iPhone 7

The iPhone 7 had been rumored to be dropping the analog 3.5 mm headphone jack, in favour of wireless Bluetooth or Lightning cable headphones for audio output. However, a new iPhone 7 component leak posted on Weibo disagrees with previous reports, depicting a board that includes a 3.5mm jack (in the top right of the photo above).

The 3.5mm jack is large (relative to the thinness of the phone), dates back more than a hundred years and has been superseded in terms of signal quality by the modern digital solutions, so it is plausible that Apple would want to abandon it. However, the idea of removing the port has been controversial (with complaints about existing accessory compatibility). This Chinese leak indicates it is sticking around …

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A Weibo report has surfaced that indicates the iPhone 7 may have a slightly larger battery than the current generation iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. According to the poster, the iPhone 7 will include a battery with a 1735 mAH capacity and iPhone 7 Plus will feature a 2810 mAH battery. On both models, this is (slightly) more than the current-generation iPhones. The iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus have batteries with 1715 mAH and 2750 mAH respectively.

The iPhone 7 is rumored to look very similar to the current iPhone, with a thinner body and redesigned antennas. A major chassis design change is currently expected for the ‘iPhone 8’ in 2017.

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There was lots of news for Apple this week with the company’s Q2 2016 earnings representing some notable declines across the board despite reporting $50.6 billion in revenue and $10.5 billion in profit. But readers were more interested in the latest rumors and expectations for the upcoming iPhone 7 and Apple Watch 2, as well as some new “exclusive” Apple Music and iTunes releases and this week’s new apps and updates.

Head below for all the handy links to this week’s top stories and more.

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This week Zac and Benjamin get into new iPhone 7 rumors, news about Apple Watch 2, as well as Apple’s somewhat disappointing $50b quarter. The Happy Hour podcast is available for download on iTunes and through our dedicated RSS feed.

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Earlier today, yet another report emerged claiming that Apple would launch an iPhone ‘Pro’ or iPhone 7 ‘Pro’ this fall. This report claimed that the device would be identical to the iPhone 6s Plus in terms of size, but would feature dual cameras on the back and Smart Connector support.

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard reports of Apple perhaps adding an additional model to its iPhone lineup, either. A separate report from last month claimed that the company was planning an iPhone 7 Pro with dual camera capabilities.

While all of this is obviously yet to be confirmed and could very well change before Apple announces new iPhones this September, it brings up some interesting possibilities for the iPhone’s 2016 lineup. Will Apple replace the ‘Plus’ model with the ‘Pro’ model? Will it join the lineup as an additional, more expensive option? Let’s discuss…

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Rumors that Apple will ditch the headphone jack with this fall’s iPhone update have been around for a while now, but Japanese magazine Mac Fan today has shared detailed design schematics of the purported iPhone 7 ‘Pro.’ According to the magazine, the device will feature the same overall size as the iPhone 6s Plus, but is expected to ditch the headphone jack and feature dual iSight cameras on the back (via Macotakara.)

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Apple is widely rumored to be dropping the 3.5 mm headphone jack from the iPhone 7, instead favouring wireless Bluetooth or the Lightning port for connecting headphones. Intel is also keen to eliminate the 100 year old 3.5 mm jack, citing ‘industry singling a strong desire to move from analog to digital’ (via AnandTech).

However, Intel is pushing USB-C as the future of headphone audio cables. Intel believes USB-C will win out over 3.5mm as it has many modern-day benefits including the potential to add additional smart features to headphones in the future, that can pass data down the same USB-C cable.

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Having already released its first iPhone game Miitomo, a bespoke social networking game, Nintendo is now teasing the next round of games headed to the iPhone and iOS devices. Notably, unlike Miitomo, these are going to be versions of existing successful Nintendo franchises: Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem.

Although Animal Crossing is not quite on the same podium as Super Mario, it is still major first-party intellectual property for Nintendo to release on non-Nintendo consoles for the first time. The new smartphone and tablet titles are expected to be released later this year, around October.

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The iPhone 7, expected to debut later this year, is not believed to be a major design overhaul from the iPhone 6s, but that doesn’t mean it won’t include some substantial exterior changes, at least according to one sketchy Chinese rumor site. The reports indicate that the iPhone 7 could feature a digital touch-sensitive Home button, essentially making the iPhone front completely flush, replacing the current physical clicky hardware button. This would help make the iPhone 7 completely waterproof and dustproof, via Storm …

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In this week’s top stories, the iPhone rumor mill was in full effect as reports surfaced claiming Apple could introduce an new all glass design for a next-generation device. That news was accompanied by Apple’s 12-inch MacBook refresh, an official announcement for WWDC, and the latest Apple Car news. Head below for the quick links to all of this week’s top stories and much more:

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After reading Zac’s opinion piece on how the iPhone SE could actually tempt him not to upgrade to the iPhone 7, I realized that I hadn’t even begun to think what Apple could do to get me to want to upgrade to an iPhone 7. Overall I’ve been happy with the iPhone since its iPhone 5 iteration. It was the device I felt Apple really hit its stride with the hardware. I only upgraded to an iPhone 6 because I wanted a better camera and needed more storage space, but the larger form factor was a serious drawback for me. So what could possibly make me even want to upgrade from my current iPhone 6 to another phone later this year?

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Apple has cut the price of its iPhone lineup in Japan including the brand-new iPhone SE, by approximately 10% across the board. The price drop can be seen online on Apple’s Japanese storefront, via Macotakara.

A 16 GB iPhone SE was selling for 52800 yen (483 dollars). The new price from today is 47800 yen (437), representing an approximate $50 saving in dollar terms. Full list of price changes after the jump …

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From iPhone 4 and beyond, I’ve never skipped out on buying a flagship iPhone. The white AT&T iPhone 4 in May 2011 was my first model, then iPhone 4s in November a month after its launch. Starting with iPhone 5, I’ve bought every flagship iPhone on day one (even camping out in line overnight at least twice). I pre-ordered the off-cycle release iPhone SE last month and switched from the top-of-the-line iPhone 6s Plus. I fully reserve the right to change my mind between now and September, but my experience with the iPhone SE so far and the current crop of iPhone 7 rumors has me thinking I just might hop off the upgrade train for the first time. Here’s why:

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Although Apple usually updates its iOS adoption statistics on a fortnightly basis, the company had strangely stopped updating its iOS chart last month. As iOS 9 growth appeared to have stalled, perhaps the numbers simply didn’t change significantly in that time. However, this week Apple has updated the chart with a significant jump, now reporting iOS 9 was seen on 84% of active devices as of April 18th. With iOS 10 set to be announced in June (and internal testing gradually ramping — see below), it appears iOS 9 will end up peaking around the 90% adoption mark in line with previous versions.

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Bloomberg reports that Qualcomm shares have dropped after the company’s CEO hinted that its biggest customer could switch to a rival supplier for future orders. Reading between the lines, the speculation is that its biggest customer is Apple (Samsung is the only other company close to holding that title) and that a switch to Qualcomm’s rival means Apple’s is considering Intel for LTE modem chips in the iPhone 7:

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With Apple widely believed to be planning to drop the headphone socket in the iPhone 7 in favor of Lightning-connected and wireless headphones, a patent application published today describes how a single set of headphones could switch smoothly between wired and wireless modes without any interruption of playback.

There’s of course nothing new in headphones that support both wired and wireless use – many Bluetooth headphones come supplied with a plug-in audio cable that allow them to fall back to wired use if they run low on battery power or you just want the higher quality a wired connection typically delivers.

But switching between wired and wireless use typically has a couple of issues, and Apple’s patent aims to solve both of them …

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In a new report by KGI’s Ming-Chi Kuo, the reliable Apple analyst claims that the iPhone will be seeing a major redesign in 2017, dropping the iconic aluminum casing for an all-glass enclosure with AMOLED screen. This follows on from another of Kuo’s reports in late March, where he first suggested Apple will return to an iPhone design akin to the iPhone 4. It does not seem like the iPhone 7 for 2016 will be seeing such a major overhaul, breaking Apple’s tick-tock pattern of a significant chassis redesign every other generation.

Kuo believes that Apple will be moving to an all-glass enclosure, dropping aluminum completely as it will no longer appear modern or fresh in 2017. Apple’s smartphone competitors are also adopting aluminum designs in droves, making it more likely Apple will want to differentiate with entirely new materials.

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In this week’s top stories, attention turned from the iPhone SE and iPad Pro 9.7 to what’s coming next from Apple, as stories surrounding the iPhone 7 and the future of Apple’s MacBook lineup rounded out the most shared articles of the week. But not far behind was Zac’s review of the iPhone SE followed by analysis of the new iPad Pro’s 9.7-inch display showing record mobile display performance and possible hints at what’s to come from iPhone 7 this fall.

As always, we have the easy links to those stories and the rest of this week’s most shared news and videos below:

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With the iPhone SE behind us, those that didn’t jump on the new 4-inch iPhone are now looking to the fall when Apple is expected to introduce its true next-generation smartphone with the iPhone 7. Or at least that’s what we’re calling it until things become official, and from the sounds of the latest rumors and reports, there’s a lot more up in the air than just the device’s name when it comes to new features, design changes, and more.

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Our top stories this week include our hands-on coverage and real-world testing of the new iPhone SE and iPad Pro 9.7-inch, as well as the latest on what to expect from the next generation iPhone 7 and iPhone sales going forward. Apple also attracted some attention with the announcement of new Hermès Apple Watch bands this week, and we had a handful of notable iOS and Mac app launches and updates.

Stories surrounding the Apple and FBI controversy over encryption came to a slow as the FBI officially confirmed the hack it discovered does not work with the iPhone 5s or later iPhones. Head below for the handy links to all of this week’s top stories. 

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