Apple may alter iPhone rhythm
Apple’s latest iPhone event is next week, but the company may have a much grander hardware refresh on the horizon.
Apple has confirmed it will have an event next week where it is expected to introduce a new iPhone and the next version of the Apple Watch.
While Apple never says what it’s planning before it announces new products, this is the time of year for a new iPhone and there have been plenty of reports indicating what’s expected for the next smartphone.
The main speculation is that the company is going to break with its normal upgrade rhythm this year.
In the past, Apple’s alternated between offering major updates for the iPhone and smaller, more incremental updates. According to that schedule, Apple should be offering a significant update to the iPhone this year, and call it the ‘‘iPhone 7’’.
The event will take place at San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium on Thursday, September 8 at 5am (NZ time).
Kiwis will be able to watch a livestream on the event on Apple’s website. But reports from analysts and other Apple watchers indicate that Apple’s actually not going to offer that much of an overhaul to its phones, but will instead likely introduce two phones that look an awful lot like its current iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.
A bigger change to the device is actually now expected next year, in 2017.
Apple is expected to give the guts of the phone its typical overhaul, with faster chips, a better camera and maybe a larger battery, according to multiple reports.
The larger version of the iPhone, which will probably be called the iPhone 7 Plus if Apple sticks with its conventions, may have two cameras on the back of the phone.
Despite not being a ‘‘major’’ upgrade on the scale of years past, Apple is expected to make at least one big change: many reports have said that Apple will do away with its headphone jack.
Instead, reports have said, the company is expected to use the space now occupied by the headphone jack for a second speaker.
Headphones for the iPhone may instead work with the lightning port on the bottom of the phone, which is currently only used for charging and data transfer.
That would make the standard headphones that users have had for years completely useless with a new iPhone.
Since the rumour first broke, there’s been lots of pushback from those who say it’s not a consumerfriendly move.
That includes Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, who said last week that Apple shouldn’t ditch the headphone jack unless it also improves the sound quality over Bluetooth wireless headphones.
Other changes include a re- engineered home button that responds to pressure with a vibrating sensation rather than a true physical click.
The invitation for the event showed out-of-focus multicoloured lights against a black background.
This may refer to a larger version of the new iPhone that is expected to have a dual-lens camera system to improve photography.
‘‘The real point to make is how little chance of a surprise there is,’’ said Colin Gillis, an analyst at BGC Partners LP, adding that two white spots of light in the invitation were indicative of the dual lens, while the event’s date (the 7th in the US) hints at the likely iPhone 7 name.
‘‘The company doesn’t seem to be able to generate surprises anymore.’’
The Apple Watch line, which first went on sale in 2015, is also expected to be updated with GPS tracking and new health features.
However, laptop fans may have to wait a bit longer.
The MacBook Pro range is expected to get a long overdue refresh in October with a flatter keyboard and a digital function key display above the keyboard that allows for common tasks to be done more quickly for whatever program is being used.
Apple has not updated any Macs, besides the 12-inch MacBook, since last year.
Also, don’t expect any iPad announcements next week, with a refresh for the tablets expected early next year.
Changes for iPads may include improvements to the Apple Pencil, a handwriting and drawing stylus aimed at professionals and allowing users to annotate objects in many applications across the whole operating system.
Overall, Apple’s iPhone sales in 2016 haven’t been as strong as they were last year, and that’s worried many investors who know that the majority of Apple’s money comes from iPhone sales.
If the reports are true, Apple is unlikely to get a sales bump on the scale that it normally does when releasing a overhauled iPhone.
For example, those still using the iPhone 6 (or older) may find themselves unwilling to pay for more incremental updates, and may hold out for another year until the next model.
Then again, Apple is nothing if not surprising – so hopeful phone buyers shouldn’t go into mourning just yet. Washington Post