Everything we know about the iPhone 7

iPhone homescreen
Shutterstock

Recent iPhone 7 rumors help paint a decent picture of what we can expect from Apple's next iPhone.

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Want to know the latest? Here's everything we're hearing about the iPhone 7:

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It'll probably be called the iPhone 7.

iPhone 7 Concept
Just a concept! DailyMotion/Oval Picture

Based on Apple's historical nomenclature for its iPhone generations, it's likely the next iPhone will be called the iPhone 7.

Apple has used consecutive numbers to name its new iPhone generations ever since the iPhone 3G. The next generation was called the iPhone 4, then 5, and most recently, 6.

 

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There will be two different models with different screen sizes.

iphone 6s and 6s plus
Antonio Villas-Boas/Tech Insider

We'll likely see the standard iPhone 7 with the same 4.7-inch screen as the iPhone 6s and an iPhone 7 Plus with a 5.5-inch screen like the iPhone 6s Plus.

It's unlikely that Apple would take away one of its two iPhones with different screen sizes.

 

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The iPhone 7 Plus will have a dual-lens camera.

linx dual lens for phone camera
Multiple-lens camera modules from LinX, a mobile camera company Apple recently bought. LinX/Business Wire

The iPhone 7 Plus might come with a dual-lens camera, according to a report by notorious Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo from KGI Securities obtained by 9to5Mac.

A dual-lens camera could help with zooming, better low-light performance, and a thinner design so it doesn't protrude from the iPhone 7's body, like it currently does in the iPhone 6 and 6s.

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There might be two different versions of the iPhone 7 Plus.

iphone 6s
The new Apple iPhone 6S and 6S Plus are displayed during an Apple media event in San Francisco, California, September 9, 2015. REUTERS/Beck Diefenbach

In the same report detailing the dual-lens camera, Kuo goes on to say that not every iPhone 7 Plus will come with a dual-lens camera, suggesting that there will be two different versions of the iPhone 7 Plus.

Apparently, one will have a regular single-lens camera while the other will have a dual-lens.

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The camera won't bulge out anymore.

iphone 6s camera
Tech Insider/Antonio Villas-Boas

The camera "wart", as many called it, might finally disappear in the iPhone 7.

According to MacRumors, Apple is using a thinner camera module that would let the camera sit flush against the back. The protruding camera on the back of the iPhone 6 and 6s were a big complaint people had with the iPhone's design.

 

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It won't be made of metal.

iphone 6s plus back
The iPhone 5, 5s, 6, and 6s all have aluminum bodies. The iPhone 7 might be made of a different material. Antonio Villas-Boas/Tech Insider

So far, Apple has used three main materials for the iPhone, including plastic, glass, and metal.

Now, the iPhone 7 might be dressed in mysterious "new compound materials", according to DigiTimes. No one knows what these materials could be, or what they'll look and feel like, but they'll likely make the iPhone look and feel premium, if not, more premium than the current iPhone 6s' aluminum build.

 

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It won't have white plastic stripes on the back.

iphone antenna strips bands
Those white antenna bands might be gone. Antonio Villas-Boas/Tech Insider

Those white plastic antenna bands you see on the top and bottom of the iPhone 6 and 6s (as well as the Plus models) might be gone in the iPhone 7, according to DigiTimes.

They're necessary on metal iPhones to allow a cellular signal in and out, as the aluminum casing acts as a barrier. Getting rid of the antenna bands is one of the reasons being reported for Apple's "new compound materials." 

 

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It won't have a headphone jack.

iphone 6s no headphone jack photoshop
Here's an iPhone 6s Plus with the headphone jack "expertly" photoshopped out by yours truly. Antonio Villas-Boas/Tech Insider

The next iPhone might not have a headphone jack, according to Japanese Apple blog Mac Otakara via Apple Insider, which could make your old pair of headphones with a 3.5mm connector obsolete.

That means we could be using the iPhone's Lightning port for listening to music, which is usually used for charging. The other option is to use Bluetooth headphones.

If the rumors are true, Apple and other audio hardware companies would probably sell adapters so you can connect your old 3.5mm headphones to the iPhone's Lightning port.

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The design will be thinner.

iPhone 7 Concept
Another iPhone 7 concept. DailyMotion/Oval Picture

The iPhone 7 could be even thinner than the iPhone 6s, according to Fast Company.

One of the main supposed reasons that Apple is ditching the headphone jack is to make the iPhone thinner, but we wouldn't be surprised if the iPhone 7 is thinner for the sake of thinness. 

 

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It might have two speakers.

iphone bottom skitch
Antonio Villas-Boas/Tech Insider

A second speaker might reside where the old 3.5mm used to be, according to a Barclay's report obtained by MacRumors.

If Apple will indeed ditch the headphone jack, it might as well fill that space with something useful! 

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It'll come with Lightning Ear Pods.

apple earpods
Apple's current-generation EarPods use 3.5mm connectors. The next ones might have Lightning connectors. Flickr / Faruk Ateş

If the iPhone 7 doesn't have a headphone jack, that means the Ear Pods Apple includes with the iPhone will need a Lightning connector. So, we'll probably see new Ear Pods with Lightning connectors come with the next iPhone, according to 9to5Mac. 

 

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We'll be able to charge it wirelessly.

iPhone 7 concept wireless charger
A concept of an iPhone 7 charging wirelessly. SCAVidsHD/YouTube

We might be charging the iPhone 7 wirelessly, according to Fast Company.

Wireless charging could be another option for charging the next iPhone now that its main method of charging (with the Lightning port) could be used for listening to music.

Indeed, I tried using Lightning headphones for a week, and I found myself unable to charge my iPhone while I was listening to music.

 

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It'll survive drops in water.

iphone 6 in water
An iPhone 6 in a sink full of water. TechSmartt/YouTube

The "new compound materials" combined with a lack of headphone jack could make the iPhone 7 the most waterproof iPhone yet, according to DigiTimes.

 

 

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It could make all headphones noise-canceling.

Bose QuietComfort 20 Acoustic Noise Cancelling headphones
All our headphones might have similar noise-canceling capabilities as these fancy Bose headphones. Bose

The iPhone 7 could make any of your headphones noise-canceling with special software running with new audio components to make the Lightning port better suited for audio, according to Fast Company.

The current iPhone already uses noise-canceling technology to drown out ambient sound during phone calls so you can hear, and be heard, more clearly, even in a noisy environment. 

 

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It'll run Apple's new A10 chip.

apple a9 chip
Henriok/Wikipedia

As with every new iPhone, the iPhone 7 will run on a new chip that's being called the "A10," according to Cult of Mac.

The iPhone 6s' A9 chip makes it the most powerful phone you can buy at the moment, and the A10 is supposedly even more powerful and efficient. 

It also has technology that will give the iPhone 7 better cellular performance, which means it could have better reception and retain stronger data and cellular connections than previous iPhones.

Apple will announce it in September.

tim cook iphone 6 event iphone lineup
AP

Just like the last few iPhone models, we predict that Apple will announce the iPhone 7 in early September. It should come out a week or two after that.

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And it'll cost at least $650.

apple iphone apple store
AP

The iPhone 6s without a two-year contract sells for $649, and the iPhone 6s Plus $749. Most iPhones before them cost the same, so we predict that Apple will sell the iPhone 7 for a similar price.

Now that US carriers aren't offering two-year contracts anymore, you can't buy iPhones for $200.

From now on, you'll either pay the entire cost of the iPhone up front, or pay for it in monthly installments using either your carrier's monthly payment plan, or Apple's own payment plan.

 

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