Like clockwork, Fall brings Back To School, cooler weather, and of course, a new iPhone. Though as of late, it's not iPhones plural w/ the 2-prong approach of standard and larger Plus size. With this being an iPhone event the focus will of course primarily focused on that. This will be after Apple does their usual recap of stats, apps, and users.
For the 1st time in a long time, we're not expecting a slew of devices this year. Looks like Apple is keeping it simple w/ just a few. Though the wait to see if everything we mention is spot on or not, isn't long at all as the 7th will be in here in a few short days.
iPhone 7 & iPhone 7 Plus
The iPhones of 2016 will be a moderate upgrade according to the reports, rumors, leaks and such. Think of them as more of an S-type of iPhone. The screen sizes will stay the same at 4.7inch & 5.5inch.
- In regards to the new design, it will be more of the same design w/ not as many antenna bands.
- Looks like the 16GB storage size will finally kick rocks. 32GB will now be the new entry level storage size w/ it maxing out to 256GB now. The middle size could be 64GB or 128GB. For that, we'll have to wait and see.
- Both will be powered by their new 2.4GHz A10 processor as well as a new co-processor to go along w/ it.
- The headphone jack is officially gone on iPhones from here on out. So get ready to upgrade to Lightning port headphones/Ear Pods or prepare to grab some Bluetooth headphones. I'm sure Apple will include a new version of the ear pods to support the new Lightning only situation.
- The new iPhones will probably offer the same IPX waterproof rating that's on the Apple Watch to handle up to 1 meter of water for 30 minutes.
- A new Home button is expected that won't click in this time around. Expect it to work like the new trackpad on the latest MacBook. It will replicate Force Touch and offer haptic feedback as well.
- A 'new' color option is coming by the way of Space Black. It will be a dark Black in which no light can escape (jk). There are also rumblings of it being joined by a Glossy PianoBlack as well. Not sure exactly why there would be 2 types of Black but whatever.
- Oh yeah and I almost forgot, everything that iOS 10 has to offer. Like controlling Siri via voice, much better iMessage experience, lock screen widgets, and much, much more.
Apple is gonna continue to make the larger Plus devices more desirable.
The 7 Plus will have a few more tricks up its sleeve than the standard 7 as per usual. It will have everything mentioned above plus what's below.
- It will offer a dual camera setup that offers more features for photos & videos. It will be comprised of a wide-angle and a telephoto lens w/ both at 12MP sensors + OIS. It will offer optical zoom and possibly light field abilities like the Lytro camera does.
- The extra camera abilities warrants more power as the 7 Plus will sport 3GB of RAM as opposed to the 2GB from the regular 7.
Apple Watch 2
If you're expecting a lot of changes in their smartwatch, looks elsewhere cause it ain't happening this year. I'm serious. There will be minor (and we mean minor) upgrades to their 2nd-gen Apple Watch.
- No real changes to the design so if you liked the original look it will be the same. if you didn't like and wanted something different, continue to be disappointed.
- The biggest new feature to the watch will be the addition of the GPS radio. This will be good for those of you who use this for fitness tracking.
- A larger battery has been rumored to help combat the GPS and new software features/abilities.
- And lastly, a much better layout and other things w/ watchOS 3. This will bring forth better way to respond to messages, a new Control Center, a faster way to switch watch faces, improved performance, and much more.
And lastly, there have been talks of a possible MacBook Pro refresh. It would be thinner, sport a USB-C port, and have an OLED touch panel above the keyboard. This could be unveiled w/ everything else mentioned above or later in the year w/ other hardware announcements.
With next year being Apple's 10th anniversary of the iPhone, I would hold off until then if I were you. They're talking curved OLED displays for the 2017 iPhones and LTE for the 2017 Apple Watch just to name a few of the rumors. If you got the $$$ to grab this and next year's then go for it. With Samsung dealing w/ recalls, this is a good time to be Apple or an Apple fan.
