iPhone 7 To Debut This Year, Report Says

The new iPhone 7 is real and according to MacRumors, the new phone will make its debut later this year.

On a page within the site entitled “Coming in 2016…” MacRumors went into detail on everything it knew about the heavily speculated device.

Details on the latest iPhone model, which will follow the introduction last month of the new iPhone SE – a smaller device more similar to the iPhone 5s and older models – are scarce, but Rumors indicates the latest unit could unveil a completely redesigned unit.

“Apple is said to be working on finalizing the iPhone 7’s body so we don’t know exactly what it will look like, but multiple rumors suggest it continues to use a design similar to the design of the iPhone 6s. It is said to have the same general shape, but it is thinner and may have a camera that protrudes less (though rumors currently disagree on this point). Antenna bands across the back of the device have been removed, but are expected to remain at the top, bottom, and sides of the iPhone.”

The most interesting detail from the report indicates that the new iPhone 7 could be as thin as an iPod Touch. You read that right. At only 6.1mm, the iPod Touch has not been a widely discussed item in the Apple product line in recent years but it still exists and it is thin. With the touch-screen capability already in use on a device so thin, the only thing Apple must do at this point is find a way to add the internals of a phone to the device. Those internals appear to be the antenna and other items, such as processing chips to make the phone more powerful than an iPod.

The Week reports Apple could use “fan-out packaging” for the new iPhone 7, with the website noting it makes processing faster using smaller processors, among other items.

“The theory goes that this will allow Apple to reorganise the components in the iPhone 7 more efficiently,” The Week reported.

As has been noted numerous times before, it appears as though the new iPhone 7 will be thinner in part because of the removal of the headphone jack. Commercials for Beats headphones have shown the likes of Taylor Swift using wireless headphones with the Apple product. Whether that is intentional in preparation for a new wireless device is unknown, but it is one, getting people used to the idea of wireless devices and two, advertising wireless Beats headphones, promoting a company Apple bought out a few years ago.

While the question of new Apple devices and upgraded iPhones drives endless conversations among tech enthusiasts, investors on Wall Street and Silicon Valley have started to question if a new iPhone 7 could pack the same punch as previous product introductions. The Motley Fool said earlier this week that the newest iPhone 7 model may be enough to drive growth for the Cupertino, California-based company, noting many of the same improvements mentioned in this article.

“The current iPhones are nice, but there’s still plenty for Apple to do. The company has a golden opportunity to deliver a knockout of a phone with the iPhone 7 by implementing the improvements enumerated above. If it does, then the iPhone may very well return to growth in the coming fiscal year. “

Apple is fighting to maintain American and global dominance in the smartphone industry against the likes of Samsung and HTC, though the Galaxy product line from Samsung seems to be its largest competitor.

Are you an Apple devotee? If so, what are the improvements you will be looking for in the new iPhone 7 device? Will it be enough to get you to drop money on an upgrade device?

[Featured image by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]