iPhone 7 release date, specs, news, rumours and price

IPHONE 7: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are coming in 2016. Here's everything we know about Apple's next flagship smartphone.

iPhone 7 FAQ:

iPhone 7 release date: September 16 or September 23 on sale (expected)

How much will the iPhone 7 cost: It should cost the same as the iPhone 6S so prices should start at £539/$649

What's new about the iPhone 7: If rumours are to be believed then the iPhone 7 will make more waves because of what it's missing than what it comes with. It's very likely that we've seen the last of the 3.5mm headphone jack. Plenty of analysts initially believed that the Home button would disappear, but the consensus now seems to be that this will be a feature of the 2017 model

Other reports suggest that the 16GB storage variant will finally be shunned, and that the phone will feature a dual-camera setup. Otherwise expect the usual processor and screen improvements. Oh, and possibly a new 'Deep Blue' colour option. Wahey!

IPHONE 7 NEWS AND RUMOURS IN BRIEF

A spate of recent reports seem to be solidifying out view of what the iPhone 7 will entail. Indeed, one report claims that Apple has started mass production of the handset, suggesting it's been finalised.

The Wall Street Journal claims that the iPhone 7 will be largely unchanged from the iPhone 6S, but for the notable omission of the 3.5mm headphone jack and possible inclusion of a dual-lens camera.

It's all part of a shift to three-year cycle rather than the usual two which currently sees S-models following plain-numbered models. As such, all the big changes will allegedly occur with the 2017 model, which could feature a bold all-glass design and an OLED display.

Meanwhile, reports from Japan claim that the iPhone 7 will ship with the same old Apple EarPods, but will feature a Lightning adapter. Which sounds like a bit of a fudge to us.

Of course, we should also balance this against reports from a Gangzhou-based repair shop that suggest the iPhone 7's Lighting port assembly still features a headphone jack. Interesting.

IPHONE 7 RELEASE DATE UK & US – WHEN WILL THE NEW IPHONE 7 COME OUT?

Apple, more so than many of its rivals, is a creature of habit, which makes it very simple to predict the iPhone 7 release date.

The best strategy is to look at previous iPhone launches, which we’ve outlined below:

• iPhone 6S – Wednesday, September 9 (reveal), Saturday, September 19 (release date)
• iPhone 6 – Tuesday, September 9 (reveal), Friday, September 19 (release date)
• iPhone 5S – Tuesday, September 10 (reveal), Friday, September 20 (release date)
• iPhone 5 – Wednesday, September 12 (reveal), Friday, September 21 (release date)

Based on those dates, we’d expect the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus reveal to take place on either:

• Tuesday, September 6
• Wednesday, September 7
• Tuesday, September 13
• Wednesday, September 14

And we’d expect the iPhone 7 release date to fall on either Friday, September 16, or Friday, September 23. If we were forced to mark our calendars, we’d probably place our bets on September 14 and September 23 for reveal and release, but we can’t say for sure until Apple starts sending out invites.

The good news is that Apple has already kicked off mass-production of the 4.7-inch iPhone 7, at least according to a new report. Journalist and reputable leaker Steve Hemmerstoffer – better known on Twitter as @Onleaks – claims the final model manufacturing has “slowly started” at the Pegatron factory.

Along with Foxconn, Pegatron is one of Apple’s primary manufacturing partners. It’s a Taiwanese company, although the lion’s share of its employees are based in China. According to Hemmerstoffer, only the 4.7-inch iPhone 7 is being manufactured by Pegatron, not the 5.5-inch ‘Plus’ version. He previously alleged that Foxconn had won the contract for the larger iPhone 7.


Naturally, we can’t verify Hemmerstoffer’s claims and, although he has a great track record for mobile leaks, you should take this report with due caution.

IPHONE 7 FEATURES – WHAT’S NEW ABOUT THE IPHONE 7?

One of the most obvious upgrades we’re sure to see with the iPhone 7 is the introduction of a new processor. It’s generally accepted that Apple’s A10 system-on-a-chip will feature in the new device, bringing with it assured improvements to processing and graphics.

It’s also looking very likely that Apple is going to abandon the 3.5mm headphone jack that you use to connect your headphones. Instead, users will be forced to plug in via the Lightning port, which will mean purchasing an expensive adapter for many, or using Bluetooth headphones. Conveniently, Apple's latest Back to School promotion sees the firm offering student buyers of Mac devices a free pair of wireless Beats headphones. They'll be perfect for a headphone jack-free iPhone, right?

Camera upgrades are also a dead cert. There’s potential to finally get optical image stabilisation on the smaller iPhone 7, something reserved for Plus models only until now. We’re also likely to see improved low-light performance on both the iPhone 7 cameras.

And finally, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will both feature Apple's upcoming iOS 10 software. The new software version was revealed at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference, and we'll outline some of the additions below.

SHOULD I WAIT FOR THE IPHONE 7?

If the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus aren’t hugely popular, we’ll eat our keyboards. Apple devices always command hype like no other, and so we don’t need to do much convincing for fans of the brand.

That said, Android is now a slick, powerful operating system that most will find as easy to use as iOS. And with formidable rivals like the Samsung Galaxy S7, LG G5 and Nexus 6P already available, the iPhone 7 is very much up against it.

What’s more, the iPhone 7 will be launching at a similar time to other expected handsets like the Samsung Galaxy Note 6 and Google’s Nexus 2016 handset(s).

And if you're a fan of iOS but hate the large 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch frames of flagship iPhones, you might want to consider the iPhone SE, Apple's new 4-inch smartphone. The iPhone SE was unveiled on March 21, 2016, and released to the public on March 31. It boasts a near-identical design to the iPhone 5S, and comes in 16GB and 64GB storage variants.

It's worth a mention that the iPhone 7 doesn't sound like it will offer significant upgrades over the iPhone 6S. So if you've got last year's handset, you might want to wait for the next model, which is rumoured to be where the real changes will come.