Alleged 'iPhone 7' chassis shows symmetrical speakers, lacks 3.5mm headphone jack
Yet another leaked "iPhone 7" part suggests that Apple will use the space previously occupied by the 3.5-millimeter headphone jack to feature a symmetrical speaker design at the bottom of the device.
Photos of an alleged "iPhone 7" gold chassis were published this week by Nowhereelse.fr, showing yet another component without a legacy headphone jack. In its place to the left of the Lightning port, the part appears to show a series of six holes for a speaker, matching the six holes on the right side.
In the current iPhone 6s design, just one identically-sized opening is found to the left of the Lightning port, serving as the microphone input.
If the newly leaked chassis is legitimate, it's likely that one of the six holes could serve as a microphone input, with the remaining five offering louder sound with additional speaker outputs. Or, perhaps all six holes on the left side could be a microphone input. Either way, the matching six holes on each side allow for a symmetrical appearance.
Two holes closer to the Lightning port likely serve as screws for disassembling the device, as they have with past models.
In another photo, the chassis shows a hole for a single camera lens, along with the traditional accompanying rear microphone and camera flash.
The camera hole also appears to be protruding, with the metal itself around the hole raised. That would be a tweak from the current iPhone 6s design, where the metal is flat but the lens itself protrudes.
If the part is authentic and previous leaks prove accurate, it's likely that the chassis is from Apple's forthcoming 4.7-inch iPhone update. It's believed that a new dual-lens design, along with 3 gigabytes of RAM for image processing, will be exclusive to the larger 5.5-inch Plus model.
All is expected to be revealed in September, when Apple is likely to hold a media event to announce its next-generation iPhone.
Photos of an alleged "iPhone 7" gold chassis were published this week by Nowhereelse.fr, showing yet another component without a legacy headphone jack. In its place to the left of the Lightning port, the part appears to show a series of six holes for a speaker, matching the six holes on the right side.
In the current iPhone 6s design, just one identically-sized opening is found to the left of the Lightning port, serving as the microphone input.
If the newly leaked chassis is legitimate, it's likely that one of the six holes could serve as a microphone input, with the remaining five offering louder sound with additional speaker outputs. Or, perhaps all six holes on the left side could be a microphone input. Either way, the matching six holes on each side allow for a symmetrical appearance.
Two holes closer to the Lightning port likely serve as screws for disassembling the device, as they have with past models.
In another photo, the chassis shows a hole for a single camera lens, along with the traditional accompanying rear microphone and camera flash.
The camera hole also appears to be protruding, with the metal itself around the hole raised. That would be a tweak from the current iPhone 6s design, where the metal is flat but the lens itself protrudes.
If the part is authentic and previous leaks prove accurate, it's likely that the chassis is from Apple's forthcoming 4.7-inch iPhone update. It's believed that a new dual-lens design, along with 3 gigabytes of RAM for image processing, will be exclusive to the larger 5.5-inch Plus model.
All is expected to be revealed in September, when Apple is likely to hold a media event to announce its next-generation iPhone.
Comments
I take pictures of my kids with this camera. These pictures are priceless. I don't care what Apple has to do to the design of the iPhone to keep making the camera great...the photos are what matters. Not the frigging metal brick.
No other audio interface will suffice, I am not willing to sacrifice the quality & convenience of a traditional headphone jack, I am not willing to spend hundreds of dollars to buy several dongles or spend hundreds of dollars to change my audio equipment, And I am not willing to carry a dongle with me at all times.
Its a simple, ubiquitous, quality, standard, with no peer. Its not like the floppy disk, its not like fire wire.
So if these rumors are, true my next phone will be an android.
TFTFY.
also, being the audio guy you are, why no lightning cabled equipment? you're actually using mini phono jacks on all your living room units? and with all the moving around from room to room and car and gym, etc, I'm surprised you find the slightly better audio is worth the hassle vs just using a wireless solution for all but your most demanding uses. for me it sure ain't in the gym -- wireless headphones far outweigh somewhat better sound when I'm focused on a workout. phone stays in pocket, no wires to manage as I'm moving bars or using cardio equipment, etc. it's way, way easier. plus I only need to recharge once a week.
in any event, your use case is not mainstream. you're a fringe case. Apple doesn't build its product line around fringe cases. we'll all be sad to see you go. go luck with android and everything.
However, if the reason for all of this is to just make the phone thinner, and keep the battery life the same as it is now, sorry, you've lost me. These phones do not need to be thinner. And the battery needs to be better.
*However, given people's reaction to the switch from the 30 pin to the lightning connector, there will be mass hysteria over this (as was hilariously forecasted by The Verge).
**In many ways I am very much an "Apple Man" (and proud of it!) as I learned from this excellent article linked by Daring Fireball.
Don't forget - Bluetooth v5 devices will start to roll out later this year.
The v5 spec promises "quadruple the range, double the speed, and an eight-fold increase in data broadcasting capacity".
(According to Wikipedia anyway: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth#Bluetooth_v5)
As for "the need to recharge the batteries," I think it could work like the Apple Pencil.
Plug it into your iPhone for 20 seconds and get, say, 30 minutes more play time.
The Apple Pencil gets 30 minutes more use when you plug it into your iPad Pro's Lightning connector for 15 seconds.
Therefore I expect the Apple "Magic EarPods" to have a built-in Lightning plug like the Pencil does.
Most listening is done in relatively noisy environments too which further reduces any noticeable quality enhancements from a better DAC.