Rumors

iPhone 7 should go on sale September 16

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 7, 2016

The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus should go on sale Friday, September 16, meaning Apple will be collecting pre-orders for the device for about a week following today's unveiling. September 16 retail availability for the device was mentioned Wednesday by Italian outlet iPhoneItalia.it, based on suspected photographs showing alleged iPhone 7 box design. On a related note, web reports out of China are claiming that the iPhone 7 is now shipping out to various countries in preparation for launch.

Will iPhone 7 work with Apple Pencil?

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 7, 2016

Steve Jobs once famously dissed styli, saying “If you see a stylus, they blew it”. But this is Tim Cook's Apple now and under his leadership the company has actually built a stylus (pardon me, a pencil) that, for now, works with the iPad Pro. According to a resurfaced Tim Cook interview with NDTV’s Vikram Chandra, the iPhone 7 might support the Pencil.

“f you’ve ever seen what can be created with that pencil on an iPad or an iPhone, it’s really unbelievable,” Cook said in the interview. Some observes think Cook simply misspoke. But did he, really?

Last minute iPhone 7 leak shows new LED flash, glossy black colorway & more

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 7, 2016

We have some last minute images of claimed iPhone 7 units leaked by Vietnamese outlet Techsignin ahead of Apple's iPhone 7 and Apple Watch 2 event today. A pair of photos provide yet another look at the backside of the iPhone 7, showing a rumored new four-part LED flash, a slightly curved camera design, a waterproof SIM tray and more.

Of course, the photos also show off that new black colorway that many people seem to be clamoring for. Check out the images and post your thoughts in the comments.

Apple trademarks “iPhone 7”, “Iris Engine”, “Touch Bar”, “Smart Button”, ”AirPod Case” & more

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 6, 2016

With 24 hours left until the iPhone 7 keynote, a bunch of Apple trademark filings have now surfaced, as recently discovered by lawyer Brian Conroy. The documents provide some solid hints as to some of the gadgets the Cupertino firm may have been working on and could release at tomorrow's event.

One of the more peculiar trademark filings is that for “Iris Engine”, potentially hinting at iris scanning capabilities believed to be coming to a future iPhone.

Another one is for “AirPod Case”, which probably denotes a carrying and charging case for AirPods, Apple's alleged Bragi Dash-style high-end Bluetooth in-ear buds.

Apple Watch 2’s larger battery shouldn’t make the device any thicker

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 6, 2016

Byte, a UK-based retailer that sells Apple-certified accessories and parts, recently posted a video in which they showed off a few supposedly genuine parts for a second-generation Apple Watch, including a thinner OLED Force Touch display and a significantly thicker battery potentially giving the wearable device a few more hours of run time.

Today, Byte published precise measurements for the above components and the numbers lead to the conclusion that Apple may have been able to squeeze in a much more powerful battery without making the Apple Watch 2 any thicker.

All iPhone 7 models are allegedly capable of shooting 4K video at a silky smooth 60 FPS

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 6, 2016

The iPhone 6s series brought the biggest camera jump so far, with the front shooter upgraded to a five-megapixel lens and the rear one going from eight to twelve megapixels with the ability to capture 4K video at thirty frames per second (FPS). Aside from other changes in the camera department, the next iPhone is said to double the frame rate for 4K recordings, letting you capture action at a silky smooth 60 FPS, according to a Vietnamese site that has allegedly used a real iPhone 7.

Here’s your final look at latest iPhone 7 dummies before Apple’s big reveal

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 5, 2016

Tech reviewer Michael Kukielka aka DetroidBORG recently published a quick preview of what the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are probably going to look like when they're announced this Wednesday. The video on his YouTube channel actually compares high-quality iPhone 7 dummies that are mostly based on rumor-mill reporting. Now, I know we've posted our fair share of these mockups in past months.

But with Apple's big reveal almost upon us, I thought you guys might want to take another look at the iPhone 7's design before the shiny new devices are unveiled.

iPhone 7 could provide at least 33 percent faster CPU performance than iPhone 6s

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 5, 2016

Alleged GeekBench CPU scores posted back in the summer suggested modest performance gains for the iPhone 7’s A10 chip versus the iPad Pro's A9X processor, but were debunked as fake soon after.

Today, genuine-looking results of the GeekBench 4 synthetic benchmark of the iPhone 7's CPU were posted on the website of PrimateLabs, the company that makes and sells the GeekBench suite.

According to the published data, the iPhone 7 could have its CPU performance boosted by at least one third, or about 33 percent, versus the iPhone 6s.

Piano Black and Dark Black colorways “confirmed” by new iPhone 7 test unit stickers

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 5, 2016

A pair of images posted Monday on Twitter by smartphone leakster The Malignant gave as another hint that the iPhone 7 lineup could introduce two new dark-shaded colorways: a highly glossy variant, called Piano Black, and its matte counterpart, aptly named Dark Black.

The photographs show alleged stickers used to identify test iPhones that seem to have been obtained from Foxconn. The stickers label these prototype iPhones in the rumored Piano Black and Dark Black colors.

Sonny Dickson posts video showing a supposedly working iPhone 7 Plus

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 5, 2016

Australia-based Sonny Dickson used to be a prolific gadget leakster before he went on to work on other projects. Understandably, he still leaks out stuff from time to time. Last month, for example, Dickson posted claimed photographs showing a 4.7-inch iPhone 7 next to its 5.5-inch brethren.

And now, he's back with another leak in the form of a short video that appears to demonstrate a working iPhone 7 Plus in the wild.

Concept imagines iPhone 7 Plus in rumored new Piano Black and Dark Black finishes

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 5, 2016

Mac Otakara, a fairly reliable Japanese blog, recently learned that a claimed new Apple Watch-like Space Black color option for the next iPhone it originally described as Deep Blue actually resembles a Darth Vader-like glossy black. KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo followed up with a report of its own, describing two new colorways replacing the current Space Gray choice: one called “Dark Black” and the other named “Piano Black”.

Thanks to a new concept created by Arabic blog called AppleArab.com, we now have a good idea what an iPhone 7 Plus in the new glossy/matte finishes would look like.

Apple increases iPhone 7 production orders ahead of Wednesday’s event

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 5, 2016

With just two days left until Apple's big reveal, the Cupertino firm is said to have increased production orders for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. According to supply chain sources that spoke with Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes, Apple has boosted its original prediction by ten percent for parts and components needed for production of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, which are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, September 7.