It’s that time again, and we’re just one week away from the launch of the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Apple has already sent out media invites for the event that is set to take place on September 7 at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. The invite is pretty simple with a caption that reads ‘See you on the 7th’ and multicolored dots that are out of focus, simulating ‘Bokeh’ effect. The main focus of the new iPhones is likely to be the improved camera performance and the much rumored dual camera setup on the iPhone 7 Plus. We take a look at seven new features that the new iPhones are expected to bring.
Design: Over the years, Apple has been refreshing its iPhones in every two years — with a brand new design, new features, improved hardware and more. It’s been a tick-tock cycle and we have seen major design changes in iPhone 4, iPhone 5 and iPhone 6, whereas the iPhone 4s, the iPhone 5s and iPhone 6s mostly bringing under the hood hardware improvements. While one would expect the iPhone to bring major changes, Apple is reportedly going with tick-tock-tock cycle — which means that the new iPhones may not look very different from the existing iPhone 6s-series, but will bring much-needed hardware changes to the tow.
However, that doesn’t mean that there won’t be any changes at all. The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are set to come with an improved design over their predecessors. Apple is likely to move the ugly antenna bands along the top and bottom, giving them a cleaner look. The company could also use new materials to make the new iPhones stronger and lighter at the same time.
New Touch ID Home button: The Apple iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are likely to retain the physical home button with Touch ID fingerprint scanner, albeit the one drastically different from the existing one. Rumors and leaked renders point to a non-clickable but that will fit flush on the front panel. It is likely to be a capacitive touch button, and could boast Force Touch technology to offer haptic feedback, just like the trackpad on the new MacBooks.
Cameras: Apple has always focused on the camera aspect of its iPhones and from what is buzzing in the rumor mill, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus could get major upgrades. The current iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus feature a 12-megapixel rear camera of aperture f/2.2. While the resolution of the upcoming iPhones is unknown, Apple may opt for a slightly larger aperture to capture better low light photos.
Optical image stabilization has been exclusive to the ‘Plus’ model, but Apple could add the setup to this year’s iPhone 7 too. Coming to the iPhone 7 Plus, it is rumored to get a dual camera setup at the back. Apple may utilize technology from LinX, the Israel based camera company that it acquired last year. The setup would allow one camera to capture photos, whereas the other would capture depth information to add DSLR-like blur (Bokeh) effect to the photos.
Storage: With the iPhone 6, Apple removed the 32GB variant and doubled the top-end variant’s storage to 128GB. However, one of the biggest pet peeves of most iPhone users is getting a paltry 16GB storage on the base variant, which reduces even more considering the space the OS and pre-installed apps take. With no option to expand the storage, the base 16GB variant is a major compromise most users have to live with, especially considering the increasing app sizes and camera resolution that makes photos larger in size. Add to it space required for storing media from Apple Music and most users are forced to either go for the more expensive 64GB variant or to use online backup services to keep their data. That is likely to change with the iPhone 7.
Apple is expected to double the base variant to 32GB and the top-end variant to 256GB with the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. The 16GB base variant will be booted out, though it remains to be seen whether Apple retains the 64GB or the 128GB variant. If we go by precedence that was set with the iPhone 6, Apple would most likely remove the 64GB variant and launch the iPhone 7 in 32GB, 128GB and 256GB models.
Bigger batteries: The new iPhones are likely to come with the next-generation Apple A10 processor, and to be able to handle the required processing power, Apple may increase the battery capacity on the new iPhones. According to rumors, the iPhone 7 could ship with a 1,960mAh battery, compared to the 1,715mAh one on the iPhone 6s, marking a 14 percent bigger battery. The iPhone 7 Plus, on the other hand, could come with a 2,910mAh battery, compared to 2,750mAh on the existing iPhone 6s Plus.
Lighting port for audio: It’s been long rumored that Apple may drop support for 3.5mm audio port and would use the Lighting port for charging as well as for routing audio. Some leaked photos have also surfaced showing off the new EarPods with a Lightning cable. Bluetooth will be the other solution to listen to audio on the new iPhones. Apple is also rumored to introduce truly wireless EarPods along with the new iPhones.
Improved water resistance: Apple has not officially mentioned anything about water resistant capabilities of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. However, adventurous YouTubers have put both smartphones through test, and they have survived the immersion in water. Also, with competitor smartphones such as Samsung Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 edge and Galaxy Note 7 boasting water and dust resistance, Apple might as well include the feature in both the new iPhones.
Other rumors also point to the new iPhones getting the display resolution boost. The iPhone 7 may come with a 4.7-inch full HD (1080p) display and the iPhone 7 Plus may come with a QHD (1440x2560pixels) display. However, there have been conflicting reports and we wouldn’t be surprised if the new iPhones don’t get the resolution boost. Apple might save it for next year when it is expected to switch from LCD display to OLED panels. The iPhone 7 Plus is also likely to come with 3GB of RAM, which could be needed for that extra processing.
Apple Watch 2: Continuing with our wishful thinking, we believe the blurred spheres might just hint at a new product as well. It’s been nearly two years since Apple took the wraps off its first-ever wearable, and we believe the company could be unveiling the Apple Watch 2 on September 7. The spheres in the invite do remind us of the Circle UI of the Apple Watch, where app icons are designed as different colored circles.
0 comments: