Reliable Japanese blog reaffirms Smart Connector, no headphone jack and other iPhone 7 rumors

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Mac Otakara, a fairly reliable Japanese-language blog, learned from its own sources this morning that the rumors pertaining to some of the more controversial iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus features are in fact true. No headphone jack? You bet! That CAD design rendering supposedly sourced from Apple manufacturer Catcher Technology which gave us a closer look at a trio of suspicious-looking dots on the back of the phone? Yup, that’s a Smart Connector! Wait, what?

Stereo speakers and no headphone hack

Mac Otakara says previous rumors which call for the removal of the standard 3.5mm headphone jack from the iPhone 7 are true as the handset will instead rely on wireless Bluetooth headsets and Lightning-approved wired ones.

It’s interesting from the report that a rumored Bluetooth edition of Apple’s EarPods headphones will charge via the iPhone 7’s Lightning port, much like the Apple Pencil. However, the blog does not believe that the iPhone 7 will have stereo speakers.

As for a larger cutout on the back, Mac Otakara believes it indicates a larger camera sensor for even better picture quality. Prior rumors have posited that a dual-lens camera system will be exclusive to the iPhone 7 Plus.

An iPhone with a Smart Connector? Yes, please!

I’m most excited for the possibility of an iPhone with a Smart Connector.

I’ve been wondering about that ever since Apple debuted the iPad Pro with the Smart Connector last fall. It seems to me that the Smart Connector won’t be exclusive to the iPad Pro after all, and rightfully so: other iOS devices could benefit tremendously from having a way to attach cases and other accessories magnetically, with automatic pairing and two-way data/power transfer, no wires needed.

To that extent, Mac Otakara speculates that the supposed Smart Connector on the iPhone 7 could be used to accommodate a Smart Keyboard for the iPhone 7.

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An iPhone with a True Tone display?

Unlike the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, the 9.7-inch iPad Pro has so-called True Tone display which adjusts the display performance to match the light in your environment, automatically and on the fly.

DisplayMate in its shootout of various tablet screens speculated that this technology might make its way inside the iPhone 7, resulting in improved screen performance and readability in high ambient light.

“True Tone could be added if Apple upgrades the ambient light sensors so they measure color in addition to brightness,” said DisplayMate.

In regard to that notion, Mac Otakara claims that “two sensors will be added” at the top of the iPhone 7, though it’s currently “unclear for what purpose.” Well, I have an idea: True Tone technology on the iPad Pro takes data from a pair of four-channel ambient light sensors that measure both the color temperature of ambient light and brightness.

Current iPhones have always had their proximity and ambient light sensors at the top, next to the earpiece. If two sensors will be added there as the Japanese publication speculates, I think we’re going to see True Tone as one of the features of the iPhone 7.

The rumors were true

According to Google Translate, “the possibility is great” that supposed CAD renderings from Catcher and leaked parts are “the real thing”. If Mac Otakara is right, then users who held off upgrading in the hope of buying a completely new form-factor iPhone this fall may be disappointed.

Judging by the leaks, the next iPhone is going to use a refined iPhone 6s-style design this year. This tells us that we’ll have to wait until 2017 or maybe even 2018 when an iPhone 7s or iPhone 8 should give us a brand new industrial design and the superior AMOLED display technology.

Source: Mac Otakara (Google Translate)