A video showing what is said to be the first accurate iPhone 7 Plus prototype has surfaced on YouTube. (Photo : YouTube/Unbox Therapy)
Apple has reportedly set the iPhone 7 release date to happen September 16 with the product intro scheduled on the 7th of the same month and the pre-order to start two days after. The design and build of the next iPhone is expected to largely mirror what was seen with the iPhone 6S but the actual specs and feature upgrades remain unknown.
However, the flood of leaked details that came out in the past weeks plus the near final cut of iOS 10 pointed to a number of confirmed iPhone 7 specifications and feature upgrades. And nine are listed below:
Touch ID unlocking only
Apple said iOS 10 will power the iPhone 7 and the compatibility of the new operating system extends down to the iPhone 5S. That device model was the first recipient of the Touch ID fingerprint sensor, which also indicates that starting iOS 10 Touch ID is the preferred and easiest way to unlock an iPhone.
And that means Slide to Unlock will not be part of the next iPhone.
Actionable notifications
But iPhone 7 would-be buyers don't need to unlock the device to take action as the tweaks were applied on the Notification Alerts that can be viewed (by swiping down on the screen) from the Lock Screen. In iOS 10, users will be presented with detailed and actionable notifications.
Spam alert
The sequel to iOS 9 is smarter that it can identify an incoming spam call and notify users, again without leaving the redesigned iPhone Lock Screen.
New Apple Music
Digging inside, users will find that iOS 10 ushers in a significantly redesigned Apple Music, Business Insider reported. "Now it's a lot lighter, with much more white space, bigger letters, and more prominent album art," the report said.
Smarter Siri
Siri takes a huge leap too and among the improvements the personal digital assistant will boast is the ability to transcribe voice mail that will be useful for iPhone users who prefer reading than listening to received messages.
Dump the apps
Beginning with iOS 10, Apple is empowering users to pick third-party basic apps that best appeal to them. The same bump also permits the removal of native iOS apps and per the latest beta version, everything can be deleted save for Safari and the Message app.
Fun-filled Messaging
The Message app is not going way for a reason - it's going to be more fun, per Business Insider. Packed with the new messaging tool are "new animations, a bunch of sticker apps and even hidden messages with invisible ink," the publication added.
Dual camera and OIS
On the hardware jump, the next iPhone will have a dual-camera setting that is seen as exclusive for the phablet iPhone 7 Plus. The regular iPhone 7 will also bring a notable shooting upgrade, MacRumors said, pointing to leaked images that dropped clues on the inclusion of hardware optimal image stabilization feature, which in the iPhone 6S was offered by Apple as a software solution.
256GB iPhone 7
The same tech site reported too that Apple will unbox a 256GB iPhone variant to complete the new storage configuration of 32GB for the basic model and 128GB for the middle option. But it remains unclear if the 256GB edition will be limited to the jumbo iPhone 7 Plus, the report noted.
Starting price
On release date and despite doubling the built-in storage size, the iPhone 7 will sell starting at $649 while the larger basic iPhone 7 Plus will retail for only $749. The prices are for the SIM-free models.
