Apple Logo (Photo : Reuters/Aly Song)
The next iPhone is likely a complete redesign of the 2015 version but Apple is reportedly sticking to its usual production and rollout calendar for the iPhone 7. A new report from Asia has indicated that large scale production of the 2016 iOS flagship smartphone will commence July with the release to follow as early as September.
Apple has been following the schedule like clockwork in the past years and it looks like that 2016 will not be different. Taiwan-based The Economic Times has reported this week that it is green light for the iPhone 7 production activities and first to begin humming is the wholesale manufacturing of the device's mobile processing chip, which rumors said is A10 application processor.
The report, pointed to by Apple-focused blog site Apple Insider, provided an estimate that A10 chip will be mass produced beginning on June 2016. And likely to immediately follow in the following weeks is the mass assembly of the replacements to the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus - the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.
According to the same report, this year's iPhone could mark the end of Apple's manufacturing partnership with Samsung, at least in the processing chip department. The Economic Times said that the iPhone maker appears inclined to award the entire contract to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company or TSMC, which shared the A8 and A9 supply duties with Samsung in the last two years.
TSMC, the report said, impressed Apple with its 10-nanometer process technology that is deemed more cost effective. Another significant edge of the Taiwanese firm over its South Korean rival is the use of integrated fan out (InFO) chip architecture that takes advantage of smaller and lighter chips.
The direct benefit for Apple is that InFO will provide more leeway in the design and build of mobile devices. This hints of future iPhones that are lighter, slimmer but ever more powerful and that would start with the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus duo.
And in terms of power, BGR is under the impression that once again the next iPhone will dominate its 2016 rivals with A10 chip as its main engine just like it did last year with A9. Even as upcoming Android flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S7 and LG G5 are touted to rock the mighty Snapdragon 820 and Exynos 8890 M1 chip (in Samsung's case), "the iPhone 7 will outshine the Galaxy S7 and LG G5," the report declared.
On release date, the iPhone 7 makeover is rumored to push the physical home button and 3.5mm audio jack out of style in headlining the key feature upgrades packed with the device. The flagship is believed to unbox too with iOS 10, working in tandem with A10 chip to make the handset more powerful than ever but with marked improvement in efficient use of battery.
