iPhone 7: Prices, specs and release date

iPhone 7: Prices, specs and release date

The next iPhone is coming this September, and rumours are swirling.

In a matter of months, Apple will unveil the successor to the iPhone 6S. The iPhone 7 is coming this year, and being a brand new model number, you'd expect Apple to have big changes in store.

More recent rumours have indicated the opposite. While Apple will introduce new hardware specifications and design tweaks, these changes may not be as big as we have previously seen between full iPhone generations. 

The next handset could be a stop-gap and an untimely one. iPhone sales are stalling and the company needs a killer device to turn around its dropping sales – a device many think is unlikely to arrive before next year.

An all new iPhone is coming this year though. Here's what the rumours suggest so far:

Design

Presently, the dominant rumours suggest that Apple's next iPhone won't look too dissimilar to the iPhone 6 generation handsets, and could be a refinement of the design and form factor introduced on those phones.

Two devices are expected – one using a 4.7ins display, as well as a larger 5.5ins one, much like we've seen over the last two years with the iPhone 6 and 6S. According to a recent leak published by uSwitch – a set of renders obtained by noted smartphone leaker Steve Hemmerstoffer – this year's iPhone handsets will have the exact same overall dimensions the iPhone 6S has too, coming in at 7.1mm thick for the standard handset, and 7.3mm on the iPhone 7 Plus, and both just as wide and just as tall.

Both look set to use an aluminium chassis with curved edges, just like the iPhone 6 devices, but with one or two minor revisions. The antenna bands looping around the back of the most recent phones are likely to be repositioned for a subtler look, no longer running across the backplate, instead just across the top and bottom edges.

The way the cameras look on both devices will change too. The cut-out and housing for the sensor is larger and placed more into the top left hand corner on the Hemmerstoffer renders, and the Plus will get something different entirely – a dual camera module encased in a large, pill-shaped housing. Both appear to bump up from the flat back of the phone.

The most controversial rumour? No headphone jack – Apple may drop the 3.5mm port on the next model and use the space vacated by it for other hardware upgrades or slimmer iPhones in the future. If so, users will have to use the Lightning port to attach headphones, or move on to a wireless Bluetooth pair.

Display

According to MacRumors, the display technology used on the iPhone 7 is unlikely to move on from the baseline 1080p LCD screens used on the iPhone 6 generation phones, though some improvements plucked from some of the firm's other product lines could make their way onto the device.

For instance, True Tone – the colour temperature shifting feature seen on the 9.7ins Pad Pro – could be added if Apple equips the handset with ambient light sensors that can measure colour as well as brightness. The new DCI-P3 colour gamut is another iPad Pro feature that could potentially be included, allowing the iPhone 7 to display more vivid, true to life colours.

As previously mentioned, two displays sizes – 4.7ins and 5.5ins – are expected. On the iPhone 6 and 6S, the larger Plus models have a higher pixel density of 401ppi compared to the 326ppi used on the smaller phone. Some have speculated that Apple could place the handsets on par with each other this time round. Elsewhere, 3D touch capabilities will almost certainly return.

As for when will Apple ditch LCD screens in favour of OLED panels, rumours have long centred on 2018 being the year Apple will switch, but more recent cries have suggested it could happen as soon as next year.

Respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has published a research note outlining the big 2017 changes, which was obtained by MacRumors. It seems that the iPhone 7 could be the last Apple iPhone to use LCD technology if the reports are accurate.

Camera

The biggest rumour regarding the camera hardware on the iPhone 7 comes in the form of evidence and whispers that Apple will equip at least one of its 2016 handsets with a dual-camera system.

Presently, it is expected that the larger 5.5ins iPhone 7 Plus will get the technology exclusively, while the 4.7ins phone will make do with a single lens, albeit an improved one.

A dual camera system would greatly enhance the photographic capabilities of the handset, while placing further distance between the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus over the larger display sizes.

Rival smartphone makers have now begun to introduce dual-camera phones, with different ambitions. The Huawei P9 is a dual camera handset that combines the data from the two sensors for greatly detailed shots, while the LG G5's dual-camera system combines a standard, high quality lens for everyday snapping with a secondary one with a wide angle, for huge landscape shots. 

Hardware

In their round-up of what to expect when the iPhone 7 comes out later this year, PC Advisor says that the processing power of the iPhone 7 will almost certainly jump up compared to the iPhone 6S, and that Apple's A10 processor chipset will be installed on the phone, alongside the M10 motion co-processor.

An increase in the RAM the processors are mated to isn't completely out of the question – a recent rumour and yet another leak from Ming Chi Kuo suggests that the dual camera iPhone 7 Plus could get 3GB RAM, up from the 2GB used on the iPhone 6S. The Verge picks up the angle, but there's nothing to suggest the RAM upgrades will be coming the way of the 4.7ins device too – the upgrade could be exclusively to deal with the added processing demands of two camera sensors.

Wireless charging rumours are never far away, and early whispers inevitably tagged the iPhone 7 as a presumptive adopter of the technology.

However, the trial has gone quiet since analysts began predicting that this year's release won't be a major leap forward from the iPhone 6S. It could be a feature waiting in the wings for 2017's much rumoured heavily revised iPhone, which would mark ten years since the introduction of the first Apple handset.

There are breadcrumbs suggesting Apple is interested in the technology – the Apple Watch makes use of it and according to The Verge, the company is currently hiring wireless charging experts from the technology start-up uBeam – a company researching wireless charging technology that if commercially viable, would mean Apple enters the market with a device boasting a distinct advantage over rivals currently making phones supplied with wireless charging pads.

Apple may want to go beyond the wireless charging mat, and instead only introduce wireless charging technology once charging over a distance – and from numerous sources – is practical and doable. uBeam is a company investigating this kind of tech and Apple has filed patents in the past, outlining ways of charging mobile devices while they sit on a desk, using near field magnetic resonance to charge a phone through a personal computer.

Again, some have tied the hires in to an iPhone 7 with wireless charging emerging this September, but with the overall picture suggesting a handset not a world away from the 6S, the rumours should be taken with a pinch of salt. 

Software

The iPhone 7 will likely be the launch vessel for iOS 10, which is set to be previewed at Apple's 2016 Worldwide Developer's Conference in June, says MacWorld.

The site lists a number of possible and rumoured additions Apple could introduce with its next iteration of iOS, with one of the most notable changes being the ability to finally remove and hide pre-installed Apple bloatware from the homescreen – something that would no doubt be popular with iPhone users.

Other changes touted by the website include iCloud voicemail with Siri integration – Siri would transcribe voicemails into text so you don't have to listen to them – a contact availability status feature, an Apple Music overhaul, new security measures, as well as a dedicated iOS app for Apple's HomeKit Internet of Things hub.

Reveal, release and price

Pending Apple sticks to the well-trodden release cycle used by the company since the iPhone 5 in 2012, expect the iPhone 7 to be revealed at an Apple keynote event scheduled for September, with a release not long afterwards.

According to Expert Reviews, while it would usually be difficult to anticipate a price so many months in advance, Apple does tend to keep prices for its smartphone lineup stable.

The site expects a starting price of £539 for the entry level 4.7ins iPhone 7, though it's unknown if Apple will scrap the 16GB model currently occupying the bottom rungs of the iPhone range.

A 64GB model would come in at £619, with 128GB phones at £699 should Apple keep prices the same.

Buyers will pay a healthy premium for iPhone 7 Plus models – roughly around the £80 extra per handset mark. Some rumours have indicated that Apple could introduce a 256GB version of the larger device, though prices for such a model are hard to pin down, so in excess of £800 is as far as most tech websites are willing to go with this rumour.