If all of the current Apple iPhone 7 rumors weren’t enough, a new report published today claims that the iPhone 7 will not feature a complete redesign, instead will closely resemble it’s iPhone 6S and 6S Plus counterparts. Citing people familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal says that the Apple wants to do away with its recent patten of overhauling the iPhone design every two years.
Therefore, you can expect this year’s flagship to feature only subtle changes and not the jaw dropping overhauls. They’ll maintain the current 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch displays, as well as the overall design. The biggest planned change for the iPhone 7 the Journal says, will be the removal of the standard 3.5mm headphone jack.
At a meeting with an Apple executive last month, one of the company’s China-based engineers asked why this year’s model lacked a major design change in keeping with Apple’s usual two-year cycle. The answer, one person at the meeting recalled, was that the new technology in the pipeline will take time to implement.
People familiar with the matter said some features that Apple hopes to integrate into iPhones, such as curved screens, weren’t ready for this year’s models.
The report notes that Apple does plan bigger design changes for 2017, the 10th anniversary of the original iPhone. These changes could include a dramatically new design with edge-to-edge OLED display, no physical Home button and a Touch ID sensor build directly into the screen.
Of course most of this lines up with previous rumors, but coming from The Wall Street Journal certainly adds weight to the speculation.
What do you think about this new rumor? Rain your thoughts down in the comments section.