iPhone 7 rumour round up: Specs, features & more

The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are Apple’s lower-cost iPhones, with camera improvements, a glossy black color, faster processors, and improved water resistance implemented through a click-less haptic home button and no headphone jack. The iPhones first launched on Sept. 16, 2016, and are now Apple’s low-cost devices starting at $449.

The Apple iPhone 6S is expected to arrive in September, as has seemingly always been the case with Apple smartphones. As this is a so called “S year”, the next phone is likely to look identical to the current iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

FEATURES

• No headphone jack
• Capacitive, haptic home button
• Improved water resistance
• Dual-lens camera for iPhone 7 Plus
• Design similar to iPhone 6s
• Upgraded A10 Fusion processor
• Stereo sound
• Improved battery life
• Glossy ‘Jet Black’ color option

WHAT ARE THE EXPECTED BIG CHANGES?

While the look of the iPhone 7 is expected to closely resemble that of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6, there will be some key changes.

These are expected to be:

• The removal of the headphone jack, and the old headphones replaced with Lighting EarPods. This is likely to be a bit controversial, so I’m expecting Apple to wrap it up in a package of leaving the past behind and modernizing the smartphone. After all, the headphone jack has been around for decades, and it is both a mechanical failure point and a way for water, dust, and other schmoo to enter the iPhone.
• The addition of a second speaker, taking the spot of the headphone jack, and finally bringing true stereo output to the iPhone.
• Swapping out the Home button for a touch-sensitive pad, likely featuring haptic feedback similar to the Force Click feature on the latest MacBooks.
• Dual cameras. The purpose of the second camera is said to be better low-light functionality, and allowing for more detailed photos. This feature is expected to be only present on the Plus variant.
• A recent parts leak also suggests that the iPhone 7 will sport an updated display. resolution bump, with the 4.7-inch display on the iPhone 7 going full 1080p (a screen resolution of 1920 x 1080), while the iPhone 7 Plus goes up to 2K (a screen resolution of 2560 x 1440).
• There’s also a good chance that the True Tone technology found on the iPad Pro (which is used to alter the color temperature of the display to match ambient light) will make it to the iPhone 7. Apple has a habit of testing new technologies on one device before rolling it out to other devices, so this is a real possibility.

That’s not very exciting if you are a graphic designer keen to future gaze into what the next iPhone might look like however. So instead, a number of enterprising men and women keen to show off their design and graphics skills have started drawing what they envisage the iPhone 7 to look like.

Some of the designs are based on the ultimate wish list, while some take their cues from rumours. Others take inspiration from previous products created by Apple, such as the Apple Watch or the iPhone 6.

Regardless of whether these come to fruition or not, it is impressive to see the work that goes into creating the iPhone 7 concepts. It is ultimately a way for these artists to showcase their work to a wider audience, and wow are some of them good.

Plus who knows, maybe Jony Ive and his team at Apple take this all in and use some of the tweaks and ideas to make a better iPhone in the future.

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Sadly, for us, we suspect that we’ll have to wait until September 2016 to find out whether these iPhone 7 concepts are anywhere near to the real iPhone 7 when it’s eventually announced, but it is still fun to imagine.

Working within the same design lines, Martin Hajek also envisions that you still push the screen to the edges, similar to the Apple Watch design, but play it safer in terms of design by having a top and bottom bezel for the FaceTime camera and the TouchID/Home button. The rest of the phone stays fairly straightforward in terms of what is already available on the iPhone 6. Although he has removed the camera bump on the back, of course.

The iPhone 7 concept designed by Yasser Farahi at OvalPicture takes the approach that the Apple iPhone 7 will be available in a range of different metal finishes next time around to build on the silver, black, and gold versions already available. In for 2016 according to Farahi will be copper and wine colour ways. Like Hajek, Farahi believes the screen will be edge to edge.

Specs of the new iPhone 7 created by Yasser Farahi at OvalPicture include wireless charging, Sapphire Glass for the whole display and 4K video recording as standard. There will also be Apple’s Taptic engine as found on the Apple Watch. The screen size will remain at 4.7-inch like the current iPhone 6.

Like the other concepts, design studio Set Solution also believe that the iPhone 7 will feature an edge to edge screen. Created before the iPhone 6 was released, the design features a 5-inch OLED screen, and a very angular design the removes any of the soft curves the iPhone has always featured.

The Set Solution iPhone 7 concept ditches the front facing camera in favour of a second screen on the rear of the device that allows you to takes selfies (a little extreme we know). Other camera wishlist features include a double True Tone flash that has 3 LEDs for perfect colour balance and a 20 megapixel sensor with a f1.8 aperture. 4K comes as standard of course.

Russian Designer Grisha Serov is another concept designer that likes the idea that the iPhone 7 will take heavy design cues from the Apple Watch. For this iPhone 7 concept, the graphic designer envisions the idea of an Edition version of the iPhone, for those that only want the best, whereby the phone is made with steel instead of aluminium.

iPhone 7 Discontinued