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).
iPhone 7
Blueprints Show Little Change
Although
it is an even-numbered year, and the iPhone range generally gets a style
refresh in these years, the iPhone 7 looks to be little more than an update to
the iPhone 6 style. That’s according to blueprints leaked through French site
NoWhereElse. These show the new antenna housing, the cut-outs for the camera,
and a worrying trend of iteration. Gordon Kelly reports:
Despite
the iPhone 7 expected to be a ‘design change year’, it appears Apple is not
planning to make wholesale changes from the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6S that
preceded it.
Antenna
bands and camera module aside, the schematics appear to show a phone which is
virtually identical is style designs Apple has been selling since 2014. This is
likely to come as a disappointment given Apple is set to kill the headphone
jack and the hope was, as compensation for this polarizing move, customers
would see Apple make dramatic design improvements.
…and The iPhone 7 Case Leaks
Confirms It
As well
as blueprints, the supply chain has a number of case designs leaking this week,
which confirms many of the design features of the presumptively titled iPhone 7
ahead of the launch in September. Gordon Kelly continues his look at the new
design and the implication for the camera and the headphone jack:
17 months ago my analysis of Apple
developer rule changes concluded that Apple would ditch the headphone jack on
the iPhone within the next two years. Numerous leaks have since corroborated
this and Unbox’s video again backs this up.
The case not only
lacks a dedicated headphone jack port, but no slot on the case can even fit the
Apple headphone plug – it’s a no go. Furthermore the case backs up growing talk
that it will be replaced by an all in one (music and charging) Lightning cable
and dual speaker arrangement.
Apple Grabs The SE Cash
The leaks around the iPhone SE, widely expected to be launched
on Monday March 21st, show a device that is almost identical to the iPhone
5S, but with upgraded internals, and one critical change on the outside. By
changing the edges to reflect the curved iPhone 6 design cues – as opposed to
the harder edged iPhone 5S – Apple has rendered a huge range of peripherals as
obsolete:
If, as Apple and many
analysts suspect, the slowdown in iPhone sales is due to customers waiting on a
replacement four-inch screened iPhone, then the iPhone SE is targeted at those
users. Those users will likely have a bundle of favorite accessories. If they
do upgrade to Apple’s latest handset (and Apple really needs everyone
to upgrade this year) , they are going to have to buy everything again. Apple (and by
extension the peripheral manufacturers in the Made for iPhone program) are
going to see more sales on the ancillary products.
