7 specs: Screen size
Most importantly, what screen size will the iPhone 7 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 6 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 it’s been consistently outsold by the iPhone 6, the iPhone 6 Plus hasn’t been a sales disaster either – and it’s an important product 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 we’re calling the iPhone 6c; a 4.7-inch update of the iPhone 6, which we’re calling the iPhone 6s; 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, and will be the focus of this article.
[We have the latest rumours about the Apple iCar here, plus read why we don’t think Apple will make an iCar]
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: Camera
When it comes to the iPhone 7’s camera, the latest reports suggest that it could offer a significant improvement over the camera found in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. In fact, it could be the biggest camera jump in the history of the iPhone.
One theory is that the iPhone 7’s camera wil simply get a big bump in megapixel rating.
IHS China analyst Kevin Wong thinks the new iPhone will offer a 12-megapixel camera (compared with 8-megapixel cameras on all four of the current iPhone models, and on all models going back to the iPhone 4s), and shared this view on the Chinese social network Weibo.
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: Processor
Samsung is already being pegged as the supplier of Apple’s A9 processor for its next generation of smartphones. The processors are expected to be manufactured using a 14-nanometer design. The new chips are expected to be smaller, more efficient and of course more powerful.
The A8 chip uses a 20-nanometer process, and the majority are manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). Analysts have been reporting for some time that Samsung wants to once again become the sole manufacturer of Apple’s chips, and has been offering competitive prices in an attempt to convince Apple to strike a deal; and according to the Inquirer, it has (at least partially) succeeded.
The site, basing its claims on sources quoted in a Korean-language news page, says that Samsung will make three quarters of the A9 chips used in the iPhone 7. (We still believe that Apple itself will design the A9 chip, as it has done with A-class processor chips in the past.)
The remaining chips will still be provided by TSMC, it appears: indeed, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reckons TSMC has been roped in at the last minute and asked to make 30 percent of the A9 chips for the next iPhone.
iPhone 7 specs rumours: More RAM
AppleInsider is quoting “a person familiar with Apple’s future product plans” who reckons that Apple is about to bump the amount of RAM in the iPhone line for the first time in three years: from 1GB to 2GB in the iPhone 7.
Aside from the anonymous source, there’s a certain logic to the timing of the move, as AppleInsider observes: the last time Apple bumped iPhone RAM came one cycle after the company had done the same thing to its iPad line, and the iPad Air 2 got an extra gig of RAM last October.
iPhone 7 specs rumours: Battery life
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 aninterview 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.
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 new features: Force Touch
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, as we mentioned in the section on names above, reckons that the iPhone 7 is going to get new Force Touch capabilities.
Force Touch is the touch-sensitive display technology that Apple is already using in its Apple Watch, and enables the device to differentiate between a tap and a press. This is important, given the restricted dimensions of the Apple Watch’s display – the extra gestures this enables are vital to the user experience.
(The Force Touch name is also applied to the trackpad of several of the new MacBooks, which can also detect varied touch pressure.)
Kuo has provided detailed analysis of how exactly Force Touch could be applied to the iPhone:
“There are two possible structural designs for Force Touch from a technology viewpoint,” he writes. “The Force Touch sensor can either be placed between the cover lens and the In-cell touch panel or under the In-cell touch panel’s backlight.
“In the first position, the technological challenge lies with how to produce the transparent Force Touch sensor; in the second position, the challenge is how to reduce signal interference from in-cell touch panel. Our understanding of the technology is that producing a transparent Force Touch sensor is more difficult, so the chances are the new iPhone this year will opt for the second position.”
If added to the next generation of iPhones, Force Touch would open up a finer and wider range of gestures and more sophisticated interactions, but the case for including it here is not quite as compelling as on the Apple Watch.
iPhone 7 new features: 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:
Apple’s new SIM and what it means to you in the UK
See also: EE WiFi calling – What is it and how do I set it up on my iPhone?
iPhone 7 new features: ‘Joystick’-style Home button for gamers
The newest 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.)
Best iPhone (and iPad) games
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 6 as some had predicted, but was introduced to the Apple Watch as inductive charging.
Wireless charging sounds amazing, but 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’.
(Indeed, this isn’t by any means a brand-new idea. 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.)
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: 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 9
iOS 9 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, group FaceTime calls and split-screen app multitasking.
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: Design
What you shouldn’t expect from the iPhone 7 is a design that’s radically different from the iPhone 6. Apple usually keeps the same design for two generations of the iPhone, so the slimmer, lighter and rounder design of the iPhone 6 is expected to carry over to the iPhone 7, too.
However, if Apple does decide to go for a new design for the iPhone 7, we actually think it could be thicker than the iPhone 6, potentially featuring 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.
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.
You can also read our full first look review of the Apple Watch, including UK pricing information.
iPhone 7 design rumours: Colour options
It’s very likely that the iPhone 7 will come in the same colour options as the iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus: gold, silver and Space Grey.
But if Apple decides to stop offering a 4-inch iPhone (which we’d rate as a long shot but not an impossibility, given how successful the larger phones have been and how much the company has historically liked to keep its product range as simple as possible), it may choose to transplant some of the more popular iPhone 5c colour options on to these larger models.
My colleague Karen Haslam has made the observation that the Apple Watch Sport’s strap is offered in almost the same colours as the iPhone 5c, with the exception of yellow – and since this is understood to be the least popular colour for the iPhone 5c (with everyone except my mother-in-law), it’s not a bad bet that the next generation of colourful iPhones will dump the yellow and replace it with a black model.
For more on that theory, take a look at our iPhone 6c rumour roundup.
Finally, if you have a look at our iPhone 7 images and videos section you’ll see that one designer has come up with illustration of an iPhone 7 in ‘wine’ and ‘copper’ colour options, which look stunning – but we don’t expect to see that prediction coming true.
iPhone 7 design rumours: The flexible iPhone 7
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.
There’s a patent to back up the latter theory, too. 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. 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.
Sapphire vs Gorilla Glass: What is Sapphire glass, what are its advantages, and why is it a good idea for 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: Series 7000 aluminium chassis
There are various rumours about what Apple will do to combat the ‘Bendgate’ scandal that afflicted the iPhone 6 Plus (even if one gets the strong impression that this was a few isolated cases hyped up into a scandal by a media trained to pounce on any Apple-bashing bandwagon). One possibility is that Apple will use the strengthened aluminium alloy used on the Apple Watch Sport for its next iPhone – the report originated with the (Chinese-language) site Economic Daily News.
It sounds like a perfect fit: Apple has talked up the material as “60 percent stronger than most [aluminium], and one-third the density of stainless steel” – yet no heavier than the materials used in previous iOS devices. It will certainly be put to the test.
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.
(Device strength may be on Apple’s mind right now, following the ‘Bendgate’ controversy that afflicted the iPhone 6 Plus.)
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 images and videos
We haven’t got any leaked photos of the iPhone 7 yet: at some point a factory worker in the Apple hardware supply chain will grab a snap of a key component or unfinished/prototype unit and we’ll able to deduce elements of the design from that, but at this point very few people outside the Apple design labs will have seen plans or models of the iPhone 7.
Nevertheless, some talented designers and illustrators have already 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.)
But before we get to those, take a look at the latest, rather terrifying, iPhone 7 parody video. None of it is real (thankfully), but it’s quite funny.
The video is called Upgrade by Noka Productions, and is hosted by Vimeo. Discovered by AdWeek.
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 7. 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.
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 for the iPhone 7:
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.
Source: Macworld.co.uk
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