Rumors surrounding the next generation iPhone start immediately after the last one was released. It begins with wishes of what the latest iPhone "should" have been, and slowly turns into rumors and leaks over the next several months until finally we are graced with a new iPhone the following year. Wash, rinse, repeat. Like any other year, 2015 to 2016 has been no different.
The rumors surrounding the iPhone 7 have been interesting, to say the least. Initially we expected the iPhone 7 to have a big hardware refresh, as Apple typically does when the iPhone rolls over to a new number rather than its “S” variant. Recent rumors suggest that’s not happening this year, and instead the design refresh will come next year.
Rumors have also heavily suggested that the iPhone 7 will not come with a 3.5mm headphone jack, which comes a dismay to many, who likely have a rather large collection of headsets using the standard 3.5mm jack over the years. Instead, Apple may implement a new “Lightning” standard for their headphones, having users presumably share the same port they would for charging for headphones. However, if Lightning headphones did become the standard, users who still wanted to use their old headphones with the 3.5mm jack, could probably use an adapter.
There’s also the lingering question on whether Apple will continue to use 16GB of internal storage on its base model, or whether this year will finally be the year that Apple bumps it up to 32GB (or more). There have been wavering reports stating both are very real possibilities – exactly as they have for the past, oh, 4 years or so.
In my opinion, these reports haven’t really built up a lot of positive momentum for the iPhone 7. With no big hardware changes and the real threat of having a standard removed (presumably without a proper new standard for replacement), and a big question mark regarding the base memory debacle, what’s really left to get excited about at this point?
Fortunately, the latest rumor serves as a beacon of hope for the iPhone 7: a bigger battery.
It’s actually a surprising rumor, given that Apple’s “thing” is partially about creating thin and light devices. Although (like all rumors) this should be taken with a grain of salt, the latest rumor suggests that the iPhone 7 could pack a 1,960 mAh battery. That makes it about 14% larger than the iPhone 6s’s 1,715 mAh battery. Additionally, rumors also suggest that Apple’s A10 chip will focus on battery life rather than performance as well. Combining the two could mean significantly better battery life for the iPhone.
There are, of course, a lot of other factors to consider regarding this rumor. Rumor of a bigger battery could coincide with the previous rumor of the removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack, as the lack of that jack could theoretically provide the room needed for a larger battery. Would people take the better battery life over a traditional headphone jack? Additionally, there’s the possibility that better battery life is needed due to new power-hungry features, potentially cancelling out longer battery life for the user.
In the end, it’s all speculation. But if you’re anything like me, you still ponder the “what if’s” of these rumors anyway. While better battery life for any phone is a big step forward in my opinion, the rest of the rumors give me mixed expectations for the rapidly approaching reveal of the Apple iPhone 7.
Readers, what are your thoughts on the iPhone 7 rumors and speculation so far? Are you at all hyped for this year’s iPhone? Let us know in the comments below!