According to media reports, the mega event at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium will unveil the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus smartphones, along with the next-generation Apple Watch.
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Design wise, the Apple Watch 2 will remain rectangular.
There are rumours that the iPhone 7 will look a lot like its predecessor, the iPhone 6S and the iPhone 6S Plus. Various tech sites, such as MacRumors, have ventured guesses that the iPhone 7 will have wireless charging capacity and may be more waterproof or water-resistant than past models. Though, he predicted that “it’s going to look similar” to the current model.
Traditionally, Apple has been refreshing the design of its iPhones after every two generations.
The other big development – and perhaps the most controversial – is the potential loss of the headphone jack on the iPhone, which has been widely rumored. The new iPhones are also expected to be slightly thinner, yet made from stronger materials. But the recent turn of events with Samsung needing to replace all 2.5 million units of their flagship device just weeks after its release due to the unfortunate issue of the exploding batteries, this could well work in favor of Apple. “Apple iPhone 6 has been on sale for nearly two years and it remains near the top of best-seller lists in many regions like Europe”, said Woody Oh, director at Strategy Analytics.
Chipset and RAM: The new iPhones are likely to be powered by Apple’s 64-bit A10 processors clocked at up to 2.4GHz. And yes, the iPhone 7 Plus could go the dual camera way. The rumors include the removal of the headphone jack, a larger battery, and increased storage to 256GB. This would be approximately 14 percent bigger than the existing batteries.
Apple has maintained a rhythm of introducing updated iPhone models on an annual basis, timing introductions to coincide with the year-end holiday shopping season.
The muted online anticipation for the iPhone 7 underlines the challenge Apple faces to revive growth in China, where an economic slowdown has slammed the brakes on what was once touted as the firm’s next big growth engine. While the iPhone 7 camera module is expected to come with OIS (optical image stabilization) support that was missing in the iPhone 6s, the iPhone 7 Plus is expected to sport dual camera module at the back. Both Wall Street Journal and KGI Securities have reported on this in the past.
Apple could distribute the new iPhones with a “good enough” Bluetooth headset included, she added, while selling more expensive headsets separately.
Water resistance: Although not officially mentioned, the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus did boast water resistance capabilities. Only one planned to definitely buy any new model.
Touch ID button: Apple may also revamp the Touch ID fingerprint scanner. Will there be a new MacBook Air as well?
Front facing speaker: Kuo’s note also mentioned that the ear piece would also double up as a speaker, which would improve the iPhone’s audio chops especially when users are watching videos.
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He said that there are four areas where he expects the Apple Watch will be updated: the addition of a Global Positioning System, a faster processor, better battery life and a slightly different form-factor.
