iPhone 7

Concept: dual-camera iPhone 7 Plus and pink iPhone 5se with iPhone 6-style design

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 18, 2016

The rumor-mill cannot agree whether a rumored 'iPhone 5se' is going to feature a refined iPhone 5s design or an iPhone 6-style look with smoothly rounded corners and curved screen edges.

Be that as it may, German magazine Curved.de has taken upon itself to envision what the iPhone 5se might look like should Apple streamline its handset lineup around the current iPhone 6/6s look and feel.

As a bonus, they've also done some intriguing renditions of what a next-generation 'iPhone 7' and a dual-camera 'iPhone 7 Plus' might look like, based on the rumors that have been floating around. Check out the images and tell us what you think in the comments.

Rumor: iPhone 7 chips to be encapsulated in EMI shielding

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 16, 2016

Korean publication ETNews is claiming that Apple's upcoming iPhone 7 smartphone refresh will reduce electromagnetic interference by encapsulating major chips, including its application processor, into an electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding.

According to ETNews, key iPhone 7 chips such as the main 'A10' processor, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modules, cellular modems and RF chips will be protected by EMI shielding, which involves covering a chip's surface with ultra-thin metal. Prior iPhones have used EMI shielding on the printed circuit board and the connectors to reduce electromagnetic interference.

iPhone 7 may ship with wired EarPods after all

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 12, 2016

Apple's upcoming iPhone 7 will include an all-digital, wired edition of the EarPods headphones that will connect to the handset's Lightning port, not the wireless edition as previously rumored.

According to an analyst note from Barclays, a copy of which was obtained by Business Insider, Apple has not yet purchased a license from its supplier Cirrus Logic that would permit the company to use Cirrus' active noise-canceling software.

Cirrus technology would be needed to filter out background noise during phone calls were Apple to ditch the traditional 3.5mm headphone jack in favor of wireless Bluetooth headphones.

TSMC to be sole supplier of processors for iPhone 7, report says

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 1, 2018

A new report late Wednesday claims that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company will be the exclusive supplier of mobile processors for Apple's next generation iPhone. The news comes from South Korea's Electronic Times, via Reuters, who cites unnamed sources within the industry.

ET says that TSMC beat out rival, and long-time Apple chip-maker, Samsung for the job thanks to its ability to scale its 10-nanometer process. Their report lines up with previous analyst predictions, who felt TSMC would take 100% of Apple's next-gen chip orders thanks to its InFO chip tech.

iPhone 7 to lose camera bump and rear antenna lines, report says

Cody Lee ∙ February 2, 2016

The iPhone 7 won't feature a camera bump or antenna lines on its rear casing, reports MacRumors. Citing a source who has "provided reliable information in the past," the outlet says the smartphone is going to appear similar in design to the iPhone 6s, except for these changes.

For the camera bump, it appears Apple will use a thinner camera module for the iPhone 7's iSight camera that will allow the lens to sit flush with the back-casing. The iPhone 7 Plus is rumored to feature a dual-lens camera, so it's unknown if it will retain the rear bump or not.

DigiTimes: Apple testing dual-lens cameras for iPhone 7 Plus from three different suppliers

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 2, 2016

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is adamant that Apple is working on a premium edition of an 'iPhone 7 Plus' that will come outfitted with dual-lens cameras for telephoto functions and today DigiTimes is reporting that Apple is already testing dual lenses for the handset sourced from three different suppliers.

The hit-and-miss Taiwanese trade publication has it on good authority, citing sources from the upstream supply chain, that Apple supplier Largan Technology and two unnamed Japan and China-based vendors have shipped dual-lens camera samples to 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California, for testing.

KGI: iPhone 7 Plus will have dual lenses with optical image stabilization and zoom

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 27, 2016

Reliable analyst (if there is such a thing) Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities sent an interesting report to clients, a copy of which was obtained by AppleInsider.

In it, he predicts that a new, premium edition of Apple's iPhone 7 Plus will be outfitted with a dual-lens system with optical image stabilization and optical zoom, realized through technology Apple obtained from last year's acquisition of Israeli camera technology company LinX Imaging.

LG Display increasing curved OLED production as rumors of OLED iPhones intensify

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 19, 2016

Multiple sources have been adamant over the course of past few months that Apple and its Asian suppliers have been making preparations to produce tens of millions of OLED panels for use in future iPhones.

Tuesday, Taiwan-based DigiTimes said, citing a report by Korea-based ET News, that LG Display, the lone supplier of flexible OLED screens for the Apple Watch, has begun ramping up curved OLED production amid rumors of the Apple OLED switch.

iPhone 7 could feature ultra-fast Li-Fi wireless technology, iOS code indicates

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 19, 2016

You can now put a new kind of ultra-fast wireless networking technology on your list of potential hardware advances that might be in tow for Apple's 'iPhone 7' refresh later this year.

As first spotted by Twitter user Chase Fromm, code strings in iOS indicate that Apple could be experimenting with an ultra-fast, light-based wireless data technology, dubbed Li-Fi.

In modulating visible light in a manner that is imperceptible to the human eye, Li-Fi promises a theoretical throughput capacity of up to 224 gigabits per second versus up to just a few gigabits per second for the current-generation 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard.

Rumor: Samsung pouring $7+ billion into flexible OLED production for iPhones

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 14, 2016

Korean outlet ET News said Thursday that a contract between Samsung and Apple on supplying flexible OLED screens for future iPhones has practically been agreed upon, with the South Korean conglomerate committing to a whopping $7.4 billion in capital expenditure over the next couple of years to buy OLED manufacturing equipment needed to produce about 30,000 to 45,000 OLED sheets per month.

Although Apple is said to have secured agreements with other panel makers for OLED technology, the size of the investment suggests that Samsung is about to become Apple’s biggest flexible OLED provider.

Several reasons why Apple could (and should) pull the plug on the headphone jack

Sébastien Page ∙ January 12, 2016

Greed! Greed! Greed! Apple will kill the headphone jack out of greed. They just want to sell you $30 adapters.

This ridiculous claim is the result of narrow thinking. After all, it's much easier to yell "greed" than trying to think of rational reasons why Apple would pull the plug (pun totally intended) on the 3.5mm headphone jack.

Apple is of course no stranger to that kind of situation. The company has been known for killing various technologies over the past few decades, and the bright side is that all of us have survived to tell the story.

In this post, I lay down a few more or less plausible reasons why Apple could eventually leave the headphone jack behind.

Poll: should iPhone 7 be thinner or have a longer-lasting battery?

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 16, 2018

There has been lot of talk lately about Apple's relentless pursue of engineering ever-thinner iPhones. A next-generation iPhone, for example, is said to be iPod touch-thin. As you know, the iPod touch actually has a poorer battery life than any iPhone model simply because it doesn't have the space for an iPhone-grade battery.

This is prompting some people to wonder if the iPhone 7 should just be as thick as the current iPhone 6s, or even a bit thicker, if that meant boosting its battery capacity for an improved run time.

This poll seeks to figure out if you'd be willing to trade thinness for battery life, or vice versa. So, would you prefer the iPhone 7 to be thinner or have a longer battery life?