Anticipation: Apple iPhone 8 Could Rain On Upcoming iPhone 7 Parade

Next year's iPhone 8 likely will look much different than last year's iPhone 6S and 6S Plus (above). (Richard B. Levine/Newscom)

As usual, everyone's talking about the rumored new iPhone. The wrinkle? They're not talking about the very next model, the iPhone 7 due out in September, but instead are looking out a distant 15 months or so ahead -- a lifetime in the tech world -- at the following iPhone.

Next year's iPhone 8 is shaping up to be the most exciting smartphone release from Apple (AAPL) since the original iPhone in 2007.

And for Apple that's good -- and bad.

The buzz around the 2017 model iPhone is so great that it threatens to put a damper on sales of this year's model, analysts say. The iPhone 8 has been written about extensively in the tech and mainstream media, with journalists and analysts getting their information from leaks in the supply chain.

"As more and more is written about the iPhone 8, the average consumer will start to become aware of what's coming from Apple," Canaccord Genuity analyst Mike Walkley told IBD.

People who have paid off their current iPhones "might wait one more year for what they think is going to be a bigger release," timed with the 10-year anniversary of the first iPhone, Walkley said. "Certainly everything in the supply chain points to next year having a much more differentiated device than this next one."

Apple observers expect the iPhone 7 will be a relatively minor upgrade to the current iPhone 6S series handsets. The 7 is expected to be thinner, faster and have a better camera, but nothing too earthshaking is seen. It will look pretty much like any iPhone from the past couple of years.

By contrast, the iPhone 8 could sport a radical redesign thanks to its use of an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screen, instead of the current LCD screen.

The iPhone 8 could make Apple's smartphone sexy again and prompt long lines to form outside Apple retail stores, like in the good old days.

But rumors about the 8, which will be the 11th-generation iPhone, could inspire people to extend the life of their existing handsets and wait to upgrade, Wall Street analysts say. That could lead to soft sales of this fall's 10th-generation handset, the iPhone 7. And those soft sales would be on top of weaker-than-expected sales of the current iPhone 6S.

One huge factor could alleviate much of this concern, though -- the way service providers are altering their business models.

New Year, New iPhone Could Be The Norm

Apple and its carrier partners such as AT&T (T) and Verizon Communications (VZ) probably will use the iPhone 7 launch to promote upgrade plans that let customers get new iPhones every year, says Tim Bajarin, an analyst with Creative Strategies and a longtime Apple watcher.

"More and more people are going to move to that, because everybody knows that Apple does a better phone every year," he said.

Most of the excitement over the iPhone 8 concerns its rumored use of an edgeless OLED screen. OLED displays boast richer colors, deeper blacks and a faster refresh rate than LCD screens. Since OLED screens don't have a backlight, they can be much thinner and more power efficient. Plus, OLED displays are flexible, allowing them to be used on curved screens.

Mock-ups of possible iPhone 8 designs circulated by tech enthusiast websites illustrate dramatic new form factors for the device. From iPhones with secondary screens along their sides to all-glass handsets in which the display covers the entire surface of the phone, front and back.

For years, Apple Chief Design Officer Jony Ive has expressed a desire for the iPhone to appear like a single sheet of glass, the Wall Street Journal reported recently.

But don't put a lot of stock into those artists' conceptions of the iPhone 8, Bajarin says.

"The kinds of designs you're seeing now are more pie-in-the-sky than reality," he said.

The iPhone 8 could be so fresh-looking that it could cause new-model envy among current iPhone users, something that hasn't happened since Apple moved to larger screen sizes in 2014.

Would OLED Be A Standard Or Premium Feature?

One big question is whether Apple will limit the OLED-screen iPhone 8 to a premium model and keep selling LCD models as well.

Another is whether any use of a curved display or wraparound screen will be truly useful or perceived as a gimmick.

Apple's OLED iPhone wouldn't be the first such smartphone on the market. Samsung already uses OLED displays in its flagship Galaxy smartphones. Samsung itself, in fact, is the top maker of OLED displays, including for its TV sets, and Apple likely would have to buy its OLED screens from Samsung until other vendors could ramp up production.

Sharp, Japan Display, Joled, AU Optronics (AUO) and LG Display (LPL) all plan to add either pilot or production capacity for OLED screens in 2017 or 2018. Plus, at least five Chinese companies are preparing OLED production lines.

Apple enthusiasts, however, will think the OLED iPhone is a "big deal," even though Samsung and others already use them, says Roger Kay, an analyst with Endpoint Technologies Associates and another longtime Apple watcher.

Roughly 10% of smartphones use OLED displays today, and that figure could reach 100% after 2020, Goldman Sachs said in a May 23 research report.

But the OLED screen could be just one selling point of the iPhone 8. Another major change is that next year's iPhone could feature wireless charging, according to media reports. Instead of plugging in a power cord, users would place the device on a charging mat. Again, Samsung and some others, such as Motorola, already offer such a feature, but it would be another big change for the iPhone.

In addition, Apple also could eliminate the physical home button with the iPhone 8. That functionality would be incorporated into the pressure-sensitive touch screen. Removing the home button would allow the display to cover more of the iPhone's front panel.

For the iPhone 7, Apple is expected to eliminate the audio jack, forcing users to switch to a Bluetooth headset or a Lightning-connected headset. A rumor circulating at the Computex Taipei 2016 trade show claims that, with the iPhone 7, Apple plans to bundle a Lightning adapter with its standard EarPods headphones.

With the removal of the audio jack in the iPhone 7 and wireless charging in the iPhone 8, Apple could then offer a smartphone with no holes to plug in chargers and cables. The device could be completely wire free and rely on the internet cloud for data backup.

Source: investors

Apple Loop: Disappointing iPhone 7 Leak, Frustrating iPhone SE Review, Apple's Chinese Loss

Taking a look back at another week of news from Cupertino, this week’s Apple Loop includes a look at the longevity of the iPhone SE, Tim Cook’s rearguard defence of Apple’s quarterly results, leaked details on the iPhone 7 battery, speculation on the next must-have iPhone feature, a review of the MacBook, Apple Music’s new UI, Apple’s naming patent case defeat in China, and installing a new OS on your Apple Watch.

Apple Loop is here to remind you of a few of the very many discussions that have happened around Apple over the last seven days (and you can read the weekly digest of Android news here on Forbes).

Apple iPhone SE (image: Ewan Spence)

The iPhone SE Is Going To Last A Long Time

I’ve waited to post my review the iPhone SE to fully appreciate the device. Apple’s ‘not budget’ smartphone sits on the lowest rung of its portfolio. It may have the dated style of the iPhone 5, but the chipset inside matches the flagship handsets of the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus. That is certainly enough to make the iPhone SE one of the best phones to upgrade to from an older iPhone… and it promises to be a long-lived purchase:

The longevity of the new hardware is the biggest selling point in the iPhone SE. Apple has acknowledged that it expects first users to pass on a handset and pick up a new device after three years, and the length of time a device is supported reflects that. The iPhone 5 does cope with iOS 9 (just about) but iOS 10 arriving this summer for developers is likely out of reach. That’s not the case with the iPhone SE, which should be supported by usable updates until 2019 at the earliest. The SE is about as future proof (for software) as you can get in today’s market, and Apple is not shy about releasing updates.

Following the coverage of Apple’s recent earnings call (including the fall in iPhone sales, the dropping share price, and worries over growth markets such as China), Tim Cook sat down with CNBC Mad Money’s Jim Cramer to talk about Apple’s reaction and plans in more depth. It’s fair to say that very few people were impressed with the message or the performance, including Bloomberg’s Shira Ovide:

Here’s what Cook didn’t say: 1) Apple has been misjudging its own business, and that makes it tough to believe what executives say; and 2) The company failed to prepare investors for an inevitable slowdown in growth — even if that slowdown proves temporary. If one duty of public company executives is to underpromise and overdeliver, Apple has flopped in that job.

Nellie Bowles offered more background on the situation for The Guardian.

Wednesday marked the end of an era in Cupertino as Apple reported its first ever drop in iPhone sales, sending the company’s stock down to about 30% off its all-time high in May 2015.

iPhone sales in China – a crucial market for Apple to continue growing – have plunged 26% as its economy stalls, with some reports indicating the Apple brand is losing prestige there. In the US, customers are upgrading their phones more slowly as the differences between generations, like the iPhone 6 to 6s, become more incremental.

Apple’s deft PR touch in situations like this seems to be slipping.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – MARCH 9: Apple CEO Tim Cook exits the stage (Photo by Stephen Lam/Getty Images)

Battery Life Blues For iPhone 7

Much of Apple’s financial success in 2016 will come down to the sales of the presumptively titles iPhone 7. Expected to be released this September, the handset is not expected to differ that much from the iPhone 6s family. One potential change that has been noted is the increased battery size. Gordon Kelly reports:

Yes, this is a small increase from the iPhone 6S (1715mAh) and iPhone 6S Plus (2750mAh) but actually still a notable step down from the iPhone 6 (1810mAh) and iPhone 6 Plus (2915mAh). Should you believe the rumours? At this stage it’s impossible to tell, though it would odd to invent a rumour based on such a modest – even underwhelming – spec bump.

Does it mean the iPhone 7 will have battery life no better than its predecessors? Not necessarily. Much will depend on the efficiency of Apple’s new A10 chipset, though the removal of the headphone jack will mean the Lightning port will also need to power any digital headphones without their own battery pack – a new source for iPhone battery drain.

Given the pressure on Apple to increase the turnover of handsets primarily through upgrades, this iterative approach to the iPhone 7 may not be enough. Which is where we turn back to the Jim Cramer interview…

MacBook 2016 Reviewed

Chris Davis has reviewed the update to the MacBook. Apple’s minimal update to the 12-inch laptop has drawn a lot of discussion (not least from myself) but Davis has taken a very balanced look at the new hardware.

First, what’s changed. For 2016, Apple has gone hunting through Intel’s parts bin, coming up with the latest Skylake sixth-generation processors. They’re still the ultra-frugal, 5W versions, but you now get a choice of a 1.1GHz dual-core Core m5 (with up to 2.2GHz Turbo Boost), 1.2GHz dual-core Core m5 (with up to 2.7GHz Turbo Boost), or 1.3GHz dual-core Core m7 (with up to 3.1GHz Turbo Boost).

Numbers aside, there are times when the Macbook is the exact device that Davis needs.

My criticisms begin to pale when I actually get out and use the MacBook, however. It’s still beautifully crafted and feels premium and modern in a way that puts the MacBook Air to shame. Light enough that you can have it in your bag and hardly notice it, but more than capable enough for most of the day-to-day chores you might throw at it.

The full review is up on SlashGear.

Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller introduces new features on the new MacBook (Photo by Stephen Lam/Getty Images)

Apple Music Goes Black And White

Apple is set to update its music applications at this month’s WWDC and rework the music applications on iOS with a clearer user-interface that drops the multi-colour approach, focuses on artwork, and improves the  navigation through your own collection of music and Apple’s recommendations. Mark Gurman looks at the details:

The new version of Apple Music, which Apple recently announced has 13 million users so far, focuses on a redesigned user-interface, a few new functions, and reorganization as well as simplification of existing features. The new user-interface ditches the current colorful and translucent look in favor of a simpler design that emphasizes black and white backgrounds and text. For instance, the user interface in the albums view will no longer change in appearance based on the color of a particular album’s art. While the new interface will eschew color in the user-interface, album artwork will become “huge” and a larger part of the interface in order to avoid a dull black and white look, according to people who have seen the updated Apple Music service.

Apple’s music apps have grown in size as new features are bolted on, and it has been a point of discussion for many, including Daring Fireball’s Jon Gruber:

This is a good test for today’s Apple on two fronts. First, will they actually succeed in streamlining the interface to Apple Music? I still think the most obvious solution is to make Apple Music its own standalone app. “All your music in one app” sounds like a great idea in theory, but in practice, I believe that is what has led to the confusing UI. It’s yet another major feature added to iTunes on Mac and Windows — an app that everyone seems to agree already has too many features and responsibilities. What do you see when you open the Spotify or Pandora apps? Just the streaming music you have access to. That makes them less complicated, by definition.

“Everything you see is in the cloud, and you have access to it because you are a subscriber” is easy to understand. “Some of this is in the cloud, some of this you own” is more complicated.

China Defeats iPhone In Legal Case

Apple has suffered a defeat in the Chinese courts over the use of ‘iPhone’ as a trademark. Although Apple holds the name when it is associated with software and hardware, it challenged another use of it, specifically Xintong Tiandi Technology’s range of leather products named iPhone… Forbes Casey Hall:

Apple appealed an earlier decision to the Beijing Municipal High People’s Court to stop Xintong Tiandi Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. from using the “IPHONE” name, which the Chinese company first trademarked in 2007 for the leather product category – this category, and the company’s current assembly of products (as seen on their website) includes leather phone cases, passport covers and handbags.

Though Apple holds the trademark to the “iPhone” name for computer software and hardware, on March 30 the court upheld an earlier ruling, from 2013, which found that Apple could not prove that “IPHONE” was already a well-known name in China in 2007, when Xintong Tiandi trademarked it for its leather goods. As such, the 2013 ruling reads in part, “the general public will not link the trademark in dispute with Apple to harm its [Apple’s] interests.” Apple did not start selling iPhones in China until 2009.

Hall takes a closer look at the legal case here on Forbes. BBC News has also covered the story.

The Apple Watch (image: Apple.com)

And Finally…

Would you like to install an alternate operating system on your Apple Watch? If so, Nick Lee can help you. Here comes Microsoft’s Windows 95 to your wrist. The only catch? The boot time…

Windows 95, 8 GB of storage and half a gig of RAM is an embarrassment of riches. It’s an embarrassment of riches. Only problem is, you’re not going to get the cycles you’d like out of that 520Mhz processor, since it’s an emulator, not a virtual machine.

It seems there’s a way to get a WatchKit app to load arbitrary code, even if that code happens to be a port of a port of an x86 emulator apparently held together with chewing gum and a desperate prayer.

Result: Lee had to affix a tiny motor to the crown to spin it constantly during the hour-long boot process

Get ready to ctrl-alt-delete on the Apple Watch at TechCrunch.

Apple Loop brings you seven days worth of highlights every weekend here on Forbes. Don’t forget to follow me so you don’t miss any coverage in the future. Last week’s Apple Loop can be read here, or this week’s edition of Loop’s sister column, 

 Source

Amazon Pledges to Bring Same-Day Delivery to Bronx After Outcry

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• New York officials complained borough was unfairly excluded
• Online retailer facing scrutiny about its service boundaries

Amazon.com Inc. will bring free same-day delivery to the Bronx -- the only New York City borough now excluded -- following criticism from elected representatives that the company’s data-driven service boundaries unfairly left out minority communities.

The Bronx is at least the second area the online retailer pledged to serve following analysis of Amazon same-day delivery areas by Bloomberg Business week that highlighted racial disparities in where the service was available in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York and Washington. Amazon pledged to serve the predominantly black Boston neighborhood of Roxbury on Tuesday following criticism of its exclusion.

"We are actively working to enable service to the Bronx in the coming weeks," Brian Huseman, Amazon’s vice president of public policy, said in letters obtained by Bloomberg News. "Once completed, Prime members in every zip code in New York City, including the Bronx, will receive Prime Free Same-Day Delivery."

The letter was sent to Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and New York State Assemblyman Jeff Dinowitz, whose district includes the Bronx, who both complained about the borough’s exclusion from the service. Dinowitz called for investigations of how the delivery boundaries were determined.

Delivery Criteria

Amazon started its free same-day service last year as a perk of Amazon Prime membership, which costs $99 a year. It’s now available in 27 metropolitan areas. Service boundaries were determined by the concentration of Prime members in each area, proximity to warehouses where goods are stored and the company’s ability to find delivery partners to serve an area.

Race played no role in the process, Amazon said. In many cities, including Philadelphia, Seattle and San Francisco, Amazon provided the service throughout the area and there were no disparities.

Unintended Bias

Amazon has emphasized it is a new and growing service with boundaries that are expanding over time.

The Bloomberg Business week analysis highlighted how some decisions based on data can have racially disparate outcomes. Data scientists are studying this more closely to try to avoid such unintended bias.

Diaz and Dinowitz said they were pleased Amazon is expanding the service to the Bronx.

"The over 1.4 million residents of The Bronx deserve the same level of service and amenities as their neighbors," Diaz said. "I will continue to hold businesses and entities of all kinds accountable when they slight my constituents."

Dinowitz said, "I am hopeful that this decision means Amazon will take a second look at the several other cities with excluded neighborhoods.”

Source

Mobile phone roaming charges cut within EU

Image copyrightGetty Images

UK consumers using their mobile phones in Europe will see reductions in their bills from Saturday.

Further caps are coming into effect on roaming - or connection - charges within all 28 countries of the European Union (EU).

From June next year, roaming charges in the EU will be abolished completely.

The government said that those making calls, downloading data or texting would save millions of pounds in charges following the latest changes.

"Roughly a million Brits stay the night in Europe every day, and they spend around £350m a year on roaming charges," said Ed Vaizey, the minister for the digital economy.

"So by realising these changes, we're going to save British consumers millions of pounds a year."

Costs

Consumers pay roaming charges whenever they connect to an operator based abroad. The charges are in addition to the cost of the call itself, and for short calls they can make up a large proportion of the overall fee.

The biggest reductions will be for people downloading data - such as emails, pictures or social media - where the roaming charge will be cut by about 75%.

Charges for outgoing phone calls will be cut by a similar amount. The charge for texting will be reduced by about 66%.

So whereas those making a phone call in Europe would previously have paid roughly 16.5p to get connected, they will now pay just 4p.

Data downloads, which previously cost a maximum of 17.4p, will also now cost 4p.

EU roaming charges from 30 April 2016
Service	Previous maximum charge (approx)	New maximum charge (approx)
Outgoing phone calls	16.5p	4p
Incoming call	4p	1p
Data download	17.4p	4p
Text	5p	2p
source: EE/Vodafone/ O2

When the call charges themselves are taken into consideration, the government says the average total cost of a phone call should fall by more than half.

Not all customers will see a reduction, however, as some operators include roaming charges within special packages.

O2 said most of its customers would see immediate reductions, while EE said the majority of its customers would not be affected. Three already provides free roaming for most of its customers in a limited number of countries.

Image copyrightGetty Images

EU referendum

Mr Vaizey questioned what would happen to the roaming charge caps should the UK vote to leave the EU.

"I don't know what would happen if we leave the EU, and that's the problem," he told the BBC.

"They might stay, or they might not stay."

The controls on charges are being introduced under an EU regulation - not a directive - which means they have not been specifically incorporated into UK law.

So if the UK voted to leave the EU, it could decide whether it wanted to keep them or not.

The Vote Leave campaign said the UK would be able to retain the price caps if it wanted to.

"These charges are being abolished across Europe and abroad. There is no evidence to suggest that they will go up if we vote leave," said Matthew Elliott, chief executive of Vote Leave.

Source

iPhone 7 News

A fresh iPhone 7 leak has reinforced the now widely held assumption that the handset's design will not change dramatically, but could come with one or two controversial additions.

The scoop, published in the June issue of Japanese magazine MacFan, appears to show Apple's next 5.5ins device, while the regular 4.7ins iPhone 7 may have made a cameo appearance too.

It also puts the idea that Apple could launch three handsets this September firmly back on the table – meaning 2016 could see the introduction of four new smartphones, as Apple has already released the iPhone SE.

Corroborating recent whispers, the leak appears to hint at the next Apple flagship device using the same aluminium chassis style introduced in 2014 on the iPhone 6.

Interestingly, if the drawings come true, the iPhone 7 won't be any thinner than the iPhone 6S and could actually be thicker than the iPhone 6 – it's tipped to come in at 0.28ins by the magazine. MacRumors says these dimensions go against some of the figures tipped by analysts, including the ever-reliable Ming-Chi Kuo, and that MacFan has got sizes wrong before - but it is a publication which has offered up accurate information in the past.

No headphone jack - and no dual speaker

It's not particularly surprising that no headphone jack features on the schematics, but everything else surrounding its disappearance is.

Firstly, this leak asserts that the iPhone 7 isn't getting any slimmer – one of the reasons said to be behind the jack's disappearance – and secondly, the often rumoured second speaker which could sit in the port's place doesn't appear to be there neither. There's only one set of speaker holes on the bottom. According toForbes's Gordon Kelly, this would be a "missed opportunity" if it happens to be true.

Dual camera, but on an "iPhone Pro"

More evidence stacks up to suggest Apple will introduce a dual camera iPhone this autumn and while it's still fairly open for interpretation as to how the company will play the upgrade, this leak goes with the angle that it is making three handsets for September.

The pictures show two camera apertures housed within a bulging, pill-shaped frame on a mooted "iPhone Pro"– a 5.5ins device that would sit atop the similarly sized iPhone 7 Plus and the 4.7ins standard iPhone 7.

Fortune argues differently. It believes the "Plus" nomenclature is simply set to be dropped in favour of "Pro".

Smart connector

Three dots lie on the rear of the device near the bottom, indicating that the iPhone 7 Pro will be getting a Smart Connector at least.

It's unclear if this means it will have a range of accessories similar to the iPad Pro, but it could be there for a different purpose – charging.

Some third-party accessories for the iPad Pro have confirmed that you can charge a device through the Smart Connector, so it could be a secondary charging port - a necessity, given that the Lightning port now has to handle headphones, too.

The Next Web is less than convinced. It says the connector's position on the handset could cause headaches for casemakers.

What else?

Keen followers of the iPhone 7 trail will notice the drawings strongly resemble a photograph of an alleged iPhone 7 Plus which entered the rumour mill last month and was picked up by the likes of MacRumors.

Tech Insider says the March picture was picked up by several reliable sources and publications and now that it seems to have been corroborated, we could be looking at the real deal. MacFans has been accurate in the past, although it is possible the drawings are just replicas of earlier leaks which have yet to be proven true.

An iPhone with a single camera lens fitted to its rear can be seen in the top left corner of magazine spread. It's not completely clear, but the camera aperture appears to be larger than that currently used on the iPhone 6S, a rumour that has been floated for the iPhone 7 in the past so it's possible the leak includes images of both the dual-camera iPhone 7 "Pro" and the base handset.

iPhone 7 will be 'boring but revolutionary'

27 April

The most recent line on Apple's upcoming iPhone 7 is that it might not be a sales hit. It's no longer expected to pack many exciting new features and could look very similar to the 2015 phone.

Which is not particularly good news when you consider the tech giant's latest results, which have seen an end to 50 consecutive year-on-year quarters of growth.

Nevertheless, the iPhone 7 could start a mini revolution, even if it fails to grab customers.

When the phone is revealed in September, it is expected to be without a headphone jack in a bid to make the handset slimmer than the iPhone 6S and pack in a dual-speaker system.

Now there's evidence to suggest that the wider technology industry could copy Apple's move.

According to 9 to 5 Mac, chipmaker Intel is also keen to eliminate the headphone jack in favour of a USB type-C port. The company has pitched the idea to developers and cites a "strong desire" from the industry to replace the analogue port with a smaller, digital setup.

It could be irritating for consumers, as such a transition would render most headphones obsolete, but The Independent says manufacturers see plenty of reasons for the move – the jack only really has one use and takes up a lot of space inside devices.

As such, BGR believes it's possible the iPhone 7 could "lay the groundwork for a massive shift in the industry".

Apple's new flagship phone is likely to use the Lightning port over the USB type-C. Some smartphone-makers are already selling handsets with the USB port, including a trio of phones recently released by Chinese manufacturer LeEco.

However, Apple and Intel's "coordinated attack" could strike a fatal blow compared to the small number of handsets ditching the headphone jack right now. 

iPhone 7: Home button could be completely overhauled

26 April

While recent rumours surrounding the iPhone 7 have turned sour, a new angle suggests Apple could use its next flagship handset to pave the way towards eliminating the home button on future iPhones.

A report from Taiwanese website Digitimes, picked up and interpreted byMacRumors, says Apple could introduce a touch sensitive home button to sit completely flush with the phone's face.

The site adds that the source has a hit and miss track record, but there are one or two shreds of evidence out there which could back up the idea.

For instance, there have been claims that Apple is interested in developing new displays with integrated fingerprint scanners, meaning that a physical home button would no longer be needed as the function would be embedded into the display.

Compared to more consistent iPhone 7 rumours, reports backing up the fingerprint scanning display are thin on the ground, but there's a second way a more anonymous home button could incorporated – by constructing it using pressure sensitive, malleable materials.

Recently, Apple was granted a patent for a Liquidmetal home button that changes shape when pressure is applied to it but returns to the original once the user removes their finger or thumb. The company has held rights to use the material since 2010, but has yet to incorporate it into the design of any of its iOS devices.

By using Liquidmetal, the home button could change from being a part housed separately from the phone's casing to being a flush patch on the device's face.

According to BGR, this could begin a transition to a completely buttonless future for the iPhone.

AppleInsider notes that the rumour falls in line with other iPhone 7 design whispers, such as the suggestion that Apple will remove the camera bump seen on the back of the iPhone 6 generation handsets. If it all plays out, the next iPhone could be completely flush all round.

Away from the potential design change, another possible iPhone 7 feature has been touted – it could be fully waterproof and dustproof, too.

iPhone 7: Fans warned not to expect any killer features 

25 April

More clouds are gathering over the iPhone 7 after further thoughts from respected analyst Ming Chi-Kuo on why the handset might not be a hit.

In a new research note obtained by 9to5 Mac, Kuo says he doesn't see "many attractive selling points for the iPhone 7" and that Apple could sell fewer handsets than in 2014.

He points again to his belief that the tech giant won't introduce a heavily revised handset until 2017, when it could get an all-glass casing, new screen size and an OLED display.

The iPhone 7 is expected to arrive in September with a form factor resembling that currently used on the iPhone 6 generation handsets, albeit with one or two tweaks.

The antenna bands are set to be repositioned so they don't loop around the rear, the headphone jack is strongly rumoured to have gone and a dual-camera setup could find its way onto some versions.

Features already on key rivals' smartphones, such as the wireless charging capabilities of the Samsung Galaxy S7, may still not arrive this year.

According to Kuo, these changes won't be big enough to avoid iPhone sales going into decline. In a worst case scenario, the company could ship 18.1 per cent fewer handsets than it did last year, roughly 190 million compared to 230 million units.  At best, he expects Apple to ship 205 million devices.

Most analysts expect a figure of between 210-230 million, but Kuo's history of reliable leaks and predictions means it is his worst case scenario figure that is getting attention ahead of the iPhone 7's launch.

iPhone 7: 7S will make way for iPhone 8, says report

22 April

Apple is planning to ditch its usual "S" model refresh in favour of only one iPhone 7 cycle, according to a note picked up by Fortune.

The news corroborates the claims of respected KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who said the handset may be heavily revised in 2017 instead of having an all-guns-blazing release this September.

The report, from Barclays analyst Mark Moskowitz, says the iPhone 7 will not come with significant form factor changes and should, headphone jack rumours aside, look vastly similar to the iPhone 6 generation handsets, with "a few tweaks and updated components".

Compared to the big changes between iPhones 5 and 6, the relatively minor upgrades between iPhones 6 and 7 could leave fans "sorely disappointed", says the site.

Were Apple to deliver a new handset based around fine-tuning of the current iPhone platform this year, it would be a big break away from the firmly entrenched update cycle the company has used since 2009.

As such, things could change dramatically on the iPhone front next year, with an iPhone 8, featuring all the developments that were assumed to be coming to the iPhone 7, taking the place of a 7S model.

Moskowitz says the iPhone 8's redesign could extend to OLED displays, wireless charging and the possibility of there being "no home button".

He added that while the iPhone 7 may not be a sales hit this year, a radically overhauled iPhone 8 could supercharge demand by as much as 10.8 per cent.

The report links up nicely with the rumours from earlier in the week, suggesting that Apple will launch an entirely different, all-glass-finish handset next year. 

iPhone 7: iPhone 7S could be dropped for iPhone 8

20 April

While it's expected that September's iPhone 7 will feature a design not too dissimilar to what we have now with the iPhone 6S, more and more rumours about Apple's iPhone plans for 2017 are hitting the net.

The latest word on Apple's handset for next year comes from the ever-reliable Apple analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo, whose most recent report on what to expect from the tech giant in the near future has been picked up by MacRumors.

Kuo predicts the company will step away from aluminium phone cases and will, from 2017, revert to glass construction in a bid to differentiate the iPhone from key competitors.

More specifically, he points out expectations that the iPhone will decline this year, motivating Apple to find new ways to make its smartphone stand out. An entirely new design should be on the cards then, as so far, iPhone 7 rumours suggest a handset with a form factor similar to that of the iPhone 6S, the much-speculated loss of the headphone jack notwithstanding.

Apple has used metal casings one way or another since the introduction of the iPhone 5 in 2012, so bringing back an iPhone 4S-inspired form factor marks a significant change.

MacRumors adds more details. For instance, Kuo believes that aluminium phones will account for around 40 per cent of the iPhone range in 2017, indicating that it is quite likely that the iPhone 7 will be aluminium when it arrives later this year.

More specifically, he points out expectations that the iPhone will decline this year, motivating Apple to find new ways to make its smartphone stand out to consumers.

While the analyst notes that the switch could cause durability issues – a glass case would be more likely to smash and fail a drop test in comparison to an aluminium one – he believes that the added weight would be offset by an exciting new hardware introduction: OLED displays.

The screens have been on the iPhone rumour mill for a while now and while the earliest whispers suggested Apple would wait until 2018 to upgrade from LCD units, more recent leaks point at OLED iPhones being available next year, with a 5.8ins handset with a curved display even touted by some.

The 5.8ins OLED handset is a rumour which has crept back into view, but for a different reason than originally. At first, some believed Apple could introduce such a device as an "iPhone Pro", but now, given that a reliable source has indicated the company could completely overhaul its smartphone line-up next year, it could be that 5.8ins is the standard size of 2017's iPhone Pro display.

And according to The Verge, such a device could slip into a form factor the same size or smaller than currently seen with the iPhone 6S Plus. Utilising narrower bezels and a curved OLED display would mean the display could fit into a casing smaller than the one used by the iPhone 6S. It could also come with wireless charging, a feature lacking on current iOS devices, as well as "new biometric security features".

If Apple does introduce a heavily overhauled iPhone in 2017, it would be a radical departure from the firm's current refresh cycle of introducing a brand new handset every two years, with a hardware fettled "S" model in-between.

Forbes says that Apple abandoning its "tick/tock" upgrade pattern suggests that rather than this proposed glass handset being an iPhone 7S, it could be the iPhone 8 and that this year's 7 will feature only minor upgrades ahead of the company pulling out all the stops in 2017.

Why would Apple do this? The site notes that 2017 marks ten years since the introduction of the first iPhone, so the firm could have surprises hidden up its sleeve. 

Regardless of Kuo's reputation as a legitimate and well informed Apple leaker, rumours surrounding Apple's 2017 handset must be taken with a grain of salt, especially considering this year's iPhone 7 is still months from reveal.