***Apple is holding a WWDC 2016 keynote tonight - you can follow the action here - but it will not be tonight that it unveils the new iPhone. Expect that to come in a separate September event.***
Rumours at a glance:
What: The successor to the iPhone 6SWhen: September 2016
What's new: Faster processor, iOS 10, headphone jack removed (or not), Smart Connector
Latest rumours: A leaked image of the supposed iPhone 7 shows what looks like a Smart Connector and a larger camera module. See the picture. Despite rumours of no headphone jack, a new image shows interals which do have one - check it out. Also, word has it that the design will be very similar to the iPhone 6 (and 6S) and that Apple will ditch the 'S' model and move staight to an updated design for the iPhone 8 in 2017.
To further solidify the rumours on 26 April 2016 Logitech released its Logi Base for £89.99 / $99.99, a stand used to charge the iPad Pro via Smart Connector. We also have some dimensions for the iPhone 7. Will the iPhone 7 really have a glass back and four speakers?
We've also spotted some interesting Lightning accessories which add to the no headphone claim - including a Lightning to headphone jack adapter. A new case also appears to confirm it. The latest photo appears to show that the iPhone 7 won't have the traditional home button.
Also check out a comparison between the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus thanks to cases which are available to pre-order.
iPhone 7 UK release date rumours: When is the iPhone 7 coming out?
With the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus unveiled on 9 September 2015, and the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus on the 9 September 2014, one might think the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will come on 9 September 2016. Except that will be a Friday, and it's much more Apple-like to unveil new products on a Tuesday. Our money is on either Tuesday 6 September 2016, or Tuesday 13 September 2016 - probably the latter.But the latest reports say that Apple might struggle to meet demand for the iPhone 7 due to damage caused by an earthquake in Taiwain to Apple supplier TSMC's factories. In early February, reports emerged to suggest that Apple would use TSMC as its sole processor manufacturer, but the earthquake came just days later.
Don't be confused by the rumoured Apple iPhone launch event that took place on 21 March. This was for the iPhone SE, the 'mini' iPhone that is thought to be the first of several new iPhones launching this year. The firm also announced the new iPad Pro in a 9.7in size.
iPhone 7 UK price: How much will the iPhone 7 cost?
For its past two iPhone releases Apple has kept the pricing the same. That means we could well see the iPhone 7 costing £539 for a 16GB version, £619 for 64GB, and £699 for the 128GB iPhone 7. Rumour has it, though, that there may well be a 256GB model of iPhone 7, although we think that's unlikely. If there is, however, expect it to be well into the region of £800. We'll update this article as more rumours come to light.There is some debate over whether Apple will finally move to 32GB as the lowest storage capacity and although we think it's unlikely (the firm makes plenty of profit from storage upgrades), an analyst thinks otherwise.
An IHS Technology analyst, via 9to5Mac, has posted on a Chinese social media site stating that the iPhone 7 will feature 32GB of internal storage for the base $199 (on contract) model. They also added to rumours saying the phone will have 2GB of RAM like the 6S but the iPhone 7 Plus will get 3GB due partly to the dual camera setup.
One report from an analyst doesn't make this a done deal but IHS does have a good track record and the 16GB model has been the standard since 2008 so perhaps it's about time Apple finally bumped it up. Especially when it looks like the OnePlus 3 will come with 64GB.
iPhone 7 vs iPhone 7 Plus
As mentioned throughout this article, rumours suggest that the iPhone 7 won't receive key upgrades which will only be available on the iPhone 7 Plus. The below cases which are available to pre-order show that the regular iPhone 7 won't get the dual camera setup nor the Smart Connector. The cases also show that the new iPhone won't have a headphone jack.
iPhone 7 rumours: Design
The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus looked largely similar to the 6 and 6 Plus, which is usually the case with Apple's 'S' models. We are expecting to see something completely new for the iPhone 7, although it's very likely that it too will come in Silver, Gold, Space Grey and Rose Gold.The latest design rumours to emerge claim that the iPhone 7 could actually have a ceramic back like the One Plus X. This could make wireless charging easier to impliment (read more on this below) but it could also make the iPhone 7 look rather different. The rumour came from Business Korea, but there's no real evidence to support the claim. There is, however, a rendering to give an example of what it could look like (below).
Another rumour says that the iPhone 7 will use a glass back similar to rivals such as the Xperia Z5. Allen Horng, chairman and chief executive of Catcher Technology, a key supplier said: "As far as I know, only one [iPhone] model will adopt glass casing next year. I don't think this move will have an impact on Catcher's revenue as glass casing still needs a durable metal frame which requires advanced processing technology and would not be cheaper than the current model."
That's according to MacRumors, which claims to have spoken with a reliable source who says a second design change for the iPhone 7 will be the removal of the antenna stripes on the back of the iPhone, as demonstrated in the mockup below.
This is very similar to the renders which GSMArena has published, showing that same antenna stripes. They do show a camera bump though and no sign of the smart connector or the headphone jack.
However, there are various rumours about the headphone jack, so it's very much up in the air as to whether it will stay or go.
It wasn't the last leaked image either. The very next day, another leaked image appeared online claiming to showcase the unreleased iPhone 7, though this one showcases different features to the above leaks. The image has been circulating around Chinese forums, and is far from confirmed, although if true could confirm a headline feature of the iPhone 7 - a dual lens setup.
According to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, however, this dual-lens camera will be exclusive to the 5.5in iPhone 7 Plus.
The three dots at the bottom look like the Smart Connector on the iPad Pro modles so perhaps the iPhone 7 will work with some kind of smart case or it could be used for easier charging via a dock.
The below YouTube video is a concept video from ConceptsiPhone that amalgamates all those design rumours - if true, this is what the iPhone 7 will look like:
The leaked photo appears to show a much wider camera slot that seems to house not one but two camera lenses. Though no one has any idea what Apple is planning with a dual-lens setup, companies in the past have used them for features including 3D photography, and the ability to refocus an image after it has been taken.
The three dots at the bottom look like the Smart Connector on the iPad Pro modles so perhaps the iPhone 7 will work with some kind of smart case or it could be used for easier charging via a dock.
The below YouTube video is a concept video from ConceptsiPhone that amalgamates all those design rumours - if true, this is what the iPhone 7 will look like:
Yet another possible look at the iPhone 7 comes from an Italian case maker which shows a prototype based on schematics received from an unnamed source in Apple's supply chain. It shows a single camera and also four speaker grilles like the iPad Pro. It's another rumour which suggests the headphone jack will be ditched.
iPhone 7 rumours: Specs & features
With the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus Apple finally budged on some of the specifications it has refused to change for years, such as the 12Mp iSight camera, up from 8Mp in the 6 and 6 Plus. It's likely that Apple will stick with that 12Mp camera for some time to come, although one thing it still refuses to improve is the screen resolution. With rival smartphones now offering Quad- and Ultra-HD screens, we hope that Apple might bump up its pixel count in the iPhone 7 - perhaps to the 400ppi level of the Plus models.Back to the camera briefly and the latest details suggest that Sony won't be able to keep up with the schedule so Apple will have to move to LG Innotek, according to Nomura Securities via Barron's Asia. This means that the 4.7in sized iPhone is now tipped to have optical image stabilisation (OIS), not just the larger Plus model.
Apple might stick with the 4.7in and 5.5in screen sizes, but with so many phones having a 5in or larger screen it could well move to 5- and 5.7in models and look at ways of increasing the screen-to-body ratio, which is fairly low compared to some phones right now.
In early March we heard rumours that there would be not just two iPhones launching in September, but three, with the third dubbed the iPhone Pro. This is expected to be based on the iPhone 7 Plus, but even more premium with a dual-lens camera.
Some of the latest rumours we've seen talk of an OLED screen, with Apple having been in talks with LG and Samsung, although this is expected to make an appearance in 2017's iPhone 7s rather than the iPhone 7 that will launch in September 2016.
Expect the usual performance upgrades, with the new Apple A10 processor and embedded M10 motion co-processor. The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus were the first iPhones to finally get 2GB of RAM, and expect this to stay the same in the iPhone 7.
The iPhone 7 will ship with iOS 10 installed. Expect Apple to unveil iOS 10 (or iOS X?) at WWDC in June 2016. See below for a concept of the iPhone 7 running on iOS thanks to Mathijs Schrauwen. The device is what we think will be the iPhone 7 Plus but you get the idea.
iPhone 7 with new headphone jack? D Jack
When Apple announced the iPhone 5 with a new style of power connector it angered many fans who would now need to purchase an adaptor to fit their old accessories. We could be about to see Lightning-gate all over again with headphone-gate, as it's rumoured that Apple will shake things up once again with a new style of headphone jack, leaving older accessories incompatible. According to Apple Insider, Apple has patented a new slimmer headphone jack technology called D Jack, which has a diameter of just 2mm.
iPhone 7 with no headphone jack at all?
If you thought that was bad news, it gets worse - according to Japanese site Mac Otakara, Apple is thinking about ditching the headphone jack completely, enabling the company to shave 1mm from the device's thickness.The rumours about Apple ditching the headphone jack for the iPhone 7 don't seem to be slowing in 2016, either. Throughout the first week of the year, we've heard numerous rumours and reports backing up the theory.
But how will we listen to our music without a headphone jack? It leaves consumers with two choices; you can either use wireless Bluetooth headphones (like many consumers are already doing) or you can use a pair of headphones that connects to your iPhone via the Lightning port - and potentially a new, slimmer Lightning port. The issue with using a Lightning-port enabled pair of headphones is that a) these are quite expensive, with the likes of the Philips Fidelio headphones costing £184.99, b) it limits the use of the headphones to the iPhone 7, and the iPhone 7 only.
Of course, there's always a possibility that Apple will include some kind of adaptor that'll allow users to use their standard headphones, but we imagine this will come with a large price tag.
But how plausable is this idea? Music is a big part of the history of the iPhone, and we're not too sure Apple would jeopardise that just to shave 1mm off the width of its next iPhone. But with this being said, Apple did replace multiple ports with a single USB-C port on the 12in MacBook all in the name of shaving a a few millimetres off its' latest MacBook.
Consumers certainly seem to be convinced that it's possible, but they've been flocking to sign an online petition in the hopes that they can stop Apple from removing the headphone jack. So far there are more than 280,000 signatures in the petition.
Plus, on 20 January even more evidence arrived to suggest that the headphone jack port is on its way out. Code spotted in the iOS 9.3 beta 1.1 software release by Twitter user Chase Fromm reads "Headphones.have.%sinput.NO." which could well be a reference to the future removal of the port.
Then, on 10 March, the first purported iPhone 7 case leaked online. At first glance, you'd mistake it for an iPhone 6s case, but a closer look reveals that there is no space for a 3.5mm headphone jack. Instead, it looks like the iPhone 7 will have two speaker grilles along the bottom.
The leak comes from @OnLeaks, and could well prove to be inacurate, but it's the first case leak we've seen so far and we expect it'll be the first of many.
Despite all the above, new information (May 2016), suggests Apple will indeed keep the headphone jack. An image published by MyDrivers, supposedly shows the internals of the next-gen iPhone 7 and you can see the grey headphone jack at the top. It's almost impossible to tell whether the image is legit or fake.
iPhone 7 to come with Lightning EarPods & wireless AirPods?
Of course, if Apple does decide to ditch the headphone jack then it's going to need to supply some new EarPods with the iPhone 7, and the current rumours are suggesting some Lightning EarPods which will probably be similar to the EarPods we already know but will have a Lightning connector instead of the 3.5mm jack.More excitingly, though, rumours say that Apple is working on AirPods that will be so completely wireless that they won't even have a wire connecting the left bud with the right bud. Instead they will both individually connect with the iPhone 7 over Bluetooth.
Latest update (21/03/2016): An image has been floating around the internet over the past few days showcasing what is claimed to be a Lightning-enabled pair of Apple EarPods, with many citing Weibo as the source of the 'leak'. The image, if true, shows a pair of fairly standard Apple EarPod earphones with a lightning jack at the bottom in place of the standard 3.5mm jack, seemingly confirming the elimination of the jack on the upcoming iPhone.
iPhone 7 rumours: Waterproof protection
It's possible the new iPhone 7 could be waterproof. In March 2015 a new patent revealed that Apple is investigating ways to make future iPhones waterproof without needing to compromise on the design, a change that never made it into the 6s and 6s Plus. Instead of adding armour to the outside of the iPhone to protect it from water, the method would coat electronic components found inside the iPhone in a protective waterproof material that would prevent them from getting damaged should water find its way in. Clever.iPhone 7 to 'dry itself by shooting water out of its speakers'
If waterproofing the internals of the iPhone 7 doesn't sound impressive enough to you, the next rumour might. A patent was published on 12 November which suggests that the iPhone 7 could be waterproof - but not by creating a watertight body, or even waterproofing the internals. Instead, the patent suggests that the iPhone could dry itself by pumping water (or any other liquid, for that matter) out of the device via its speaker grills. Pretty cool, eh?The concept is centred around modules within the speakers that can be made more or less hydrophobic, depending on the electrical charge applied to them. That way, when liquid is detected in the iPhone, the modules would be activated in such a way that it'd move the liquid across them and eventually out of the speaker grills. We love this idea, but we're not holding our breath that this will be featured in the iPhone 7 - maybe the 8 or 9, though.
iPhone 7 rumours: Wireless charging
New reports that emerged at the end of January 2016 suggest Apple is working on wireless charging behind the scenes, but the bad news is this special type of wireless charging that doesn't require users to place the phone on a charging mat isn't expected to arrive until 2017.It's been rumoured that wireless charging is coming to iPhone for a long time now, but the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus arrived in September with no such feature, disappointing many. One of the reasons the iPhone doesn't currently offer wireless inductive charging is because the technology has never previously worked through aluminium, which the iPhone is made with. But in July, Qualcomm revealed that its latest wireless breakthrough now does work through metal, so it's finally a possibility for Apple.
But Apple reportedly wants to take wireless charging one step further. Bloomberg says that the company is "exploring cutting-edge technologies that would allow iPhones and iPads to be powered from further away than the charging mats used with current smartphones."
iPhone 7 rumours: e-SIM
Another touted feature for the latest iPhone that didn't see daylight and may be reserved for the iPhone 7 is that it will have an e-SIM. Recent reports suggest that it could be the end of days for the traditional SIM card, with a possible introduction of a simpler option. An e-SIM is an electronic SIM card which would replace the physical SIMs used today and instead will opt for a virtual embedded equivalent. Rumours suggest that both Apple and Samsung are in talk with the GSMA (organisation that represents the interest of mobile operators) to use a standardised e-SIM in future handsets.What are the benefits of having an e-SIM? First things first, it'll make switching carriers easy and should allow for more flexible roaming. The idea is that with a standardised e-SIM, you'll be able to make a call and switch operators without having to insert a specific SIM card. This idea translates to roaming too, as it'll be much easier to switch to a local network if you're looking to spend a long period of time in a particular country.
You can also wave goodbye to SIM adaptors! If you've ever had to go from a nano-SIM device to a micro-SIM device, you'll know exactly what we mean.
iPhone 7 with a glasses-free 3D display?
According to Economic Daily News, the iPhone 7 could feature a 3D display - but not just any 3D display, but one that doesn't require the use of those annoying 3D glasses. The website claims that Apple supply chain partner TPK is working on a project that could produce a glasses-free 3D display, though we're not holding out much hope for this as its been done before (remember the LG Optimus 3D?) and has never done well.iPhone 7 with sidewall display: Apple's answer to the Galaxy Note Edge, S6 Edge and S6 Edge+?
There are some rumours to suggest that the iPhone 7 could have some new design features, though we'd take these rumours with a pinch of salt.The speculation about a new design stems from an Apple patent that was published in 2015. It describes what Apple calls "sidewall displays," similar to the display found on the Galaxy Note Edge, S6 Edge and S6 Edge+.
The patent hints at a future iPhone with a display that extends onto the sides of the device, providing interactive or touch sensitive portions that give access to slide-to-unlock functionality, music player controls, messaging readout, called ID, system controls and more.
Perhaps Apple will decide to introduce the sidewall display to the iPhone 7, offering even more screen estate.
iPhone 7 with edge-to-edge display?
The latest rumour comes from a concept video by DeepMind of what an iPhone 7 would look like with an edge-to-edge display. And it looks pretty cool.Another concept image of an iPhone 7 with an edge-to-edge display emerged in early 2016 from iPhone-Tricks.com. It's a bit out-there and is unlikely to be quite accurate, but it also shows what iOS 10 might look like including an interesting idea that some of the icons could be bigger in a 'widget' style familiar to Android users.
iPhone 7 with a Touch ID display?
Another rumour that was sparked by an Apple patent is that the iPhone 7's Touch ID fingerprint sensor, which is usually situated beneath the Home button, could be built-in to the entire display, eliminating the need for a Home button and making room for a larger display without enlarging the overall size of the smartphone.These rumours seemed pretty far fetched to begin with, but it might just happen. Sonavation recently announced that its found a way to insert ultrasonic biometric sensors underneath a Gorilla Glass display, with it still being able to read a users fingerprints.
The company claims that it can even do one better than the existing Touch ID (and most other fingerprint scanners on the market) by being able to scan fingerprints on a finger that's wet, dirty or oily. Though it's not clear which devices will be the first to feature this new technology, but we assume it'd either be the iPhone or a flagship Android smartphone.
iPhone 7 with flexible OLED display made by Samsung?
All of the above rumours could be made possible thanks to a new flexible OLED, that reports say Samsung Display is currently working on for the iPhone 7 and is set to invest billions in a new factory to keep up with demand and meet Apple's order of up to 45,000 panels per month.iPhone 7 rumours: Reversible USB charger
Another rumour circulating the web is that the iPhone 7 will come with a new iPhone charger, with a Lightning connector on one end and a new reversible USB connector on the other end.In August 2014, a video of a reversible USB charger emerged on YouTube, which you can watch below.
iPhone 7 leaked images: Photos of allegedly leaked iPhone 7 parts
In January, Taiwanese site Apple Club shared photos of what it claims are iPhone 7 parts that have been leaked from the supply chain. The site has been genuine with some of its leaks in the past so it is possible that this is the real deal, but it really doesn't tell us much about the iPhone 7 just yet.