iPhone 7, 7 Plus release date and expected features: Dual camera lens, stereo speakers, bend-free slim design, A10 chip, more RAM

Apple is heavily rumoured to be showcasing the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus with a refreshed design in September this year. Fresh speculations have revealed several features such as stereo speakers, Apple A10 chip, super-slim form factor that we can expect from both smartphones.

Refreshed Design – Slimmer Profile, No Antenna Bands

Both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are expected to be slimmer than last year’s iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus smartphones. A Japanese tech blog Macotakara has revealed that the next generation iPhones will be slimmer by 1 mm compared to predecessor models, 9 to 5 Mac reported.

The iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus measure 7.1 mm and 7.3 mm respectively. With a reduction of 1 mm, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus would measure 6.1 mm and 6.3 mm respectively.

Apple will also reportedly be axing the 3.5 mm headphone jack and reducing the cutout of the Lightning port to slim down the design of the upcoming iPhones. This would probably allow Apple to make use of a stronger metal chassis that won’t face any of the bending issues the slim-sized iPhone 6 and 6 Plus smartphones encountered.

The antenna bands that can be seen on the rear panels of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s models will not be present on the upcoming iPhone 7 models.

External Stereo Speakers, No 3.5 mm Audio Jack

The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus will be the first smartphones from Apple to arrive with stereo speakers. The current generation iPhones already have a single speaker place on their topside. However, the 3.5 mm audio jack placed alongside it will be replaced by another external speaker. Both speakers will produce stereo sound output.

The Apple iPhone 7 and 7 Plus smartphones without the regular 3.5 mm audio jack would instead have users connect their wired headphones to their Lightning port. Users will also be able to listen to music by making use of wireless headphones from Beats or a third-party vendor.

Dual Camera Lens with Flush Design

Speculations suggest that unlike the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s models, there will be no camera bump on the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo forecasted.

The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will be coming with traditional cameras, however, rumours suggest that there will be a high-end edition of the Apple iPhone 7 Plus that will come with dual camera lens. This variant is likely to carry the “iPhone Pro” moniker.

Apple A10 Chipset and More RAM

The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus smartphones are expected to be powered by the next generation Apple A10 chipset. The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are speculated to feature 3 GB of RAM.

IPhone 7, 7 Plus Release Date

Going by the past release patterns of iPhones, Apple is likely to announce the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus and make them available for purchase in September this year. However, before that happens, the Cupertino tech giant is rumoured to announce a 4-inch Apple iPhone SE smartphone on March 21.