Rumor: Chinese spy shots show 'iPhone 7' with dual cameras, no home button

Posted:
in iPhone
Photos of what purport to be Apple's forthcoming "iPhone 7" have bubbled up from sources in the People's Republic of China, though some aspects of the snaps cast a shade of doubt on their authenticity.


The device bears a striking resemblance to Futurama's Bender.


The more believable shot -- showing a rear shell -- carries a dark Apple logo and generally takes the form most expect the iPhone 7 to adopt. An iPhone 6-esque design carries a dual camera module in the upper left, surrounded by a small rise in the material rather than a separate ring, as on previous generations.

The back is also unmarred by antenna breaks, with those instead curling around the top and bottom. It goes off the rails with the supposed addition of a Smart Connector adjacent to the Lightning port, though.

While the Smart Connector makes sense on the iPad Pro, its appearance here would be puzzling -- especially in the indicated location.




A second set of somewhat more dubious shots depict a device with no home button or headphone jack. Captions accompanying the photos indicate that the button and Touch ID sensor are integrated into the display itself.

While it's true that rumors of home button-less developments have circulated for years, that feature has yet to make its way into the iPhone 7 conversation.

Whispers of a headphone jack-less iPhone 7 have been picking up steam, however, and we may yet see such a change when the new device is announced.

Apple is preparing to hold a media event on March 21 at which it will likely announce a new 4-inch iPhone, though the iPhone 7 isn't expected to make an appearance. The flagship models are more likely to be refreshed in September, their now-standard timeline that puts them at the top of consumers' minds going into the holiday season.
6Sgoldfish
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 56
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    I don't think so.

    Ive would have a seizure if the camera module looked like that. And no home button? 

    Nope, nothing to see here.

    roake
  • Reply 2 of 56
    Nope. That thing is beyond ugly, even for post-Steve Jobs Apple. People who complained about the small raised ring around the backside camera on the 6/6s would absolutely lose their minds over this monstrosity no matter how good the camera performance was. Even if this sucker were left in a bar and posted all over Gawker, I still wouldn't believe it. 
    bobschlobclemynx
  • Reply 3 of 56
    jason98jason98 Posts: 768member
    wow the camera bump is getting more aesthetic with every release 

    /s
    jbishop1039cornchipargonaut
  • Reply 4 of 56
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Must be true 'cuz I saw it on the Internetz!
  • Reply 5 of 56
    levilevi Posts: 344member
    I've wondered what an attractive implementation of a dual lense iPhone might look like. Not sure this is it. 
  • Reply 6 of 56
    nolamacguynolamacguy Posts: 4,758member
    that isn't a "dark" Apple logo - it's mirrored but the angle is reflecting something dark. you know, exactly how the current iPhone logo behaves. 
    edited March 2016 1983netmageargonaut
  • Reply 7 of 56
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    levi said:
    I've wondered what an attractive implementation of a dual lense iPhone might look like. Not sure this is it. 
    I wonder when people will stop stressing about something that means nothing?
  • Reply 8 of 56
    phone-ui-guyphone-ui-guy Posts: 1,019member
    I don't see why the smart connector would be so puzzling to AI. Apple built their first battery case and they realized just how much doing the lightning connector pass through sucks. This will allow battery cases and other accessories (especially built into cases, or on docks, etc) to work without blocking the lightning connector. 

    Those other two photos look suspicious around the bottom of the phone like they have been photoshopped. 
    jbishop1039nolamacguy
  • Reply 9 of 56
    phone-ui-guyphone-ui-guy Posts: 1,019member

    levi said:
    I've wondered what an attractive implementation of a dual lense iPhone might look like. Not sure this is it. 
    Go look at the macrumors story with the feld and volk renderings. 
  • Reply 10 of 56
    williamhwilliamh Posts: 1,034member
    I thought the rear image looked rather like some kind of 3rd party case.
  • Reply 11 of 56
    schlackschlack Posts: 720member
    no home button would be terrible UI compromise smart connector is a no brainer! finally some battery packs that can sit flush and not add length to the device. same for card scanners and other accessories.
  • Reply 12 of 56
    I've wondered whether Apple could put a 2nd camera at the other end of the iPhone (i.e., near top & bottom edges) to create separation that roughly matches the separation of human eyes... e.g., 3-4 inches apart.  Turning the camera on its side & taking video simultaneously on 2 cameras may create the raw material for home-grown 3D video... captured from separated points in space?

    (Don't flame me too badly.  I admittedly know nothing about 3D filming, so this is just meant to be fun speculation!)
    argonaut
  • Reply 13 of 56
    no ear speaker hole
  • Reply 14 of 56
    mac_128mac_128 Posts: 3,454member
    I don't see why the smart connector would be so puzzling to AI. Apple built their first battery case and they realized just how much doing the lightning connector pass through sucks. This will allow battery cases and other accessories (especially built into cases, or on docks, etc) to work without blocking the lightning connector. 
    I agree. It's also a kind of inductive charging method, not requiring the Lightning cable to physically be plugged in while charging, eliminating the need for a pass through plug or adapter for using Lightning audio devices. 
  • Reply 15 of 56
    no ear speaker hole
  • Reply 16 of 56
    jason98jason98 Posts: 768member
    I've wondered whether Apple could put a 2nd camera at the other end of the iPhone (i.e., near top & bottom edges) to create separation that roughly matches the separation of human eyes... e.g., 3-4 inches apart.  Turning the camera on its side & taking video simultaneously on 2 cameras may create the raw material for home-grown 3D video... captured from separated points in space?

    (Don't flame me too badly.  I admittedly know nothing about 3D filming, so this is just meant to be fun speculation!)
    Even if the dual camera is real, I don't think 3d is in the scope, otherwise it would make more sense to position the lenses for landscape camera mode.
  • Reply 17 of 56
    I can photoshop too.
  • Reply 18 of 56
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,326moderator
    I don't see why the smart connector would be so puzzling to AI. Apple built their first battery case and they realized just how much doing the lightning connector pass through sucks. This will allow battery cases and other accessories (especially built into cases, or on docks, etc) to work without blocking the lightning connector. 

    Those other two photos look suspicious around the bottom of the phone like they have been photoshopped. 
    A smart iPhone case and connector would have its uses. It can allow cases to show battery charge and notification lights. I wouldn't say it looks worse than the current iPhone either:



    The camera bump looks pronounced but the lighting is bright so it has a bright highlight on the right and dark shadow under it. In normal lighting, it wouldn't look as bad:



    The front pictures look like they've been edited but Jony Ive said that with the Watch turning on when you flick your wrist, having to manually wake up the iPhone felt old so perhaps they'll have a feature that wakes the phone with a certain movement. It can highlight where the fingerprint sensor is on turning the display on.

    Clone manufacturers start making their mockup devices earlier in the year. The Goophone 6 was built months ahead of the iPhone 6:



    The case manufacturers start manufacturing cases from the leaks too. If these are mockups, they might have obtained the design spec for the metal back but not the front.
  • Reply 19 of 56
    netroxnetrox Posts: 1,422member
    Nope. That thing is beyond ugly, even for post-Steve Jobs Apple. People who complained about the small raised ring around the backside camera on the 6/6s would absolutely lose their minds over this monstrosity no matter how good the camera performance was. Even if this sucker were left in a bar and posted all over Gawker, I still wouldn't believe it. 
    That's what I hear about iPhone 4 and iPhone 6.
    6Sgoldfishsphericchia
  • Reply 20 of 56
    macplusplusmacplusplus Posts: 2,112member
    Don't worry too much. The mainstream iPhone is the SE >:) The form factor >= 4.7 is pushed to niche and you can expect every "nicheness" of it as demanded by large-handed blog writers >:)
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