Apple iPhone 7 – Here’s What to Expect

Apple iPhone 7 – Design

KGI Securities superstar analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has an excellent track record with predicting iPhone specs, says the iPhone 7 will be Apple’s thinnest yet–approaching the thinness of the iPod touch. Ming-Chi Kuo is claiming the Apple iPhone 7 will come in between 6mm and 6.5mm.

According to information leaked on Weibo by a reliable tipster, Apple is testing out five iPhone 7 prototypes, each with its own unique hardware characteristics. By the sound of it Apple is trying to figure out which technologies would go best in the upcoming model, all the while keeping an eye on the performance of its suppliers,” said the report. “Reportedly, some of the technologies that can be found in these prototypes include a USB Type-C connector compatible with headsets, wireless charging technology, multi-Force Touch, dual camera configurations, and fingerprint recognition technology embedded within the display.”

There’s also strong hints that Apple is working on doing away with the physical home button and embedding a virtual home button and Touch ID in the screen itself, but that might not come until the iPhone 8.

Multiple sources are now claiming Apple is looking to do away with traditional headphones, meaning no 3.5mm jack-support on the Apple iPhone 7. It will be replaced by a lightning port.

Apple iPhone 7 – Camera

The Apple iPhone 6s gained a huge camera upgrade with its 12-megapixel high-quality rear camera and its 5-megapixel front FaceTime camera. But going to the Apple iPhone 7 we expect the camera upgrade to be less pronounced. Apple will probably keep to a 12-megapixel rear camera but add OIS(optical image stabilization) across the line.

The Apple iPhone 6s also gained 4k video recording on the rear camera–something we don’t see changing or expanding on for the Apple iPhone 7. However, it’s possible the front FaceTime camera could gain 4k video recording in the Apple iPhone 7.

Apple iPhone 7 – Processor

As is customary for new Apple products, investors should expect Apple to deliver a new applications processor (known as the A10), which should, once again, deliver best-in-class CPU and graphics performance, as well as other functionality to support the rest of the iPhone’s subsystems (such as the camera).

Beyond that, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, we should expect the 4.7-inch iPhone to pack two gigabytes of memory while the 5.5-inch model will come with three gigabytes of memory.

Apple iPhone 7 – Wireless charging

The second aspect suggested by the report is that Apple will include wireless charging in the Apple iPhone 7. This has also been linked with the device for quite some time, but these suggestions have now been further solidified. It is worth noting that Apple generally does not include technology in the iPhone range until the corporation believes that it has been absolutely perfected, so this will undoubtedly influence its decision over wireless charging. If Apple does decide to incorporate wireless charging into the iPhone range, it will probably be focused on ensuring that similar charge speeds to wired charging are possible.

Wireless charging remains one of the most frustrating technologies around, because while it’s here, it works and it feels like living in the future, it isn’t as widely supported as we’d like.

An Apple iPhone 7 with wireless charging would be great, especially if the same charger worked for the Apple Watch too. And if it could support both wireless standards as well, like the Galaxy S6, then that would be just swell.

Apple iPhone 7 –  Displays

The iPhone 6s gained the 3D Touch display that the Apple Watch has (there, it is called the Force Touch display)–of course the Apple iPhone 7 will adopt this 3D Touch display as well. But we also expect the Apple iPhone 7 to get a higher resolution display, specifically a QHD one with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 with 401 PPI (pixels-per-inch), as many Android handsets have.

Apple could also make subtle upgrades to the 3D Touch display in the Apple iPhone 7–for example, making it sensitive to more than two types of pressure inputs, but other than that we don’t expect the 3D Touch display to change much.

Also, it is unlikely that the Apple iPhone 7 will adopt an AMOLED display, which is found in Samsung phones and the Apple Watch, according to Kuo. In a recent investors note he stated:

“Based on recent comments by Minebea, one of the main iPhone backlight unit suppliers, we believe AMOLED will not penetrate iPhone for the next three years. Moreover, Hon Hai is preparing to invest in Gen-6 LTPS TFT-LCD production lines in Zhengzhou, China for mass production in 2018, suggesting the iPhone line will likely stick with TFT-LCD technology in 2018 and thereafter.

Apple iPhone 7 – Faster cellular, potentially faster Wi-Fi

The Apple iPhone 7 will use Qualcomm’s X12 LTE modem, which should lead to a doubling of peak download speeds from what the iPhone 6s can deliver; peak upload speeds should triple.

Apple also significantly improved Wi-Fi speeds in its last two iPhone releases as it has been more aggressive in adopting newer connectivity combo chips from Broadcom. I expect that Broadcom (which is being acquired by Avago) will announce new connectivity chips in the February/March timeframe, if/when that happens, we should have a good idea of what kind of Wi-Fi performance increase to expect in the next generation iPhones.

Apple iPhone 7 – Waterproof

there are the rumours that the next iPhone will be waterproof. This rumour started back in 2014 with an Apple Patent application, which has since been granted, for a technique known as Plasma-Assisted Chemical Vapour Deposition (PACVD) to coat the internal components and make them water resistant.

Apple iPhone 7 – Storage

Apple iPhone 7 will come in the three variants- 32GB, 64GB, 128GB and there is also another rumour that the Apple iPhone 7 will be the first smartphone to have 256GB of storage. This would be double the current 128GB maximum of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

Apple iPhone 7 – iPhone 7c

Go to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities is back with more assertions that Apple will release a 4-inch iPhone early next year as a follow-on to the plastic-backed iPhone 5c. Kou states:

“As there is still demand for a 4-inch iPhone, we believe Apple will upgrade this product line. Because the iPhone 5s is more popular than the iPhone 5c, we think Apple is likely to launch an upgraded iPhone 5s. We predict Apple will mass-produce this new 4-inch iPhone in 1H16 with metal casings. In order to make the current iOS 9 or next-generation iOS 10 run smoothly, Apple may adopt an A9 chip for this new phone.”

Apple iPhone 7 – Release Date

If there’s been one reliable thing about Apple’s iPhone launches, it’s that they happen just once a year. Given that the iPhone 6S was launched in September 2016, a year after the iPhone 6, it doesn’t take a genius to work out that the iPhone 7 will come in September 2016.

Apple iPhone 6S @

Apple iPhone 6S @

If you’re wondering what a slimmer Apple iPhone 7 may look like, check out the image by Yasser Farahi.