As Apple's iPhone 6 and 6 Plus help to bump the tech company's profits after the fall launch of the popular devices, rumors are already blowing up over what we can expect in a potential new iPhone 6s or iPhone 7. Meanwhile, the next-gen iPhone models are expected to have a fall release date.
According to a reliable report at Apple Insider, the biggest rumor surrounding the iPhone 6s is talk of a dual-lens camera. The leak, coming from Apple's Asian supply chain, states that the dual-lens set-up would allow for something that has been needed on a smartphone for a long, long time: optical zoom.
Although Israeli camera specialist Corephotonics announced a dual-lens smartphone camera earlier last year that would provide 3x optical zoom in photos and 5x optical zoom in 1080p HD video, this would be the first time Apple has toyed with the idea. Apple has always been on the cutting edge of device camera quality, realizing that camera lens and aperture quality means much more than simple megapixel numbers, so this move would only make sense from a design standpoint.
The dual-lens configuration would also allow faster HDR photography and better low-light performance. But the question is, according to Forbes, will Apple be utilizing and improving upon the Corephotonics technology, or will long-time optics supplier Sony have something of its own up its sleeve for the iPhone 6s?
Apple isn't even expected to announce the next generation of the iPhone for about another six months anyway, but this most recent leak also describes a new three-dimensional touch sensor that will be included on the next iPhone. Called "Force Touch," the high-tech sensors would allow more accuracy for use in things like blood pressure readings and pulse.
Currently used on the Apple Watch, Force Touch currently allows variables for certain types of pressure on the touch screen. For example, a heavy touch could bring up an options menu while a light touch would select one of those options.
In addition, the Taiwanese supplier states that the screen sizes of 4.7 and 5.5 will remain (adding more credibility to the idea that this will be for the iPhone 6s, and not an entirely new iPhone 7), but storage capacity will increase from 16 GB to 32 GB standard. A closer integration with the Apple Watch is also expected for the new phone.
But rumors of that iPhone 7 are rising up as many believe that Apple may even ditch the traditional "s" moniker for that of a new number. As PC Advisor points out, "Apple has surprised us somewhat over the past two years, releasing an iPhone 5C alongside the iPhone 5S in 2013, and an iPhone 6 Plus alongside the iPhone 6 in 2014. We're wondering whether Apple might soon decide to ditch the numbers completely and stick with iPhone, iPhone Plus and iPhone C, perhaps. Or, simply ditch the 'S' models and launch an iPhone 7."
It goes without saying that the iPhone 7 will be faster, provide better battery life, and that already-rumored advanced dual-lens camera, but it will be interesting to see if Apple follows current trends by making the iPhone 7's display over 5 inches on the standard model, and if it will advance into the "curved screen" territory that Samsung is exploring with the Galaxy Note Edge. Apple has already patented what they call "sidewall displays," but since the patent is so recent, we don't expect that feature to be shown in this year's iPhone.
While a release date hasn't been announced for either the iPhone 6s or the iPhone 7, we are expecting the company to follow tradition and announce the latest smartphone this September.
