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Latest iPhone 7 rumor suggests thinner 6-like body, flush camera, stereo speakers, thinner Lightning port

iphone-6-iphone-6s-plus (2)

Corroborating a report from KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo from last September, Macotakara reports this evening that the iPhone 7 is expected to be 1mm thinner than the iPhone 6s. Furthermore, the report adds that the device will visually be similar to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s, retaining the same metal design with the same height and width, and will not be waterproof.

For comparison’s sake, the iPhone 6s is currently 7.1mm thin, so if this report comes to fruition, the iPhone 7 will be just 6.1mm thick. The iPod touch is also 6.1mm thick.

As has been rumored in the past, though, the report notes that the camera bump on the back will now be flush with the device’s casing and that the device will not feature a 3.5mm headphone jack in an effort to reduce the thickness of the device.

Next, the blog reports that the iPhone 7 will feature stereo speakers, making it the first iPhone to do so. In the past, all iPhone models have only featured a single mono speaker, so the addition of a second speaker should greatly improve the device’s sound quality.

Finally, in yet another effort to keep the thickness of the device down, the iPhone 7 may feature a thinner Lightning port than previous devices. It’s important to note, however, that this does not mean the device will require a new cable or connector, rather only that actual cutout is smaller. This should only really affect case makers.

We reported earlier this year that Apple is developing a revamped, cord-free pair of Beats to go along with the iPhone 7 to help ease the transition to life without a 3.5mm headphone jack. The headphones will most likely be sold separately from the iPhone 7 and charge via the included charging case.

The iPhone 7 is expected to be unveiled later this year, likely in September, with availability soon to follow.

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Comments

  1. Alex Moran - 8 years ago

    Seriously no redesign?

    • Other than using different materials & maybe shifting to OLED screen, how much more can you redesign it? You’d have to go to something more radical like integrating the home button / TouchID into the screen or using folding screens.

      • appgarlaschelli - 8 years ago

        IMO the iPhone 6’s design is the worst to date (and many would agree). Since Apple completely redesigned the iPhone every two years until now, this would be a perfect time to remedy that problem.

      • jaydee917 - 8 years ago

        I was really hoping they would make the phone shorter and narrower. The top and bottom bezel are larger than any other flagship phone on the market and it’s wider than other phones with similar size screens and even some with larger screens.

        The width makes a big difference when it comes to one handed use. Does anyone really care if the iPhone got any thinner?

      • Dria Yassine - 8 years ago

        u could stop looking for a thinner phone and expand the battery, make it waterproof like every other manufacturer, but no they wanna make another useless handset !

    • Steve Martin - 8 years ago

      FANATASTIC!

    • just-a-random-dude - 8 years ago

      Unless Apple has a surprise this year but I think Apple has peaked with its iOS devices, they’ll start to become like the Macs, it will be redesigned whenever there’s enough new technology to go around and each redesign will take longer and longer, we’re talking 3-5 years from now on. We should expect to see more internal and minor refreshes more often now.

      That is also why I think Apple is changing the product lineups to remove the versions, they’re going to switch to iPhone SE, iPhone, and iPhone Pro.

      • rettun1 - 8 years ago

        I think it’s a little different. The macs are at the mercy of the Intel timetable, so they can only be released when those chips are ready. Apple is still able to churn out fresh mobile chips every year, and I think that’ll continue for a few more years.

  2. Mike Romana - 8 years ago

    “Other than using different materials & maybe shifting to OLED screen, how much more can you redesign it? You’d have to go to something more radical like integrating the home button / TouchID into the screen or using folding screens.”

    Well it could had been waterproof. Even thinner bevel? Microcard? That “unbreakable” glass?
    That would be what I’d hope for.

  3. AeronPeryton - 8 years ago

    I don’t want a forced redesign every two years. I want to think that iPhone is at the maturity level of Macs and can go several revisions with only minor cosmetic changes.

    • If there’s any amount of truth to this rumor, chances are Apple thinks the same thing.

    • Ron Cardi (@ROYG_B) - 8 years ago

      Apple has a ton of room to improve when it comes to the iPhone 6’s design so I think the forced NON-redesign years (3GS/4S/5S/6S) is the bigger problem. Apple can make the camera flush with a 6.1mm iPhone 7 but they didn’t take the time to improve the hump with the 7.1mm iPhone 6S? Not even with the 7.3mm 6S Plus? I don’t see how they could receive so much criticism but still decide to keep the iPhone 6 design for an additional year. That’s just being LAZY.

    • modeyabsolom - 8 years ago

      I get that, but the current iPhone 6 design is just bland and cheap feeling and really ugly from the back (the antenna bands).

  4. Alex Moran - 8 years ago

    I truly believe the iPhone 6 is the worst looking iPhone to date compared to the rest. I’m not saying it’s not an attractive phone, but compared especially to the iPhone 5 and 4 design it’s really bland.

    I feel like Apple is slowly becoming just another tech company rather than the leaders in the industry

    • pdixon1986 - 8 years ago

      it is bland… and to be honest it looks cheap…
      i remember getting my iphone 5 and i thought it felt strong and premium…

      when i got my iphone 6plus i was very disappointed… it didnt feel very strong, the rounded edges annoyed me, the power button feels poorly placed, the top and bottom is way too big and makes the phone too long — and lets face it, people were able to bend the phone…

      • modeyabsolom - 8 years ago

        I totally agree with you!

    • Paul Van Obberghen - 8 years ago

      Absolutely. It’s plain ugly, so much so that Apple provides a case for it. The 4/4S was just perfect for me.

      • mahmudf2014 - 8 years ago

        Apple also produced Bumber case for 4/4s and leather case for 5/5s.

    • modeyabsolom - 8 years ago

      Exactly! That’s my sentiment too.

  5. Rich Davis (@RichDavis9) - 8 years ago

    Maybe they’ll be moving the 3.5mm port on top like it used to be so they can make room for stereo speakers at the bottom. I just don’t see how they can still sell a ton of different 3.5mm earbuds and headphones and not have a 3.5mm jack for the iPhone. That simply doesn’t make sense. Yes, there are new headphones with lightning connectors because they have built-in DAC/pre amp/amp in the cable, but that doesn’t mean they are going to ditch 3.5mm altogether.

    I really wish they would use a shatterproof screen and make the things waterproof, that would certainly eliminate or at least greatly reduce the number of damaged product in the field.

    • Dria Yassine - 8 years ago

      i agree and really hoped for a better battery life but currently they mke the opposite of what the customers want

    • pdixon1986 - 8 years ago

      it used to be on top, but they moved it because they felt it was better placed at the bottom because most people put their phone top first in their pockets…i cant see them changing that because it would spoil the design…

      • Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 8 years ago

        I don’t think they moved it for a user reason. They moved it because of internal space and layout efficiency. It’s not better on the bottom it’s just not terrible and moving it to the bottom allowed them to lay out other parts different. It was a sign of them running into issue with where to put that component and now they might just remove it.

    • Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 8 years ago

      there is more than one iphone. It’s a big product. Multiple lines of it will exist and they will still have headphones jacks.

      They have to the transition somewhere.

  6. feonix2014 - 8 years ago

    The 6 is the best I thought so far. It would be hard to change it that much. As someone said new material maybe thinner edges do more screen, not too many options really xxx

  7. pdixon1986 - 8 years ago

    If the 7 is going to be 6.1mm thick – then removing the 3.5mm audio port has nothing to do with thickness because the ipod touch still has it…

    in would seem that the trade off is for stereo speakers — personally i would rather have the headphone port if this is the case… i would rather use a better speaker (whether bluetooth or via a 3.5m jack) than replace it with another tinny apple speaker… granted, they could add speakers similar to the ipad pro BUT i rarely see people listening to music via the phone speakers.

    so glad they are getting rid of the bump — although once you have a case on the bump isnt noticed.

    As for the lightning port — i would much prefer them to go with a usb-C… the lightning port has it’s limitations and restrictions — usb-c would be the more logical solution BUT this would mean apple can’t license it and make money that way, so for money reasons apple will stick with lightning :-(

    it would be totally awesome if apple did include a decent pair of headphones — the current ones hurt my ears and the earlier ones always fell out…

  8. applegetridofsimandjack - 8 years ago

    6.1 mm is deadly thin. Would love it. Wow.

    Don’t care much about a waterproof smartphone. I don’t see why I would need to bring my iPhone into the swimming pool. I just want the jack port to be gone. Along with the sim card tray and home button as they would allow the smartphone to become even thinner, smaller bezels, etc.

    • mahmudf2014 - 8 years ago

      They could make smaller bezels if they wanted to. But they didn’t. Also the sim card tray is not going anywhere until switching your number becomes easier than popping out a sim card and changing with a new one.

      • applegetridofsimandjack - 8 years ago

        Apple haven’t gotten rid of the sim card tray yet because they haven’t gotten regulatory approval yet. They already have the tech. Just not the approval.

      • applegetridofsimandjack - 8 years ago

        Apple hasn’t made the bezelfs thinner yet because of the display which requires a minimum bezel width. Also they need enough bezel because the bezels and the lines on the back are the only way out for signals. So they need a minimum surface to let signals through.

    • taoprophet420 - 8 years ago

      Same thickness as the iPad Air 2. The 6s and 6s plus are .2 mm thick then the 6 and 6 plus so the design is actually only .8mm thinner after 2 years.@nd generation of 3d touch panels is were most the reduction will most likely be coming from.

  9. Conny Ahlgren (@Conahl) - 8 years ago

    Like some people said here, I would rather have a phone with better battery then a thinner phone, seriously whats the deal with a thin phone when you have to charge it 2-3 times a day in heavy use? I liked the thickness of iphone 5/5s. make some smooth edges to that with a battery that will last 2 days with a BT headset connected and Apple Watch. as of now after 12h use I have like 60’% on watch and phone. with moderate use.

    Sure skip the headphone jack, but do it in favor of more battery, use the tech in MB 12″ battery design.

  10. synogy - 8 years ago

    If it’s a dual speaker system and they’re possibly thinking of going down the Lightning > Audio set up, then perhaps this is where they get rid of the 3.5mm audio jack all together? I can’t imagine they’d re-position to the top of the device, but having said that, they did bring back the swipe right to Search springboard from the 3G/S days… so who knows.

  11. Paul Van Obberghen - 8 years ago

    I do not understand this madness about being thinner and thinner. 1mm thinner? Will we see a bendgate again? I’d rather have it the same thickness, which is already very thin, and a better battery.
    And how will they make it thinner by 1mm and have the camera flush, when they couldn’t do it for the 6?

    • triankar - 8 years ago

      man, while Ive is at the helm, don’t expect any reasonable choices. It’s gotta be thinner and thinner. Merely for Ive’s “iconic” whim. Somebody needs to land this man back to reality

      • Inaba-kun (@Inaba_kun) - 8 years ago

        At some point Apple will demo an iPhone so thin it can cut a loaf of bread. And your hand too, but they won’t mention that bit on stage.

      • taoprophet420 - 8 years ago

        The 6s was thicker then the 6. The 3D panel made the phone that clear the 7 will be thinner so to the 3D panel being better intergradtied.

        Apple is not as obsessed about the thinness as people like to think.

    • taoprophet420 - 8 years ago

      Thinner display array. The original post and on Appleinsider days the display array is 1 mm thinner. The 6s got .2 thicker do to 3D Touch. I assume this is an improved 3D Touch panel.

  12. davidt4n - 8 years ago

    Reading the rumor upgrade making me feel like the iPhone 7 is meant to be iPhone 6s

  13. michaelcpearson7 - 8 years ago

    I submit to you that the iPhone hasn’t changed that much at all over the years when you consider what people do with them once they get them. We dress them up with cases and skins. This effectively leaves only the front of the phone looking the way it did when it came out of the box (unless you are like these kids who put skins on the front of the phone as well). From this view, has the phone really changed much? I’ve owned iPhones since the 3GS and I always get the silver which has a white front. When I went from the 4 to the 5 more people, including family, didn’t even notice. Go from a 5 to 6 and until someone touches your phone they wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

    I’m just saying that at the end of the day when you get a iPhone 7 and you slap a case on it that you won’t be able to “really” see the difference unless Apple truly revises the front of the phone.

  14. mytawalbeh - 8 years ago

    No Redesign?
    I’m so DISAPPOINTED !

  15. Inaba-kun (@Inaba_kun) - 8 years ago

    So Apple have room inside this uncomfortably thin phone for an extra speaker, but not enough room for a headphone jack. I wonder what the split is between music/podcasts/audiobooks played back through headphones vs crappy internal phone speakers.

    If this really does lack a headphone jack then I’ll skip this generation entirely. My current high end headphones work fine and will do for years. If there is no redesign from a visual standpoint either that would be baffling. In my opinion the 6 is the ugliest iPhone Apple have ever made. It’s impossible to hold securely, is far too thin, has giant bezels top and bottom, and is terribly bland and boring to look at. It’s characterless.

    • taoprophet420 - 8 years ago

      The 1mm reduction in thickness comes solely from a new lcd display array. The 6s got .2 mm from the 3D Touch panels Apple used the 7 will have panels a thinner implementation of 3D Touch.

      The materials of the back will be differently. I agrees the 6 was a lazy design and the 7 is just rumored to have the same width and heighth.

      Does not matter how good of headphones you have you are still only getting around CD quality sound through them on our iPhone. I was not disappointed they were ditching the analog phone jack from 1889, I am disappointed they now DAC isn’t going to be part of the 7 and wit till the 7s.

      Sounds like the bezels won’t get reduced until oled panels get added in 2018, unless Apple releases a premium pro tier phone.

  16. taoprophet420 - 8 years ago

    At least the antenna lines on the back will be gone.Dual speakers, new cameras and no phone jack should lead to some redesign.

  17. uniquified - 8 years ago

    I’d love to have dual speakers. Don’t care so much for waterproof as I do for dust/lint proof on the Lightning and 3.5mm ports. Regarding the antenna lines and camera bump – do many people not use a case? I can’t imagine not using a case; the phone is so slippery and costs too much to risk breaking it because I couldn’t spring for a case. More internal memory and lower-power (longer batter life) would be welcome. I don’t see the need for more performance, but I don’t play games on my phone. I would rather have GPS with lower battery consumption.

    • taoprophet420 - 8 years ago

      I have had a 3GS,4,5 and 6 plus and the 3GS is the only one I used a case for. The 6 plus does feel like a wet bar of soap and the rounded edges make it worse. The 4 and 5 I dropped several time with no problem, the 6 plus fell about 18 inches while it slide out of my pocket on a bench and the glass splinter all over after hitting the rounded edge.

      I don’t feel like I should have to need a case for
      my phone. With the ugly exterior and feel I should have a case for my 6 plus, but haven’t. Gotten one yet.

  18. modeyabsolom - 8 years ago

    So according to these latest rumors the iPhone 7 is basically going to be just an iPhone 6s-s! Just without the headphone jack…disappointing. Every time updated info on the 7 comes along it becomes more and more humdrum…no on- screen Touch- ID, no OLED display, no exotic construction material and now no more weather-proofing than the current 6S.

    • taoprophet420 - 8 years ago

      The antenna lines are going, the phone is a mm thinner thanks to new lcd panels. The construction material is difference.

      Only thing thee article says is the same as the 6 is the heighth and width.

  19. LG Grueger - 8 years ago

    If there’s no real redesign, no waterproofing, no better screen resolution, no better battery (since it will be even thinner) where’s the selling point of this phone? How do they want to convince people (apart of iSheeps) to buy this phone and not change to android or buy a 6s instead which will then be cheaper? I personally wanted to buy an iphone 7 but if it’s just an even thinner 6s with an A10 processor i won’t buy it. And i don’t think i’d be the only one. I hope these websites are wrong and apple will really enhance their phone. Else the iphone 7 will this time really look old compared to the new galaxy s7 in terms of technical specs.

    • taoprophet420 - 8 years ago

      The thinness comes exclusively from a thinner lcd panel. The led panel is 1 mm thinner making the phone I mm thinner. 2nd generation 3D Touch is we’re in assuming the thinness come from. The first generation 3D Touch made the 6s .2mm thicker then the 6.

      We know nothing of the screen resolution. The new cameras, dual speakers, no antenna lines, new back materials and other things means an enhancement.

      The original article only mentions the width at heighth being the same. Just because it has the same footprint does not mean it does not come with improvements.

  20. Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 8 years ago

    The fun part about these rumors for the “iphone 7” is that I just don’t care about larger phones and get to watch everyone freak out. It lets me think about who this product could really be for since it’s not for me and I’m not projecting any hopes and dreams on it.

  21. taoprophet420 - 8 years ago

    The thinner lightning port will be the same flush design found on the Siri remote, and all the new magic accessories. The iPhone ports currently show a ring inside and the new parts will not.

  22. Brett O'Donnell - 8 years ago

    It’s early still so the rumours haven’t solidified, but if this is all Apple is bringing to the table with the iPhone 7 I’ll be pretty disappointed. I’d personally rather see a iPhone with a smaller footprint (reduced bezels compared to the current generation) than a thinner phone. I realize that won’t happen with current LCD technology though… Oh well.

    That said I’m really happy with my 6s and won’t be looking to upgrade until the 7s at the earliest anyway. My wish list for a better iPhone is thinner bezels, water resistance, better battery life (honestly I’m pretty happy with the battery life of the 6s as I rarely have an issue getting through a day, but more is always better right?) and of course the generational speed increase.

  23. tonywmd23 - 8 years ago

    No redesign? The rounded edges are so impossibly slippery that I’d really dig to see a change to make it grippier.

  24. o0smoothies0o - 8 years ago

    If they add a second speaker I probably won’t buy it, that’s how ungodly awful an idea that is. If you think an iPhone should have 2 speakers ever, you are a complete moron and if Apple does that it solidifies the fact that they are now losing the intelligent decision making they once had. What a true embarrassment that would be. A complete and utter waste of internal space that would be used for A MYRIAD OF WAY WAY MORE USEFUL FEATURES.

  25. klepp0906 - 8 years ago

    Someone wanna tell him iPhone 6s is already all but waterproof or does he mean apple plans to scratch the feature? I shower with this almost daily and videos exist of it submerged underwater for like an hour lol,

    Apple just didn’t make it a big deal for obvious reasons.

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Avatar for Chance Miller Chance Miller

Chance is an editor for the entire 9to5 network and covers the latest Apple news for 9to5Mac.

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