September is creeping up on us all too quickly, heralding the end of the (all too short lived) British summer. It’s depressing, but September also brings with it some good news - it’s that special time of year when Apple announce their brand new iPhone. Last year we saw the iPhone 6S, the slightly tweaked and improved version of its predecessor, but this time we could be seeing something new altogether. What can we expect?
What will it be called?
Some reports have claimed that the new iPhone could either be called the "iPhone 7" or "iPhone 6SE" as September’s offering is expected to feature smaller changes rather than a radical redesign. Some analysts have even suggested that Apple could save the name iPhone 7, as well as the radical re-design for next year's tenth-year anniversary release.
We’re certainly holding out hope for something fresh this September, but some of the big changes Apple is rumoured to be saving for the 2017 iPhone include that it could be made entirely from glass and have an edge-to-edge display with an OLED screen. This would be a significant step forward from the LCD screens the company currently uses, but Apple certainly will not be the first manufacturer to do so.
What will it look like?
All the reports we’ve seen suggest that the new handset is expected to look very similar to the current iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, but with the antenna bands moved from the back of the device to the edges. It’s also likely to be slightly thinner, due to the removal of quite a key feature - which we’ll talk about next.
What new features can we expect?
The major changes anticipated for the new phone include an upgraded camera, the introduction of a pressure-sensitive home button that utilises haptic touch (which beta testers for the new iOS may have suspected) and, as alluded to earlier, the controversial removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack.
Rumours and leaks have consistently suggested that Apple will remove the headphone jack from the new iPhone, opting to ship the phone with lighting headphones or possibly wireless headphones instead. As said before, this is proving to be extremely controversial to the public even at this early stage, but Apple is likely to unveil an adapter that will allow regular headphones to be used - for a price.
Among rumours of a better battery and improved specs, there is also a suggestion in the beta for the new iOS that the new iPhone could be water resistant. Again, not a new feature when you consider Samsung has done this for years, but a welcome addition.
Release date and price
The release date is yet to be confirmed but it’s likely to be towards the back end of September. If Apple keeps the pricing structure for its handsets the same, we can expect a 64GB iPhone 7 to cost £619 and 128GB £699.
We’ll be reporting back when the iPhone is actually released, how close to the mark were we?
