Forget the iPhone 7 — here are 10 reasons the 2017 iPhone will blow everyone away
ConceptsiPhone/YouTube
Next year marks the 10-year anniversary of the iPhone, and all rumors are pointing to a radical redesign.
This month, there was a pretty considerable spill of information by a top industry executive regarding two new features. We also saw rumors about a a third model with a new screen size, as well as some current rumors reinforced by fresh leaks.
Check out the latest rumors surrounding Apple’s next NEXT iPhone.
This will not be an “S” model of the iPhone 7.
Apple
MacRumors spotted a report from an analyst at Barclay’s that claims Apple will skip the “S” model this year, which has historically followed each new phone version, and jump directly from the iPhone 7 to the iPhone 8, or possibly “10,” in 2017.
Since 2017 marks the iPhone’s 10th anniversary, it wouldn’t be surprising if Apple does something special to mark the anniversary of its most important product.
The front surface will be all display with no borders or bezels.
ConceptsiPhone/YouTube
Rumors that the iPhone 10 will have an all-display front surface first emerged from John Gruber, the plugged-in Apple blogger and podcaster from Daring Fireball.
Gruber claims he has heard insider scuttlebutt that the iPhone 10’s front won’t have any bezels or borders, and that it’ll be one large display.
It will mostly be made of glass with an aluminum frame.
Tyler/Flickr
A report from Apple analyst Ming Chi Kuo, who often accurately predicts new Apple products and features, says that the iPhone 10’s body will be made of glass. If so, it could have a similar aesthetic as the iPhone 4 and 4s, both of which had a glass back.
A recent report from Japanese news site Nikkei claims that Apple is, indeed, ditching the metal back design for an all-glass back and metal frame.
There will be a third “high-end” model with a larger screen with a stainless steel frame.
A custom iPhone 5s made to look even more premium than the original models.Gold genie
A report from Kuo predicts Apple will release a third “high-end” model with a larger 5.8-inch screen compared to the Plus model’s 5.5-inch screen.
Kuo also claims it’ll have a stainless steel frame rather than the aluminum, which is more often used than steel in smartphones.
Others say the “third” iPhone model will have a 5-inch screen.
REUTERS/Stephen Lam
Nikkei’s report claiming that Apple will use glass instead of metal for the upcoming iPhone’s back also claimed Apple will release a model with a 5-inch display.
If true, Apple would have a decently comprehensive lineup that caters to a wide range of screen-size preferences. We’d have the 4-inch iPhone SE (and its potential successor), as well as 4.7, 5, and 5.5-inch iPhones.
The home button will be invisible.
Antonio Villas-Boas/Tech Insider
Gruber claims the home button, which also houses the fingerprint sensor, will be embedded into the front glass panel, making it invisible.
Gruber’s claims line up nicely with rumors posted by tech site i4u that a future iPhone will have an embedded home button.
Recently, Chinese tech giant Xiaomi released new phones with the same technology that Apple described in a patent for alternative home buttons, which could give us an idea of how a future home button on the iPhone 10 could work.
It will have an incredible screen.
Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider
Rumors from The Korea Herald news site suggest the 2017 iPhone will have an AMOLED display, which would look better than the LCD display in current iPhones.
And most recently, Sharp President Tai Jeng-Wu talked to students at the University of Taiwan about future iPhones, saying that new devices will include OLED screen technology.
It will have wireless charging.
SCAVidsHD/YouTube
The Barclay’s analyst report summarized by MacRumors claims that the iPhone 10 will have wireless charging.
We also know that Apple is looking into the technology from a patent filed on September 9.
The latest information spill from Sharp President Tai Jeng-Wu to University of Taiwan students included wireless charging.
It won’t have a headphone jack.
AP
Since the iPhone 7 doesn’t have a headphone jack, we can expect future iPhones won’t feature a headphone jack, either.
The smaller model will not get the a dual lens camera like the iPhone 7 Plus.
Andri Koolme/Flickr
Ming Chi Kuo believes the dual-lens camera will remain an exclusive feature for the larger iPhone models from 2017 onward.
There might have been a glimmer of hope that the dual-lens camera would make its way down to the smaller iPhone model, as the optical image stabilization (OIS) that was exclusive to the iPhone 6s Plus trickled its way down to the regular iPhone 7. But if Kuo’s predictions are true, this will not be the case.
