iPhone 7 – Apple Pencil, camera, home button, antenna

If these hints from Tim Cook are anything to go by, the iPhone 7 will be stylus friendly.

The Apple CEO’s comments in a recent interview have resurfaced as a potential hint at what might be coming in the new phone.

The interview for an Indian TV station back in May seems to suggest that Apple is about to bring the Apple Pencil to the iPhone.

The quote was in response to when Cook was asked whether Steve Jobs would have been disappointed to see that Apple introduced a stylus with the iPad Pro. This, as most Apple fans will know, was something that the late co-founder had publicly mocked.

Cook was sure that he wouldn’t be disappointed. In fact, if iSteve saw what was being done with them, he said, he’d have been pleased.

Tim Cook said

If you’ve ever seen what can be created with that pencil on an iPad or an iPhone, it’s really unbelievable,”

Now, technology commentator John Gruber, thinks that this points to Apple adding support for its new Pencil to the iPhone 7.

The thing is, there haven’t been any leaks either way on Apple Pencil support for the iPhone 7. Let’s face it, there’s been plenty of opportunity.

It does kinda make sense though. Apple does tends to bring new technologies across its line – eventually. Tale the Force Touch pressure-sensitive screens, for instance. These launched on the Apple Watch then moved to the iPhone. They are expected to land on the iPad too at some point.

The main stumbling block for an Apple Pencil-equipped iPhone is adding the screen to work with the peripheral. You see, at the moment the Pencil only works with two versions of the iPad Pro – because the devices themselves have been built specifically to support it.

We’ll see soon enough I guess.

There are more rumours than you can wave an Apple Pencil. Here are some that caught my eye.

Apple iPhone 7 rumours

Camera

Often one of the most fiercely fought arenas in smartphones, the camera skills of the iPhone are sure to be tweaked.

One thing that keeps on popping up is that the new phone will have four LED flash lights – two in cool colours, and two in warm colours. Not to mention an ambient light sensor.

While the camera on the iPhone 6s has been widely praised, it still struggles to take good photos in low-light situations. These additions should theoretically improve image quality.

The iPhone 7 Plus is expected to feature a dual-lens camera capable of taking SLR-quality photos.

A video claiming to show the flagship iPhone 7’s transparent case has been uploaded to YouTube by Unbox Therapy , showing a large cut-out for the rear camera.
[youtube id=”ywpZZZzUp-8″]
The advantage of a dual camera is that it could allow iPhone users to snap SLR quality photos and 3D images on a smartphone.

Word is that these will be a pair of 12-megapixel lenses – one wide angle, and one telephoto. The new design is expected to offer optical zoom and light field camera applications.

Bokeh – field of depth

The invitation to tomorrow’s event features coloured, out of focus dots. Could this be hinting at the Bokeh effect that is all the rage right now? This could mean that the iPhone 7’s lenses are getting a refresh. It has also been mentioned that these my symbolise water droplets, and water resistance.

Last year, Apple bought an Israeli smart camera company called LinX Computational Imaging, which builds smartphone and tablet cameras with sensors that provide depths of field. This fits in with the Bokeh rumours any how.

The technology also allows for high quality images to be captured in low-light conditions.

Either way, Apple is clearly stepping up its photography capabilities in the face of growing competition from the likes of Samsung, Sony and Huawei.

iPhone 7 design

While the iPhone 7 is expected to look largely identical to the iPhone 6s, rumours point to a number of key changes.

Many tech fans felt the design change from the iPhone 5s to the iPhone 6 (and then 6s) was a hugely positive step – praising the thinner body and larger screen.

As with last year’s flagship, the iPhone 7 will come in two sizes – one with a 4.7-inch display, and one with a 5.5-inch display (which will be known as the iPhone 7 Plus).

These will both have the same aluminium body as the iPhone 6s.

No antenna lines

This picture appears to give us our clearest view yet of what the iPhone 7 will look like.

Emerging on Chinese social media, it shows a device that’s very similar to the current iPhone 6s, albeit with a couple of small changes.

Firstly, the camera lens is clearly bigger – which holds true to rumours the tech giant is improving the on-board snapper.

Secondly, the lines across the back have been removed.

These lines currently allow radio signals to pass through the metal casing and reach the antennas. However, it looks like Apple may be planning to redesign the case to get around this restriction.

It could be a risky move though. Remember last time Apple messed with its antennas? Well, things didn’t end well. ~Cough~ #antennagate ~Cough~

No home button

The home button has become one of Apple’s most iconic design features. And while some rumours say Apple will ditch the home button, others suggest it’s getting a revamp.

According to Bloomberg Technology, the new iPhones will use pressure-sensitive technology from Macbook computers for the home button.

Current home buttons are switches that physically press into the phone, but the new models will have a pressure-sensitive button that provides feedback to the user via a vibrating haptic sensation rather than a true physical click,”

The site goes on to say

This mechanism is similar to that of the trackpads on the latest MacBook line.”

The iPhone 7 will have a redesigned pressure-sensitive click-less Home button. This will provide haptic feedback to mimic a clicking sensation when the button is pressed.

In March Apple received a patent for a “bulk amorphous alloy pressure sensor”. Basically this is a touch sensitive surface. Apple has even submitted sketches (above) show it being used like a home button.

No headphone socket

In January, the usual shadowy “supply chain sources” told a Chinese website that the 3.5-inch headphone jack will not be included on Apple’s next mobile.

Recently, images of a case for the new phone that apparently show no hole for the headphone wires.