Apple is gearing up for the big event on Wednesday, where it is widely expected to launch the iPhone 7. Considered as one of the biggest annual events in the tech industry, the Cupertino giant will finally reveal what it intends to offer its fans in this year’s iPhone 7. Running up to the launch, rumour mills have been working overtime to spill the beans on what could be expected, and all things new on the smartphone. Apart from the iPhone 7, Apple is also pegged to launch the new Apple Watch 2, and announce roll out details of the iOS 10.
However, the big spotlight will be on the iPhone 7. We round up all the rumours to give you an idea of what to expect from the September 7 launch event. Coming Wednesday, Apple will finally unveil all the official details, putting all the collated months of rumours to rest. Noted KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has released a fresh note collating all specification and features expected.
iPhone 7 Specifications
Apple is expected to keep the display sizes at 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch only, with no change in sizes, though Kuo says the new displays will feature the wide-color tech seen on the 9.7-inch iPad Pro. Kuo adds the new Home button is also [expected to be capacitive, and respond to pressure using a Force Touch haptic engine to mimic a clicking sensation.The iPhone 7 is expected to be powered by a 2.4GHz A10 chipset. Kuo says that the clock speed could be lower to prevent excessive power usage and overheating. The 4.7-inch iPhone 7 is said to stick with 2GB of RAM, but the 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus will see a bump to 3GB of RAM. This increase is credited to the dual camera setup on the larger variant.
Kuo notes that the dual camera setup will be a combination of two 12-megapixel sensors with different optics embedded inside. One sensor will have a 6-element wide-angle lens, larger pixels, and support optical images stabilisation (OIS), and the other will have a 5-element wide angle lens. The 4.7-inch iPhone 7 will see just one 12-megapixel sensor, and while Kuo does tip improvements, he doesn’t specifically point to the to the additional support of OIS that’s been rumoured for a while for the smaller iPhone this year. Kuo claims that a 4-LED flash will be housed on both phones.
Coming to the storage, Kuo reconfirms Apple is ditching the 16GB base storage option. Instead, it is introducing 32GB as the new base storage option or both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Apple is also saying goodbye to the mid 64GB option, and is bringing 128GB as the middle storage option. As for the largest variant, the company is introducing a new 256GB storage variant in the mix. Apple recently increased its Cloud Storage cap to 2TB, another indication maintain the same ratio for the anticipated 256GB storage variant.
Reports about new colour variants have also been in abundance. While some say Space Grey will remain, and Apple will introduce will introduce a new Space Black variant, other reports suggest that the Space Grey will be killed to introduce the Space Black. Kuo is backing the Space Black to replace the Space grey rumour, and also claims that a new Glossy Piano Black variant will also be introduced. There were also rumours of a new Space Blue variant, but it seems to be very unlikely now. The old Gold, Rose Gold, and Silver variants will remain as is.
Another big change that will be introduced is the removal of the 3.5mm audio jack. There will be no slot to support the industry standard 3.5mm earphones, and instead, Apple will try to convince users to listen to audio via the Lightning port. For this purpose, Kuo says Apple will have built new Lightning EarPods that will be bundled with the smartphone, and also include a Lightning-to-3.5mm adapter in the box. It is separately rumoured expected to be working on wireless ‘AirPods’, and is expected to unveil all the accessories at the event.
The iPhone 7 is said to feature IPX7 certification, matching the Apple Watch in terms of dust and water resistance. This can keep it immersed in up to 1 metre of water for up to 30 minutes. Kuo also notes that even though renders seem to suggest the addition of two speaker grilles at the bottom, there is going to be only one – instead, the company will make the earpiece the another speaker thanks to the inclusion of an audio amplifier. This would provide stereo sound when the phone is held in landscape mode. The company is also expected to bump up the current proximity sensor from LED to laser, helping improve the speed and accuracy, apart from enabling gestures.
iPhone 7 Price
Past reports have revealed the China pricing of the iPhone 7 all storage variants. In China, the iPhone 7 is expected to be priced at CNY 5,288 (roughly Rs. 53,100), CNY 6,088 (roughly Rs. 61,200), and CNY 7,088 (roughly Rs. 71,300) respectively. The iPhone 7 Plus is expected to be priced at CNY 6,088 (roughly Rs. 61,200), CNY 6,888 (roughly Rs. 69,200), and CNY 7,888 (roughly Rs. 79,300) respectively. It is important to note that the Indian prices are just based on actual conversion rates, and the exact pricing is calculated after deliberation of many market factors. There is also another leak that suggests that Apple will keep the same price points as previous generations for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, with of course a large premium for the top-end 256GB variant. Interestingly, Kuo says Apple’s decision to include improved water resistance and the strict quality standards it has imposed on this have dramatically reduced yields and pressured the supply chain. He says Apple will ship 60-65 million units till the end of the year, down from 82 million last year.
iPhone 7 Launch date
The official invites are in for the September 7 event, where Apple will do the official unveiling. The company is expected to begin pre-orders on September 9, and the smartphone will hit the market on September 16. Carrier availability is tipped for September 23. Kuo predicts that a total of 60-65 million units (both units) will be sold until the end of the year. However, Apple is reportedly going through a production mishap, and due to many faulty components production, the iPhone stock availability would be limited on launch day.
[“source-gadgets.ndtv”]
