While the analyst community has yet to decide whether the next Apple smartphone will be called the iPhone 7 or iPhone 6s, the rumors nonetheless keep flooding in. The latest murmurings on this flagship Apple handset are related to the alleged new processor and camera which are included.
iPhone 7 to be quad-core?
The rumors in question have been published by the website TweakTown, and make for interesting reading. According to this publication, Apple will be staying with Samsung for the manufacturing of its new A9 processor, and the Korean corporation will allegedly utilize its new 14nm FinFET technology. This could possibly point to the iPhone 7 becoming a pure quad-core device.
Dual-lens camera mooted
It is also stated that Apple will arm its flagship handset with a dual-lens camera. This has been a persistent rumor for some time, and it looks increasingly likely that Apple will be significantly stepping up the photographic taking capabilities of its flagship handset. Although the iPhone has always performed more than adequately as a picture taking device, the megapixel rating of the iPhone is significantly lower than lenses utilized in competitors such as the Samsung Galaxy range. It seems clear that Apple is intending to rectify this situation with the release of the iPhone 7.
According to this report, the dual-lens snapper will produce professional quality “DSLR-like images”. This would be a massive innovation for the iPhone series, and would help to create the sort of revolutionary impression which Apple is clearly looking to make this time round.
Other sources have also backed up this impression. The online news site Bostlnno has also reported that the iPhone 7 will feature a significantly improved camera. The Boston-based site suggests that camera technology will be a big focus in the iPhone series going forward, particularly as the technology behemoth has recently purchased LinX, a company that manufactures advanced camera sensors, for $20 million.
LinX Technology enables significantly better color fidelity, along with significantly improved image quality. But one of the most significant aspect of this technology is that it will enable the iPhone 7 camera to perform better at low-light levels. Apple’s most obvious rival, the Samsung Galaxy series, has been criticized for his performance in such conditions, despite the superior specifications of its camera lens.
Nonetheless, the recent release of the Samsung Galaxy S6 is considered to be the apex of smartphone cameras. Whether the new Apple device can deliver the same quality of photographs as this camera remains to be seen, but it is clear that this is a significant intention of the handset.
Force Touch to be included
Meanwhile, the physical build of the iPhone 7 may be significantly different from previous iterations of the series. Rumors suggest that the device may feature an edge-to-edge screen with a Home button integrated into the display. It is generally considered by analysts and Apple experts that the corporation will make significant use of its Force Touch display technology in this generation of iPhones, and this explains the movement of the Home button.
Force Touch was recently introduced in the Apple Watch, and has already proven to be a popular feature of Apple’s embryonic smartwatch. It seems that the consumer electronics giant has treated the Apple Watch as a testing ground for the technology, and it will now be integrated into its existing flagship product niches.
iPhone 7c / iPhone 6c to be plastic / colorful
Aside from these two major rumors, it has also been suggested in recent days that the iPhone 7 may introduce a colorful variant of the smartphone. This is something of a surprise as this type of design is not exactly voguish at the moment, but Apple is evidently eyeing the more affordable marketplace offered by developing economies, and possibly eventually the Third World as well.
Apple has achieved outstanding sales figures in recent months and years, and this was underlined by its performance during the first quarter of 2015. Apple shifted more iPhones than both analysts and the company itself predicted during this period, and this was attributed to its performance in East Asia in particular. China has become a key market for Apple, and indeed a very successful one, and it is thought that the more colorful iPhone which is being mooted would appeal to consumers in this particular market.
Apple buying up Sony sensors
It has been noted that Apple is already developing this new iPhone niche, with the corporation having allegedly bought up most of Sony’s camera sensors with the intention of utilizing them in this new compact and colorful handset. Macworld UK even reports that the industrial scale of purchasing which Apple has engaged in has left the rest of the consumer electronics industry short of supply.
Another interesting aspect of these rumors is the suggestion that Apple may launch the proposed iPhone is 6C at a lower price point than the previous iterations of the series. Apple is seemingly looking to undercut the launch price for the iPhone 5c, which would suggest that it is definitively chasing the lower end of the market.
This represents an interesting new strategy for Apple which has typically been seen as a premium brand. Samsung has dominated the affordable portion of the marketplace, but this trend may be coming to an end, considering that Gartner recently reported that Apple is now outselling Samsung in pure volume terms. Apple may see the affordable end of the market as an area which offers massive growth for them, and this could be a key strategy which enables the corporation to grow revenue in the coming years.
iPhone 7 / iPhone 6c – Reduced spec
However, the suspected lower price point could mean that the iPhone 6c doesn’t include some of the features central to the more premium models in the series. It has been suggested that TouchID could be eliminated from the handset, and consumers can realistically expect the specifications involved in the device to be significantly diminished from the more expensive models.
It also looks increasingly likely that Apple may opt for a plastic build for this particular version of the iPhone. This would make sense from a price perspective, and also mark the handset out as differing from its cousins. It is now expected that Apple will manufacture both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus from a revolutionary super strong aluminum alloy called 7000 Series. This material has already been utilized in the Apple Watch Sport, and it is considered to be particularly durable.
Display rumors
Another major focus of the iPhone is expected to be its display. This is an area where Apple has definitively lagged behind Samsung in recent years, with the Korean manufacturer becoming particularly associated with the quality of display panels it produces. With the iPhone 6 not even being full HD, Apple will be under pressure to address this in the forthcoming iPhone 7. This could possibly lead to the corporation embracing 4K resolution, but what is more likely is that we will see a quad HD iPhone 7 Plus and a full HD iPhone 7.
The release schedule for this handset is not yet entirely clear, with analysts split on whether it will arrive later this year, or whether the iPhone 7 will be a revolutionary device pushed back until 2016. But Apple is evidently planning for the device right now, and it certainly seems possible that we will see an iPhone 7 before the end of the year, or at least some of these features implemented.
