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iPhone 7 rumours ramp up

Lauren Kate Rawlins
By Lauren Kate Rawlins, ITWeb digital and innovation contributor.
Johannesburg, 25 May 2016
The iPhone 7 is not expected to have a major design revamp and will reportedly look similar to the iPhone 6.
The iPhone 7 is not expected to have a major design revamp and will reportedly look similar to the iPhone 6.

The next rendition of the iPhone, which Apple is expected to launch in September, will reportedly have no headphone jack, a bigger battery and waterproofing, among other features.

The company needs to drive up sales of its smartphone to regain market share from rival Android.

In April, a day after the company reported its first fall in smartphone sales, Apple's shares closed down 6.3% at $97.82, wiping off about $36 billion in market value.

Reuters reported analysts saying the company's immediate future rests with iPhone 7.

"If iPhone 7 doesn't surprise with meaningful new useful features, we worry that consumers won't upgrade," Macquarie analyst Ben Schachter wrote in a note to clients.

"And unfortunately, nothing that we've seen about iPhone 7 thus far strikes us as particularly innovative."

The leaked photos and reports suggest Apple is giving the iPhone 7 features that a lot of top-end Android phones already have, but at much lower prices.

Apple will reportedly release a 4.7-inch iPhone 7 and 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus or Pro, the same sizes that were introduced with the iPhone 6 in 2014.

Storage conundrum

One of the latest leaks, reported by 9to5Mac, shows Apple will stick to its storage scheme of providing an "affordable" model with 16GB storage, and then 64GB and 128GB models with a higher price tag.

The latest iPhone 6S starts at R13 999, with the 128GB costing R17 999. The prices for the larger 5.5-inch iPhone 6S Plus start at R15 999 for 16GB and R20 999 for 128GB. Apple does not offer a 32GB option, only 64GB.

Leaks suggest the company may up the storage space of its top model to over 200GB.

However, at the same time, the quality of content is increasing, which means so is its size (for example, one minute of 4K video uses up to 375MB). This means the same amount of pictures or videos will eat up more storage space than before.

Most Android smartphones come standard with 32GB storage and an expandable microSD slot.

Having over 200GB of storage will be great for those who can afford it, but the 16GB version will likely limit how many apps users can install and the amount of pictures taken.

Say cheese!

Apple is reportedly looking to upgrade the camera in the next iPhone and possibly include a dual-camera setup on the back of the larger smartphones, and support for laser auto-focus.

The iPhone 7 will supposedly still have a protruding camera on the back of the device, not allowing the smartphone to lie flat.

Support for laser auto-focus will allow the camera to take better photos in low-light situations. The LG G3 was the first smartphone to have this feature nearly three years ago.

The dual-camera set-up follows the trends set by the LG G5 and Huawei P9. It is not clear yet what will differentiate the camera sensors in the new iPhone. In the G5, there is a wide angle and mid-range camera sensor. The P9 features one standard colour sensor and one monochrome sensor, developed with Leica.

Go swimming

The iPhone 7 will reportedly look similar in design to its predecessor. Leaked pictures show the antenna lines may have been redesigned to run along the top of the device as opposed to across the back.

Photos leaked to a French Web site, known for its prediction accuracy, show the iPhone 7 will have four speakers: two on the top and two on the bottom, a feature that was first introduced on the iPad Pro last year.

The iPhone 7 is also expected to be waterproof, following in the footsteps of rivals Sony and Samsung.

Last year, it was reported Apple may scrap the headphone jack in the next iPhone. This would force users to use Bluetooth headphones, or buy a new headset with an iOS-only Lightning connector.

In November, a patent, filed by Apple, emerged that suggested the company would include a fingerprint-activated panic button in a future iPhone.

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