The latest report regarding the iPhone 7 suggests that it will resemble a giant button. This makes sense in many ways, with Apple expected to incorporate the Force Touch technology that was introduced in the Apple Watch earlier this year.
iPhone 7 to embrace Force Touch
Force Touch technology enables users of the existing Apple Watch to select various options by pressing down on the device with varying degrees of severity. This has been an intuitive system that has been praised, in a response to the Apple Watch that has been somewhat lukewarm overall. Apple is unquestionably interested in learning lessons from the Apple Watch, and taking any of the strong elements of the smartwatch and incorporating them into his existing device range.
It is thus already being strongly reported that Apple will include Force Touch technology in the iPhone 7. This could result in a massive redesign of the entire concept, and ultimately transforming the handset into a massive button. The ability to select any function within the smartphone could all be designated to the new Force Touch functionality, and this would make for an extremely interesting smartphone release.
iPhone 7 revolution
Effectively, what is being proposed is the biggest revolution on the iPhone range for many years, possibly since the very first iPhone back in 2007. It has already been reported that Apple could remove the home button completely from the iPhone 7 when it is released, with the consumer electronics giant instead relying on its patented Force Touch technology to operate all of the mechanisms of the smartphone.
This viewpoint already had some credence, but the popularity of the system in the Apple Watch has ensured some of the world’s most important publications reporting on iPhone 7 Force Touch possibilities. The Wall Street Journal has thus stated this week that Apple is already planning to include Force Touch in the iPhone 7 when it is released, and that the technology behemoth eventually intends to include Force Touch across the entire range of Apple mobile devices.
It will be interesting to see whether this will include the hugely revered iMac desktop range. Apple has already included Force Touch technology in the MacBook laptop series, and it would seem to be a logical conclusion for it to be also initiated in his next generation of the iMac. There have been many rumors in recent months that Apple will release a 4K resolution Retina iMac at some point during 2015, and these reports were backed up in the last couple of weeks by new suggestions from the Apple supply chain that Apple will announce this device in the fall.
Apple to freeze device size
Aside from the Force Touch capacity, it is also suggested by the Wall Street Journal that the dimensions of the iPhone 7 will be identical to the current version of the smartphone. This is not a huge surprise, as analysts have expected for some time that Apple will release an iPhone 7 with a 4.7-inch display, and a larger iPhone 7 Plus version that will feature a 5.5-inch screen.
With the iPhone 6 having been a huge commercial success for Apple, there is no impending pressure on the corporation to innovate with the iPhone 7 too strongly. However, there has been a perpetual debate going on for some time as to whether Apple intends to brand the next generation of the iPhone as an iPhone 7, or instead opt for an iPhone 6s monicker.
The latter branding would suggest that the latest iPhone would be an upgrade of the iPhone 6, but with Force Touch seemingly said to be included, this next release is more likely to be a reboot of the iPhone concept. An iPhone 7 which is built around Force Touch technology would seem to be a logical move for Apple, and indicate the commitment of the corporation to this technology going forward.
Apple enjoyed a stellar 2014, setting numerous business records, but the corporation is always looking to innovate and improve its products. After becoming the first $700 billion market capitalized company, Apple has also overtaken Samsung at the head of the mobile sales rankings. There are few companies on the planet that are more bankable than Apple at the moment.
Report suggest Apple Watch sales disappoint
Nonetheless, although the recent trading of the company has been an overwhelming success story, not everything has been going according to plan for Apple. It was announced this week that the Apple Watch is not selling as well have the corporation might have hoped. This first wearable device from Apple was released in a relatively muted fashion back in April, with Apple seemingly testing the water of the popularity of smartwatch devices before creating too much of a fanfare around the Apple Watch.
It seems that this was a sensible policy, as consumer data suggests that the Apple Watch has not been the roaring success that Aspple was hoping for. Using e-receipts from 2.5 million online shoppers in the US, the analytics company Slice Intelligence suggest that Apple Watch sales have been sub-par.
According to these figures, the Apple Watch is currently selling under 5,000 units per day, which can be contrasted to the 30 to 35,000 units that the smartwatch was shifting daily when it was first released. Apple has refused to comment publicly on such suggestions, but Apple’s senior vice president of operations, Jeff Williams, did suggest at the ReCode conference that the Apple Watch had sold a lots of units, “but not enough”. This was a rare acknowledgement from Apple that one of its devices had achieved less than was expected.
But despite these travails, the Slice Intelligence report still confirmed that Apple already owns 90 percent of the smartwatch market. It is this figure that the corporation may be focusing on above all else, and it is perhaps natural on this basis that it translates popular aspects of the Apple Watch to its entire range of products. Thus, it seems that we will see Force Touch hitting the iPhone 7 in September, and that this device will be a departure from previous iPhone models.