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pika2000

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Jun 22, 2007
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Ok, iPhone 7 is now old news, obsolete, boring, lame, not innovative, [insert the typical comment in MR]

Time to talk about the next one. 7S or some might say, the anniversary edition.

I think based on what was announced today, there are hints.

1. Better IPX rating, eg. IP68 instead of IP67. It's almost obvious. With the feedback from Apple watch S2 and iPhone 7, Apple can probably tweak the designs to be IP68 on the next iPhone.
2. Ceramic. Probably for the anniversary edition. Almost obvious also with the experiment on the Apple watch S2. It will also mask the ugly white antenna bands (which Apple refuse to color match on the gold/rose gold iPhone 7. Really fugly)

That's all I can think of for now. The rest will be the typical incremental improvements (A11, better camera, yada yada yada).
 
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It's gonna look like the current 7, definitely. All this edge-to-edge display/lack of home button stuff will likely be in the 2018 iteration; 10th anniversary be damned. Any posters here who think any different need a reality check.

Spec bump, of course. Better GPU, better CPU, better cameras. I agree that a better IPX rating could be one of the main things that they'll market. Make it truly waterproof, IP68. They'll have an extra year to tweak the current design and figure out exactly where water gets in and how to improve this.

Possibly better battery life; maybe a slightly higher mAh, or the CPU/GPU would require less juice. Maybe faster charging. Obviously iOS 11, whatever that will offer.

Agree about a few more colours. You're on the money with ceramic, I think.

I can't imagine there'd be anything beyond that from an 'S' iteration.
 
I think they could skip the 7s naming and just jump into iPhone 8 depending on the level of upgrade next year.
 
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In my opinion, the iPhone 7 is more of a 6ss. The iPhone 7 is nearly identical to the 6s and has the same dimensions. I think Apple will skip the 7s entirely and call the next iPhone the iPhone 8.
 
Count me in on a "ceramic white" (basically a white version of the jet black, I doubt they would actually make it ceramic).
It will be the return of real black and white iPhone (vs the silver and grey we have now). :)
 
It's gonna look like the current 7, definitely. All this edge-to-edge display/lack of home button stuff will likely be in the 2018 iteration; 10th anniversary be damned. Any posters here who think any different need a reality check.

I can't imagine there'd be anything beyond that from an 'S' iteration.

With all due respect, anyone that thinks Apple is not going to make a HUGE deal out of the 10th anniversary of their flagship product needs a reality check! Coupled with the fact, as others have mentioned, this is the third generation using the same and arguably most unattractive design (although admittedly the black colors make it a lot better) there is no way the next iPhone won't be a complete design change.

IMO there will be an all new and much more attractive design maybe using glass as some analysts have suggested, there will be lots of work this year on areas like a flush camera and better water resistance rating and lastly, there is no doubt Jonny Ive won't get he's wish of an iPhone that has no home button and looks like a slab of glass... this is evidenced by the very inclusion of a force touch home button on the iPhone 7, which I think is being used to transition users in to the change and help people be comfortable using a virtual home button within the screen... there are plenty of patents backing this theory. Just my opinion though!

Ceramic white back with black front! mmm oreos

With a white front however you would have a truly futuristic looking iPhone :)
 
Only thing I want is OLED in the 4.7" factor. But that might not happen till 2018.

And that's a looong time to wait.
 
First of all its gonna be called the iPhone 8 instead of the iPhone 7s because its gonna be the iPhone's 10th anniversary and its gonna include a major design change and new features.

I speculate it will be shipping with these features:

1.OLED Display , and a slight rise in resolutions , 8 - full HD 401 PPI .8 Plus - 2K display maybe ? 500 PPI?
2.Full Glass body and back Just like iPhone 4 & 4s design with curved display and minimalistic bezels on the sides (edge to edge display)
3.240 FPS Slow mo in 1080HD,4K in 60 FPS, Front facing camera with 1440 quality video recording .
4.IP68 Rating
5.iOS 11 with dark mode
6.Fast Charge
7.Iris scanner
8.A11 - 10 mm structure , M11
9.Wireless Charging
10.Improved Telephoto Camera capabilities and quality on Plus models
11.lighter iPhones due to hardware improvements to 3D Touch component

That's all I can think of and looks reasonable to me. :)
 
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I think they could skip the 7s naming and just jump into iPhone 8 depending on the level of upgrade next year.
First of all its gonna be called the iPhone 8 instead of the iPhone 7s because its gonna be the iPhone's 10th anniversary and its gonna include a major design change and new features.
I actually think instead of iPhone 7s or 8, they should just call it something like iPhone S because I think not attaching a number for the anniversary edition would be better.
 
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It will have 4 versions, iPhone 8 and 8+, iPhone 8PV and 8PV+ as in the entire phone is photovoltaic / solar recharging, including the screen which will have a layer in it that comes in at 30% photovoltaic efficiency of the rest of the phone. While this will not charge a completely dead phone or keep it topped off 100% during use, it will greatly cut back on battery drain and be a fantastic statement of reduction of carbon footprint.

Opaque case sales will plummet and clear case sales will be the cash cow.

This is way overdue in my opinion.
 
I think People need to keep their expectations in check! its wayyy too early for this ceramic speculation. Also, the ceramic AW carries a $800+ premium over the aluminum model. What makes everyone so sure that the iPhone will be getting it? Especially since the iPhone will be using even more ceramic?
 
If thecnake a ceramic edition I cannot fathom the price. The Watch is $1300... that's a $900 materials premium. Perhaps they'll do a special edition. Count me out if it's two gran though.

I'd love to see an updated screen, reduced bezels, reimagined (get rid of) home button, etc.
 
Ok, this is outside the box. I think Apple will make a huge splash. The next iPhone will have a musical aspect. Ability to use it like a harmonica
 
More substantial than some of the spec changes I think should be an radical iOS overhaul.

In my opinion, it is time for the springboard to go. I think the app switcher should bring up two columns of apps in tiles that are available 6 or so to a screen and easily and quickly scrolled. Faster access to what is running like a bit of mission control.

The widget center in iOS 10 is already overrun. That needs a better evolution.

As to the phone screens and accessing apps. Get rid of the grid of app, and get rid of folders. Those can have a place. But instead have centers like the home app or something. A communications center with 3D Touch access to various apps. Springboard, grid icons. That honestly has to go.
 
I think it will be redesigned. I'm a 10th anniversary believer (AFAIK I was the first one to predict it in this thread before MacRumors had any stories about it). That was March and my iPhone 7 predictions in that thread were also pretty spot-on, with my biggest miss being that I underestimated how much they would increase the battery life and the continued lack of fast charging.

Since the 10th anniversary iPhone is rumored to have a glass or ceramic back, I might also throw wireless charging into the ring as that would probably work better with that type of material. Listening to Jony's video during the Keynote about the AirPods really makes me think this is a big area of focus for Apple. They want to eliminate every wire going forward, and like the Apple Watch, just include a diagnostic port—perhaps in the form of the Smart Connector or similar, for when the phone gets bricked or whatever.

I also have to wonder if they're working on bringing an expanded version of Apple Sim to the iPhone so they can get rid of the sim card slot ASAP. When you think about it, the idea of a sim card is really outdated and should be done away with. You should just be able to log into your carrier and use a device. It's 2017 for crying out loud. Most carriers require people to buy their devices outright anyway, or are under contract for a monthly payment. So if they don't pay, it hits their credit. We don't need locks on phones and the sim slot takes up valuable space.

Lastly, they will remove the mute switch. It takes up a little space and probably prevents the iPhone from getting a higher water proof rating. Although I'm not sure if they will give the iPhone a full waterproof rating until they completely remove the Lightning Connector. Why? Because they warn people not to put their Lightning cable into the iPhone when it's wet, and if people are fully swimming with the iPhone all the time, that port is going to get a lot more water up in there than it would during use in the rain. Wireless charging would eliminate that issue entirely. So that ones kinda tricky. I find it hard to believe Apple would remove the Lightning port next year, especially after touting the better things you can do with it. And it's always good to have a backup for power. But the Lightning port is another possible entry point for water too. So yeah, that one is tricky. But I could see them phasing out the mute switch sooner since it's so easy to adjust with control center. Kinda annoying but Apple won't stop until it's just a slab of glass that can do just about anything.
 
Spec wise:

New design

OLED display on the 5.5 and 4.7 model.

Smaller bezels.

1440p display for the Plus (possibly with HDR)

And 1080p for the 4.7 model (possibly with HDR)

Improved water and dust resistance.

Improved camera. Even better optical zoom on the Plus. Possibly 60fps 4K video on both, although that would be insane (in a good way). But then again, so is having a 4K display on a phone. And thats gonna be the big high end spec of 2017.

No more home button.

Wireless charging.

I could see them retiring the silver color and coming out with a variation of white to replace it.

Still kinda iffy on the edge to edge display rumor. Would be cool if it happened tho.

Even better battery life.

iOS 11

Seems like a pretty solid upgrade to me for next year
 
The "anniversary" edition could be for the larger iPhone only. The smaller one might remain as the 7s. It makes sense because we've seen the 5.5" to 5.8" diagrams but no 4.7" to 5.0

But in terms of specs, expect major improvements for its successor. Which means, A11 will probably only be a 25% improvement at most.
 
I expect a redesign next year. Glass body, OLED screen, 50/50 on removing the home button but the bezels will be reduced a bit (but not a ton) only when this happens. I expect the mute switch to bow out next year. I too agree with macduke on the lightning port - it probably won't go away in next year's iPhone, but will almost certainly be gone in the succeeding body style in either 2019, or 2020 if they are moving to three year design cycles as some rumor I read here earlier said.

Wireless charging may or may not debut next year, I suspect it may not - this is clearly where Apple is heading, but they are always slow to do so, so as to make sure they get it right. I suspect we will see rumors of Apple having planned to go wireless charging for next year's phone, but delaying it as it won't be ready for prime time by next year. When they do do it, it won't be some half-assed implementation a la Samsung where you just set it on a pad that's plugged into the wall - that's really just a dock without the physical connector; I expect Apple will allow the phone to charge within a certain range of a little base that plugs into the outlet, or within range of your laptop, or something of the sort - they won't make you set it on a specific pad in one specific place.

The usual camera enhancements and processor upgrades are to be expected, and I'd like to see a PPI bump finally, which I think we will get as it is long overdue. Been at 326 since 2010, plus model excepted. We may see a white equivalent to the Jet Black, but it won't be ceramic, it'll just be done the same way the Jet Black on is, with aluminum (would ceramic even make a good cell phone material? If I'm not mistaken isn't it an insulator?).

As for the 10th anniversary tidbit, I think I'm the only person here who expects Apple to put exactly 0 emphasis on this. Apple only looks forward, never back. They don't wax nostalgic about legacy products. The clickwheel iPod saved the company and met a silent death, so I don't think they are going to spend any time harping about this being the 10th anniversary.
 
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