The iPhone 7 is almost ready to hit the stores, with Apple set to unveil its latest flagship smartphone and release on September 7. As always, the Californian corporation will be looking for as many loyal Apple consumers as possible to upgrade to the new device. So based on what we know about the new iPhone thus far, how does it compare to last year’s iPhone 6S, in both the smartphone and phablet models?
iPhone 7 by Jimmy Benson, Flickr
Size
The basic size of the new iPhone will probably change very little from last year’s releases. However, it is probable that Apple will look to slim down the iPhone 7 slightly, and this will be the most noticeable physical difference in the dimensions of the device.
Weight
Considering the slightly smaller size of the iPhone 7 in comparison to the iPhone 6S, it is probable that the device will weigh slightly less than last year’s release. This will be a relatively trivial amount, but it could be approximately 5g less, meaning that the larger phablet will weigh in at 187g with the smaller device being 138g in weight.
Display
Although Apple fans would doubtless love to see the consumer electronics giant upgrade the displays in both the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, this seems unlikely. Rumors surrounding the next generation Apple smartphones have rapidly moved away from the suggestion that the resolution of the devices could be improved. So expect the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch screens from the last generation to be retained, along with the full HD resolution of the phablet iPhone, and the 750 x 1,334 pixels of the smartphone version.
Memory
Apple will certainly upgrade the memory in the new iPhone, meaning that both the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus benefit from an extra gigabyte in this area. This will mean a 50 percent increase over the 2GB included in the iPhone 6S generation, meaning that both the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus will come armed with 3GB of RAM memory.
| iPhone 6S | iPhone 7 rumored | iPhone 6S Plus | iPhone 7 Plus rumored | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Size | 138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1 mm | 138.3 x 67.1 x 6.8 mm | 158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3 mm | 158.2 x 77.9 x 7.0 mm |
| Weight | 143g | 138g | 192g | 187g |
| Display | 750 x 1,334 pixels | 750 x 1,334 pixels | Full HD | Full HD |
| Memory | 2GB RAM | 2GB RAM | 3GB RAM | 3GB RAM |
| Storage | 16/64/128 GB | 32/64/256 GB | 16/64/256 GB | 32/64/256 GB |
| Camera | 12 MP | 12 MP | 12 MP | 12 MP dual-camera |
| Battery | 1,715 mAh | 2,000 mAh | 2,750 mAh | 3,000 mAh |
| Chip | Dual-core 1.84 GHz | Quad-core 2.37GHz | Dual-core 1.84 GHz | Quad-core 2.37GHz |
Storage
The word on the street is that Apple will make significant changes with regard to the storage available in the iPhone 7 generation. This will involve alterations to its portfolio at both the affordable end of its device range, as well as at the premium level. Apple will reportedly double the maximum storage of the iPhone 7 to 256GB, while eliminating the 16GB version of the handset completely.
Thus, the bargain basement version of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus will deliver 32GB of storage; considered essential in an area which is increasingly under premium from modern media.
Camera
This is one area of the new iPhone which has yet to be settled, with a huge amount of reports indicating that the Cupertino-based company will include dual-camera technology in the iPhone 7 generation, but no consensus on which models will benefit from this innovation. It is generally accepted that the phablet version of the iPhone 7 will include the dual-camera technology, but it is not yet known whether Apple will provide smartphone users with access to this innovation as well. It seems that more analysts believe that the iPhone 7 will have a more conventional camera setup, which suggests a distinction in this area between the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.
Although there will be other camera improvements made by Apple in this new generation, it is not thought that the megapixel rating of the snapper will be increased, which means Apple will retain the 12-megapixel camera which was introduced last year.
Battery
There have been no hard facts on the battery which will be included in the iPhone 7, but it is known that Apple will want to address criticism that its devices have sometimes garnered in this area. Many believe that the iPhone 6S delivered a relatively paltry lifecycle on one single charge, and this Apple is under pressure to significantly improve this in the iPhone 7 generation.
This will firstly involve including a larger battery in both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus if this is reasonably practical, but iOS 10 is also expected to deliver power-saving functionality, as Apple looks to make a big leaps in battery lifecycle. So expect a 2,000 mAh+ cell for the iPhone 7, and a 3,000 mAh battery in the larger iPhone 7 Plus.
Processor
It is anticipated that Apple will upgrade the processor included in the new iPhone range to a quad-core setup, and six-cores have even been linked with the processor in some quarters. Apple will also improve the clock speed in both processors, with the iPhone 7 linked with possible specs of around 2.37GHz.
Coupled with Apple’s almost unique combination of proprietary hardware and software, this should ensure that the next generation smartphone delivers an extremely speedy package.
New features in iPhone 7
New features in the new iPhone generation have focused around three key aspects of the smartphone. Firstly, the aforementioned dual-camera will appear in some or all of the iPhone 7 releases. Secondly, Apple will remove the headphone jack from the device, meaning that music playing will be achieved via wireless means in this next generation handset. And, thirdly, the iPhone 7 could feature a pressure-sensitive Home button; something that has been linked with the smartphone series for some years now.
Held back for iPhone 8
There will not be a curved screen iPhone 7 variant, while the resolution in the iPhone 8 next year should also be significantly improved over the last two releases. OLED will also be held back for 2017, while Apple is expected to re-adopt a glass body similar to that used in the iPhone 4 with the iPhone 8. Touch ID and the front-facing camera may be built directly into the iPhone 8 display, while wireless charging, virtual reality support and iris scanning will all be introduced.