iPhone 7 Rumors: Features and Release Date
Apple is said to be preparing three new iPhones for launch in 2016, one of which is rumored to be the iPhone 7.
With the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus just a week past their public release, news has emerged Apple is planning to unveil another smartphone by late 2016.
A new handset, the iPhone 7, is said to be on its way as rumors and online sightings start to build up just prior to the new phone's official introduction.
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According to speculations, the iPhone 7 will carry what is reported to be the A10 chip, a successor of the A9 chip now housed in the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. The A10 chip will be harnessing multithread technology to enable it to function as a hexa-core processor using a 10nm or 14nm semiconductor production process that has already been set up by two of Apple's partners, Samsung and TSMC.
Other rumors suggest the iPhone 7 will be waterproof, with a design that includes a coated exo-armor made of liquid repelling material to protect it from water damage. It is also said to be equipped with an e-SIM, a virtually embedded electronic SIM card that will replace the actual physical SIMs smartphones currently use.
According to reports, both Apple and South Korean tech giant Samsung have been trading talks with mobile operators' interest organization GSMA about the possibility of installing standardized virtual e-SIMs in all their upcoming devices. An e-SIM will make for more flexible roaming, and easier switching from one carrier to another, not to mention do away with SIM adaptors.
In terms of design, the iPhone 7 is also rumored to have what industry insiders call a "sidewall display," which extends the handset's screen around the sides of the device instead of simply limiting the display to the front.
There have also been reports of a Touch ID fingerprint sensor, a reversible USB charger, and color variants in space grey, silver, gold, and rose gold.
The iPhone 7 is geared to have a price point ranging from $820 to $1,063, some sources say, when it becomes available for pre-order by September 2016, together with its companion, the iPhone 7 Plus.
