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New iPhone 7 Release Date Rumors: Leaked Specs Claim New Widescreen Design, No Audio Jack, And Increased Storage

By Josh Moorcroft
Published on: 02:31 PST, Jun 2, 2016

Despite losing a fair amount of ground of late to Android smartphone manufacturers, it’s hard to deny that Apple isn’t still one of the biggest names on the smartphone scene. With that in mind, there’s a considerable amount of excitement around Apple’s next smartphone model, the iPhone 7. Apple has remained largely hush on the new device, however, that hasn’t prevented leaked specs that give us a good deal of information around exactly what form the phone will take, along with a predicted release date.

According to Macworld, the iPhone 7 will likely release worldwide this September. Apple has developed a staunch tradition in recent years of unveiling their products in early September before releasing them later that same month. The iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus were unveiled on September 9, 2015, before being available to purchase later that month on September 25. It was a similar case with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, which Apple announced on September 9, 2014, before release on September 19.

With the above taken into consideration, it’s pretty much a given that Apple will first unveil the iPhone 7 to the public early in September. However, exactly when the phone will release depends on the time that Apple keeps between announcing the iPhone 7 and making it publically available, which can vary.

In terms of exactly what the new iPhone 7 will look like, leaks coming out of factories said to be manufacturing the device show something that’s largely similar to its predecessor. Apple isn’t likely to make any drastic design changes, maintaining a similar shell to the iPhone 7’s predecessors, the iPhone 6 and 6s.

However, according to Know Your Mobile, there has been one design aspect that’s been especially prominent. For a good while now, there’s been a good deal of talk around Apple’s new widescreen display, which would essentially stretch from one side of the device to the other with no bezel. However, considering aforementioned leaked shots that show the iPhone 7 following a similar design shell to its predecessor, it might be the case that Apple is working on a new widescreen display for the iPhone 7s or 8 and not necessarily this model.

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That being said, at this point, there’s one design aspect that’s almost a given in the new iPhone 7. Apple looks to be the first major smartphone manufacturer to officially ditch the 3.5mm audio jack that you plug your headphones into. This will likely mean Apple’s EarPods connect directly into the Lightning Port, and an adapter will be needed to connect traditional earphones and headphones to the iPhone 7. While removing the audio jack will undeniably streamline the device, it’ll also mean you won’t be able to charge your device while listening to music.

Ditching the audio jack may only be seen as a downside by many, but it could mean that the iPhone 7 gains the Smart Connector found on the iPad Pro. This port allows for the connection of a number of smart accessories like the iPad Pro’s keyboard and Apple could be planning something similar for the iPhone 7.

Apple Unveils Smart Connector Accessories for the iPad Pro
Apple Unveils Smart Connector Accessories for the iPad Pro [Photo by Stephen Lam/Getty Images]

One final area where the iPhone 7 is likely to see considerable improvement over its predecessors is in storage. Because they don’t offer the capacity for expandable storage, Apple’s current maximum storage of 128GB is well behind its competitors. With that in mind, it’s looking more and more likely that Apple will boost their maximum storage option to double that at 256GB, which would be a phenomenal amount of storage. However, as with anything Apple does, expect to pay a pretty amount for it.

There’s no doubt about it: More rumors and leaks will likely arise before Apple officially unveils the iPhone 7 later this year.

[Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images]

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