With Apple planning to launch the next generation iPhone 7 in what appears to be the second week of September, the rumor mill is grinding intensely ahead of this critical smartphone product. It is still not know precisely what Apple will release when the iPhone 7 hits the stores, with some analysts suggesting that three models may ultimately appear, while others doubt the existence of the so-called iPhone 7 Pro.
iPhone 7 – Headphone jack
What seems increasingly certain is that the iPhone 7 range will completely eliminate the headphone jack, as has indeed been rumored for quite some time. The latest reports on this smartphone contender indicate that Apple will introduce wireless music systems with the 2016 release of its smartphone.
Dual-camera
The California-based corporation will also include a dual-camera as the primary shooter in the iPhone 7. However, this will only appear in the larger versions of the iPhone 7, whether this is confined to the iPhone 7 Plus, or whether the iPhone 7 Pro makes an appearance as well.
Storage changes
The Wall Street Journal has also reported that Apple will ensure that the bargain basement iPhone 7 will feature 32GB of storage, not the 16GB which has been common in past generations. This would seem to be essential considering the constraints that modern media places on smartphone storage.
Cook claims
The CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, has faced some difficult times recently, with the Apple share price slipping, and question marks over the future direction of the company. But Cook believes that the iPhone 7 will be an outstanding device, and that it will force people to upgrade as they simply will not be able to live without it. Nonetheless, the company has made rather conservative estimates for the number of iPhone units shifted in 2016, and this is likely to diminish from the number last year.
Image leaks
A new image leaked by French website NowhereElse.Fr indicates that the iPhone 7 may feature smoother antenna designs than previous generations of the smartphone. The leaked image suggests that Apple will shift the antenna bands of the device to top and bottom of its aluminum unibody with a flatter design.
It is also believed that Apple is likely to introduced new Lightning connected earpods and the Chinese social platform Weibo has already revealed images of how these may appear. There has been some scepticism over the accuracy of these particular images, but it is at least interesting to get some idea of how this strongly rumored feature will appear once it is released.
Color schemes
Another leak from Italy indicates that the iPhone 7 will be the most colorful smartphone release that Apple has yet sent to market. A new series of photos on the Italian website Macitynet.its suggests that the iPhone 7 will be offered in a wide range of color schemes.
Although there have been some colorful iPhone variants in past generations, the major smartphone releases from Apple have typically been produced in metallic colors. Nonetheless, with Apple offering gold and champagne pink iPhones in recent releases, it seems that the consumer electronics giant wishes to appeal to as many buyers as possible with the iPhone 7 range.
Home button
While it has been perpetually suggested that the iPhone 7 could ditch the home button at some point, the most recent information on this subject suggests that the Cupertino-based corporation will retain the Home button for at least the next generation of its smartphone.
Galaxy Note 7
Meanwhile, Samsung is putting the finishing touches to its Galaxy Note 7, with the Korean corporation expected to announce the release of this phablet on August 2. Samsung is renowned for packing its mobile devices with some of the most impressive specs on the market, and the latest phablet from the Korean company is likely to follow suit.
Release date
Samsung is expected to break from its traditional release pattern for the Galaxy Note 7 by pushing this device out to market in early August. The Korean corporation has attempted to create a demarcation in release dates between its devices and those of Apple in recent years, and it is certain that the Galaxy Note 7 will face fierce competition from the iPhone 7. Indeed, the rebranding of this device as the Note 7, rather than the Galaxy Note 6 which would follow on from last year’s Galaxy Note 5, is somewhat indicative of this rivalry.
Display
However, Samsung is not expected to include a 4K resolution display in the Galaxy Note 7, despite the fact that many fans of the series would love to see this upgraded resolution included in the device. Instead, the Galaxy Note 7 will ship with a 5.7-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED display, and also will include the dual-edge design which has become so popular in the recent Galaxy S7 Edge.
Price
It is believed that Samsung will ensure that the Galaxy Note 7 is extremely competitive in terms of pricing, with early estimates suggesting that it will retail at only $50 more than the Galaxy S7 Edge. With Apple surely requiring to freeze the pricing of the iPhone 7 considering that it is predicted that the smartphone will shift less units than the last generation, consumers will certainly benefit from an affordable marketplace in 2016.
Iris scanner
Another interesting rumor about the Galaxy Note 7 is that Samsung will finally include an iris scanner in the Galaxy Note 7 in order to improve the security of the device. It is expected that this feature will enable users to unlock the device in less than one second, with Galaxy Note 7 consumers only needing to glance at the device in order to unlock it. Nonetheless, Samsung will retain the fingerprint scanner which has been included in previous devices, continuing to embed this within the center of the Home button.
With a dual-edge display, USB Type-C, improved water resistance and S-Pen, and powerful processor, memory and storage options all expected, the Galaxy Note 7 could yet be the standout handset of the 2016 mobile year.
