The fate of the iPhone 7's 3.5mm jack is yet to be determined, but as far as rumours go, the standard headphone jack is having a Jon Snow moment. There have been conflicting speculations regarding the headphone jack's dismissal as some reports imply that a new way to connect headphones is coming to the iPhone 7, while others suggest otherwise.
The latest leak shows that the iPhone 7 will indeed ditch the 3.5mm headphone jack and bring other key improvements to the flagship. A leaked image of an iPhone 7 case by French publication NowhereElse shows four speakers — two at the top and two at the bottom — and a new rear camera setup with a relocated LED flash and a larger aperture.
The leaked iPhone case shows the LED flash has been shifted below the camera and the camera cutout seems to be larger than the iPhone 6s, which hints at a larger aperture, and hence better picture quality. Large-aperture lenses allow more light to enter and help the camera capture more details, even in challenging lighting conditions.
As it appears, the leaked case could be for the 4.7-inch iPhone 7 with its near-identical design to the iPhone 6s. While the camera improvement to the iPhone 7 sounds exciting, rumours about the iPhone 7 Plus suggest a bigger upgrade. According to an earlier report, Apple was going to add a dual-camera in its iPhone 7 Plus, enabling much advance and detailed imagery compared to the iPhone 7 and previous iPhones.
Speaking of the camera upgrades, Chris Chang of Nomura Securities said both iPhone 7 models would have Optical Image Stabilisation. Apple might source the camera lenses for its iPhone 7 and 7 Plus from LG Innotek as Sony may fall behind schedule.
While the latest leak doesn't contradict previous rumours about the iPhone 7, the inclusion of four speakers might seem too unrealistic. The gap between the camera module and the top speaker is limited, making it challenging for Apple to incorporate such a setup. Moreover, Apple is trying to slim the iPhone 7 further by at least 1mm compared to the current iPhone series, which suggests congestion while integrating any new component.
Other rumoured features to be included in the new iPhones include a water and dust-proof build, force touch-enabled home button, an A10 chipset, 2GB/3GB RAM, earpods with lightning jack connectivity and invisible antenna bands. Analysts have been sceptical about the Apple's success this year as they place their bets on 2018, when the tech giant will launch the iPhone 8, replacing the iPhone 7s series due to the notable upgrades.
