Published in Mobiles

Apple iPhone 7 (2016) first design details leaked

by on03 February 2016


Features much-needed backside corrections


The design of Apple’s upcoming tenth-generation iPhone 7, due for release later this fall, will appear very similar to the exterior design used for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6S with two significant exceptions, according to sources close to the supply chain.

A new hint from the folks at MacRumors by someone familiar with Apple’s new design choices has said that the iPhone 7 will have a rear camera that is flush with the rear casing, similar to all Apple phones released before the iPhone 6 in 2014. This is a big improvement, if not a much-needed correction, for the company’s flagship product and one that is sure to alleviate case manufacturers from the extra headache of designing for protruding internal rear camera hardware

The second significant exception to the iPhone 7 design will be the removal of antenna bands across the rear of the device, allowing for a non-invasive, completely metal finish. On the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6S, these rear plastic bands are used simply to separate the antennas from the main case, while the metal antennas themselves are located on the sides of the devices.

The iPhone 6 uses an NXP 65V10 NFC module and a AMS AS3923 NFC Booster in the very top of the device, while the iPhone 6S uses an NVP 66V10 NFC module in the top of the device and has removed the AMS booster chip. On the other hand, the iPhone 6 uses an RF Micro Devices RF5159 antenna switch, while the iPhone 6S uses an RF Micro Devices RF5150 antenna switch. Both device lineups currently use three power amplifier modules.

The source familiar with Apple’s new design choices is unable to confirm whether the tenth-generation iPhone 7 units will be thinner than the iPhone 6 (6.9mm) / iPhone 6 Plus (7.1mm) and iPhone 6S (7.1mm) / iPhone 6S Plus (7.3mm), but any thickness reductions are expected to be very minimal if the company is to use the same 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch display sizes.

An interesting Quora post titled, “Would Steve Jobs have allowed the iPhone 6 to have protruding camera and plastic bands on the back?” gives a well-considered philosophical take on Apple’s design choices of the past two years of smartphone product releases.

The upcoming iPhone 7 “Plus” is also expected to feature dual rear cameras, as we wrote about earlier, and may have two different sub-models to choose from – a “Plus” option with a single rear camera, and another “Plus” option with two. However, it is yet to be confirmed if this will actually be the case.

Last modified on 03 February 2016
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