

September 7th Apple will hold its next big event. As usual a lot of rumors are floating around as to what Apple will announce this time. At Nodes we like to discuss Apple rumors, and this time we have decided to share the most popular rumors concerning the Iphone 7 with you.

We have asked our in-house iOS and Apple developers & experts to rate each rumor as to how likely it is to come true. There are a few surprises in their evaluation of the rumors …

3.5mm headphone jack removed, only lightning now?

One of the most widely debated rumors so far to grace the net spells the end of the popular 3.5mm headphone jack. Should this rumor be true, it appears we can look forward to a lightning only iPhone 7, and if you want to keep your headphones or earbuds, you’ll probably need an adapter, also known as a dongle for converting your existing headphone jack into Apple’s new lightning connector.

Probability: 9 / 10

Commentary: Removing a decades old connector seems like a wise choice both because of space constraints inside the iPhone and bluetooth becoming increasingly more popular for headphones. After all, Apple wouldn’t be the first major mobile company removing it as Motorola already did in their latest releases.

Larger camera sensor on iPhone 7

One of the more anticipated features of the new iPhones comes in the shape of better camera sensors, as well as an enlargement of the same. Apple acquired an Israeli company called Linx Imaging back in the first quarter of 2015, and it is expected that the technology will stem from this purchase.

Probability: 6 / 10

Commentary: One of the main reasons for improving the camera sensor on the lower-end iPhone might be the optical image stabilization that has since announcement only been present in the Plus versions of iPhone.

Dual camera on iPhone 7 Plus

With the expected dual camera on the iPhone 7 plus, DSLR-like qualities and functions could very well become a reality. Building on the Linx purchase from last year, Apple could very well improve the quality of pictures, as well as enable its customers to take better pictures in low light conditions as well as eliminate even more noise than the previous models have achieved.

Probability: 7 / 10

Commentary: Apple’s long time goal is for iPhone to compete with professional grade DSLR cameras and adding a second camera to the phone would greatly augment the capabilities of the phone to take pictures, especially in low light condities and with improved focus areas.

Force touch home button

Some users of the existing iPhones might be pleased to learn that one of the rumors concerning the latest iPhone has to do with the removal of the physical home touch button. By using haptic feedback instead of physical manipulation, an iPhone with this improvement would mean a longer life-span of the phone, since the existing home button has proven a weak point in the design of the current iPhones. If we see this feature, it might also make the iPhone even more water resilient, and couple with the removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack, two of the most obvious entries for water could thus be eliminated completely.

Probability: 3 / 10

Commentary: Even though this would alleviate issues with home button not working, it would require large technology advancements in order to be able to still support TouchID and provide almost non-distinguishable experience as with the real button. We think this feature will be in the later iPhone versions.

New color: space black replaces space grey

From one of the more dubious sources on Twitter comes both a video and some photographs of what appears to be a black iPhone 7. Problem is, this twitter user has been caught posting fake Apple leaks before. However, larger media sites are picking up this information, possibly from other sources, so this is a rumor in the word’s truest sense.

Probability: 5 / 10

Commentary: The need for a new color doesn’t seem to be as big as for for other features and there haven’t been any convincing proofs of this. We don’t think it will replace the original Space Gray color though, but maybe Apple will add some new choices to the current color options.

Dual speakers

While there’s not a great deal of technical data to support this rumor, from the various iPhone 7 leaked images floating online, Apple appears to have added a second speaker into the main body of the phone, creating the first true stereo speakers for the iPhones, if this rumor is true.

Probability: 9 / 10

Commentary: If the headphone jack is removed, putting another speaker to provide an even better sound output is an obvious choice, one that Apple will definitely take. Improving speakers is something Apple started to put focus on as we could see with the iPad Pro.

iPhone 7 Pro & Smart connector

There’s been talk about Apple’s own smart connector perhaps being shipped with the iPhone 7 Pro, allowing for faster and more efficient charging using their patented magnet system, but the latest update from a trustworthy iPhone Case manufacturer seems to tell a different story. The manufacturer has released some photos of their new cases ready for pre-order when the iPhone hits retail stores, and as far as they know neither the Pro version of the iPhone, nor the Smart connector will be available for the public in this round of releases.

Probability: 3 / 10

Commentary: Smart charging connector could be something Apple would consider, as their competitors are using this technology for few years now, however it doesn’t seem enough to justify a new, different Pro model and it seems very unlikely to happen.

32GB minimum

Many users have been complaining about a lack of space, and it appears that Apple have been listening to them. IHS Technology has been conducting a supply chain investigation and concluded that it is most likely that 32gb will be the new minimum amount of storage, and they further indicate that 256gb will be the maximum.

Probability: 8 / 10

Commentary: Improving other phone features such as camera and processing power means users need more memory to store their pictures, movies and apps. Removing the lowest storage capacity option and adding a new higher one would make a lot of sense and we hope this is going to happen.

Waterproof iPhone

With marketing photos showing a seemingly drenched iPhone 7, rumors have begun spreading that the new iPhones might be entirely waterproof, and no longer just resistant towards H20. It would make sense for Apple to make their new flagship products waterproof, seeing as HTC, Samsung and several other mobile manufacturers already offer waterproof phones.

Probability: 4 / 10

Commentary: Removing the headphone jack and maybe sealing the home button would make it easier to make the whole phone completely waterproof. However, we don’t think this is going to happen just yet, even though other competitors are doing so for a long time (and partly failing at it too!).

TrueTone Screen

On the new iPad Pro, we’ve already seen what TrueTone is all about. This feature adds the functionality of automatically calibrating the screen brightness based on external factors such as the lightning in the room, basically matching the screen and ambient lighting, using four-channel light sensors.

Probability: 2 / 10

Commentary: TrueTone screen is a revolutionary technology that hugely improves the user experience with the device, however it seems more fit for a device with bigger screen as is the iPad. Putting it into a device as small as iPhone would have smaller effect and most likely adverse effects on the battery life.

Wireless Airpods replacing Earpods?

Ever since the first rumor of the 3.5mm audio jack was being removed, speculators have been wondering what would be shipped with the iPhones instead. Some people are convinced that shipping a lightning to jack dongle would be considered suboptimal, and are thus believing that Apple is planning to go the wireless route.

Probability: 5 / 10

Commentary: Providing wireless headphones would be something the users would want, however we think the production cost of such headphones is too high, so Apple will likely provide a 3.5 jack – lighting adapter to connect your existing headphones.

If you are in Copenhagen the 7th of september, come join us and our iOS experts for an evening all about Apple. You can read more about the event here: https://www.nodes.dk/event-the-technology-used-to-create-awesome-apps-part-of-cph-tech-fest/