The fairly reliable Japanese blog Mac Otakara today shared some new details pertaining to Apple’s iPhone 7 refresh, which we’re expecting around its usual September timeframe.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, Mac Otakara says that the next iPhone will be 1mm thinner than the current iPhone 6s, which measures 7.1mm in depth, making the new phone the same 6.1mm thickness as the sixth-generation iPod touch.
Somewhat surprisingly, the iPhone 7 won’t be waterproof after all and should also incorporate a thinner Lightning port. The camera bulge on the back will be gone because the phone’s iSight camera is now flush with the chassis. Oh, and the new iPhone will come outfitted with stereo speakers—for the first time in iPhone history.
In addition to a flush camera, there will be no antenna bands across the rear of the device, the site claims. As for a thinner Lightning port, Mac Otakara explains that only the cutout is smaller so the port itself will remain fully compatible with current Lightning cables, meaning you won’t have to buy any adapters to use your existing Lightning accessories on the new phone.
The upcoming iPhones won’t be waterproof because Apple has opted to reuse the current model’s aluminum alloy, meaning the iPhone 7 should be as water resistant as the iPhone 6s. Using the same material might also mean that the iPhone 7 is unlikely to look fundamentally different from its predecessor.
Last but not least, the site writes that the regular iPhone 7 won’t have dual cameras, as rumored, but has left open the possibility that such a feature could make an appearance in the iPhone 7 Plus. A Chinese website yesterday claimed a dual-camera iPhone 7 Plus will be marketed as ‘iPhone 7 Pro’.
And now, aquick look at the thickness of several iOS devices:
- iPod touch 6th generation — 0.24 inch (6.1 mm)
- iPad Air 2 — 0.24 inch (6.1 mm)
- iPhone 6 — 0.27 inch (6.9 mm)
- iPhone 6 plus — 0.28 inch (7.1 mm)
- Original iPhone — 0.46 inch (11.6 mm)
In other words, the iPhone 7 should be almost half as thick as the original iPhone.
Last September, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote in a note to clients that the next iPhone will be iPod touch-thin.
Source: Mac Otakara (Google Translate)