GETTY Apple is expected to unveil its fastest, most power-efficient chip, dubbed A10, alongside iPhone 7

From the outside, the iPhone 7 is rumoured to look almost-identical to the current generation – apart from the lack of 3.5mm headphone port. But inside, Apple could be planning some major improvements. Apple is expected to unveil its fastest and most power-efficient chip, dubbed A10, alongside the new smartphone. And now a screenshot, shared across a Chinese forum, claims to show a Geekbench test for the latest iPhone – that tops-out with a higher score than the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. The alleged dual-core smartphone, powered by 3GB of RAM– a first for the iPhone, posts a multi-core score of 6,430.

A look at the new iPhone SE Fri, April 15, 2016 A look at the new iPhone SE in rose gold. Play slideshow 1 of 13 The iPhone SE near a normal iPhone 6S

If accurate, that score blows the Snapdragon 820-powered Samsung Galaxy S7 (which scored 5,498) and the previous iPhone 6s (4,385) out of the water. In fact, the alleged iPhone 7's performance would also beat the top-of-the-range Dell XPS 13 laptop, which packs a sixth-generation 2.3-GHz Intel Core i5, 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD, and retails for around £1,300. That's incredibly fast. Geekbench scores are designed to help users quickly compare performance across different computers and different platforms without getting bogged down in details of specs.

FENG.COM • TWITTER • TECHTASTIC According to the screenshot, Apple iPhone 7 posts a multi-core score of 6,430

When comparing scores – higher scores are better, and double the score indicates double the performance. It's also worth noting that the device code listed in the leaked Geekbench test – iPhone9,2 – is consistent with Apple's internal naming conventions. Apple is also widely-rumoured to include 3GB of RAM in the next iPhone models. The alleged Geekbench score also represents an increase of around 1.5 times the performance power of the iPhone 6S, in line with the jump seen between the iPhone 6 to 6s. However it appears the score was a hoax, with Geekbench developer and Primate Labs founder John Poole tweeting that it was a "faked screenshot." The next Apple smartphone is expected to boast advanced photography capabilities and faster internals, while keeping a very similar hardware design to last year.

MARTIN HAJEK • FLICKR iPhone 7 could boast a Home Button that sits flush with the device and provides haptic feedback

MARTIN HAJEK • FLICKR Haptic feedback will replicate the feeling of a physical press, according to sources

Apple is widely rumoured to drop the industry-standard 3.5mm headphone port from its next smartphone, with whispers the US firm would ditch the hundred-year old technology starting back in November 2015. A swathe of leaked images and video around the device seem to have all-but confirmed that your current headphones will not work with the iPhone 7 – unless you use this awful adapter. But the Cupertino company could still have one surprise new feature planned for the next iPhone. Apple has re-engineered its iconic Home Button, used across the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch range, so that it no longer depresses into the phone, but responds with different levels of haptic feedback.

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As a result, the Home Button will be pressure-sensitive, according to sources with knowledge of Apple's plan. Apple's iPhone operating system will react in different ways, depending on how much force is applied when the Home Button is pressed. The Cupertino company uses a similar system with its latest laptop trackpads, which do not physically click, but replicate the sensation with a Taptic Engine. Elsewhere, the iPhone 7 could be the first Apple smartphone to ship with a dual-camera set-up.

APPLE The click felt is an illusion generated by Apple's Taptic Engine, seen here in the MacBook trackpad