Taking a
look back at another week of news from Cupertino, this week’s Apple Loop
includes the impossibly thin iPhone 7, the potential of a new iPhone Pro with
dual camera lens support, Apple’s latest patents for magnetic headphones and
flexible circuits, the failure of Connect to evolve, a look at Apple’s Campus 2
construction, the earthquake that nearly stopped the iPhone 7, and why your
snoozed alarm defaults to nine minutes.
Apple Loop is here to remind you of a few of the very many
discussions that have happened around Apple over the last seven days (and you can read the weekly
digest of Android news here on Forbes).
How Practical Will The iPhone 7
Be?
Jony Ive’s stylish focus on thin could be having a negative impact
on the iPhone 7. Reports from the supply chain suggest that the new handset
will have a thickness of 6.3 millimeters… one millimeter less than the iPhone
6S. That’s great for the fashionistas, but not great if you are looking for
something useful… like a battery. That’s not the only thing missing from the
leaks, as Forbes’ Amit Chowdhry reports:
Previously, there were rumors that the iPhone 7 was going to be
waterproof. Mac Otakara’s sources claim that this is not true. This is a
disappointment because the Galaxy S7 is IP68 dust-proof and water resistant so
the upcoming Apple flagship smartphone device will be less durable than the new
Samsung flagship. This means Samsung may be able to retain or gain a customer
base that prefers rugged devices.
Smaller battery and may not be waterproof… Is Apple looking to be
the exact opposite to Samsung’s Galaxy S7?
 |
| iPhone 6S Case review (image: Ewan Spence) |
Are You Ready For An iPhone Pro?
That’s assuming that September’s next generation iPhone will be
called the iPhone 7. Given the news that March’s four-inch screened device that
will sit lower in Apple’s portfolio is dropping the ’5′ moniker to be known as
the iPhone SE, Apple’s naming strategy could point to a new and interesting
identity:
…the new flagship iPhone due for release in September. We’re
all expecting this to be called the iPhone 7. But the loss of the dating
numbers in the iPhone SE, the naming convention employed on the iPad, and Tim
Cooks apparent drive to simplify the portfolio and marketing could point to
another name.
I would not be surprised to see the next iPhone get something just
as simple, clean, and functional as the rest of the updated portfolio. Apple
should hand its next smartphone a clean name that can stand alongside the iPad,
the iPad Pro, and the iPhone SE.
Can Apple’s marketing team launch an iPhone Pro and keep the focus
on the rest of the portfolio?
Are You Ready For The Secret
iPhone Pro Pro?
If you are keeping track, that gives Apple the iPhone SE in March,
the iPhone 7/Pro and the iPhone 7S/Pro in September. But why stop at three? A
secret fourth iPhone could be released this year, and Gordon Kelly has the low-down
on a potential image-focused iPhone:
Consequently the three iPhone 7 models will be the 4.7-inch iPhone
7, 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus and a new and even more premium model based around
(already huge) Plus which some are dubbing the ‘iPhone 7 Pro’. What’s the
difference between the Pro (I’ll go with the name for now) and the Plus? A
groundbreaking camera. In fact, I should say groundbreaking ‘cameras’
because Kuo says the iPhone 7 Pro will use a dual-lens camera system created by
LinX, an imaging specialist Apple purchased in 2015.
…So why is Apple doing it? It must think either a) LinX technology
is so impressive customers need to see it and be blown away, or b) it will
cover for limitations in Apple’s standard camera technology which fell behind
Samsung’s Galaxy S6, especially as the gap is about to widen further with the
Galaxy S7.
Samsung’s imaging advantage is going to be a vital weapon for the
South Korean company, and with the launch of the Gear360 camera it’s going to
extend that lead over Apple, especially if the Galaxy S7 family can easily
defeat the iPhone 7 family in a straight shoot-out. So why not have a ‘special
team’ camera phone? Is maintaining an air of superiority with the fragmentation of the
iPhone line?
