We’re only months away from the release of the iPhone 7, and we’re hearing some contradictory reports about what Apple is planning. One is that there will be three new models this year: the iPhone 7, the iPhone 7 Plus and the iPhone 7 Pro or iPhone 7 Plus Premium. The other is that there will only be two: the iPhone 7 and 7 Pro.
At any rate, the rumor mill appears to think that at least one of this year’s new iPhones will essentially be a rip-off of the Galaxy note 5
Apple Pencil coming to iPhone 7 Pro?
When Apple released its Pencil (don’t call it a stylus!), we saw the first sign that the company is giving up on its earlier view that styluses are no good. The original purpose of the Apple Pencil was for use with the iPad, but the rumored iPhone 7 Pro is expected to work with it. Although Slash Gear suggests that the phone won’t have a hole for the Pencil in it like the Galaxy Note line has for Samsung’s S Pen, if Apple chooses to market the Pencil and iPhone 7 Pro for use together, it will certainly seem like the company has the Note 5 (and Note 6, for that matter) in its sights.
Indeed, the release of what effectively amounts to a stylus indicates that the company is seeking a greater chunk of the productivity market. Microsoft’s Surface was one of the earliest modern tablets to include a stylus, which fits with the company’s reputation in productivity. The Note 5 is primarily targeted at people who still like to write notes with a pen rather than typing them onto a smartphone, and if Apple adopts a similar tactic, it’s safe to say the iPhone maker wants in on Samsung’s success in this category.
Three iPhone 7 models?
This week Mobipicker, a tech blog, said this week that an anonymous source leaked a photo showing three iPhone 7 variants that will be released this year. Today we’re hearing from Taiwanese website Economic Daily News (via CNBC) that Apple suppliers are already starting to ramp hiring for production of this year’s models. It’s more than a month before they started ramping hiring in the years in which the company was planning two new iPhone models. Also this is reportedly the first time in two years that Foxconn began hiring in Mainland China this early.
The early hiring ramp could lend credence to the report that there will be three new iPhone models this fall, although the Economic Daily News reports that the design of this year’s phone is more complex than that of previous models. The website states that the greater complexity means that workers need more training, which is the reason for the early hiring ramp.
