iPhone 7: What will Apple do next?

“The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus launch has not yet officially shipped to customers, yet we cannot help but wonder what Apple could possibly do next year with iPhone 7 and 7 Plus,” Mark Reschke writes for T-GAAP.

“Apple packed so many improvements into the same iPhone 6 form factor, it seems improbable that Apple could do anything more than re-skin the device,” Reschke writes. “But this is Apple, so you can bet they have more than a few upgrade ideas up their sleeves. ”

“Apple is likely to get back into the thin-obsession game… [and is] likely to target the thickness of an iPod touch,” Reschke writes. “Apple may be about to come as close to having an edge-to-edge display as we have yet to see in any useful form factor.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take:

In the U.S., iPhone 3G units shipped with a SIM ejector toll made of Liquidmetal
In the U.S., iPhone 3G units shipped with a SIM ejector toll made of Liquidmetal
How about some Liquidmetal goodness? Ultra-thin devices with large displays need to be very strong, lest they actually do bend in real life, right?

As anyone who’s tried to bend the very thin Liquidmetal SIM ejector tool included with their iPhone 3G know, it’s crazy strong. Weirdly strong. You can’t believe you can’t bend that thin little thing with ease.

I estimate that Apple will likely spend on the order of $300 million to $500 million — and three to five years — to mature the technology before it can used in large scale. — Dr. Atakan Peker, one of the Caltech researchers who invented Liquidmetal, May 2012

SEE ALSO:
New Apple patents show continuing work on Liquidmetal
Tuesday, August 11, 2015

The Turing Phone is not made out of Liquidmetal – July 15, 2015
Why does Apple keep extending their partnership with Liquidmetal? – June 25, 2015
Apple extends Liquidmetal exclusivity deal through February 2016 – June 23, 2015
Two new Liquidmetal patent filings from Apple revealed; list watch and jewelry among potential uses – April 23, 2015
Liquidmetal’s Apple alliance yet to bear fruit – September 30, 2014
Apple’s new Liquidmetal-related patent sparks speculation – July 7, 2014
Apple patents method for embedding sapphire displays in LiquidMetal device chassis – May 27, 2014
Liquidmetal-Visser agreement paves the way for more rapid adoption of amorphous metal manufacturing – May 21, 2014
Apple extends Liquidmetal exclusivity deal through February 2015 – May 21, 2014

18 Comments

    1. Remember the first (and second) iPod. The top thin “layer” of the device was transparent, extending from edge to edge (side-to-side and top-to-bottom); you could see it looking at the iPod from the side.

      That should be the external design signature for iPhone 7. Unlike the old iPod (using easily-scratched clear plastic), that transparent material for iPhone 7 is the ultra-hard glass used for Apple Watch Sport (or maybe sapphire like the higher-end Apple Watch models). The display (under the glass) extends as close to the longer sides as possible, giving the illusion that there is no physical edge, made possible by using VERY hard casing material (like that “Liquidmetal” stuff).

      When iPhone’s number changes, there is a major change in physical appearance. When the “S” is added, there is a major improvement in performance and (often) software-based features. That’s why the carefully considered iPhone naming scheme works so well; Apple focuses on one and then the other, in alternating years. Most customers upgrade every two years, and Apple’s two-year design process gives them (customers) even MORE satisfaction (which Apple cares about deeply), because they typically use a two-year ownership cycle.

    1. For the camera, I suggested an idea (here) a few years ago, to overcome the coming “thinness problem.” Mount the camera sideways, giving it unprecedented focal length and capabilities for a mobile phone camera. Use a precision mirror to re-direct (point) the camera out the back side. If possible, have the mirror “flip,” so that ONE expensive camera component can point both AT and AWAY FROM user.

  1. It’s rather obvious that the battery will improve, Apple Pay will have expanded, and the screen will be better (video resolution continues its inexorable march toward completely faithful reproduction of reality.. but THIS will be included..
    http://www.diyphotography.net/the-iphone-7-camera-could-offer-dslr-like-performance-thanks-to-apples-latest-acquisition/

    AND the Haptic interface will like include textural cues

    Click to access jansen2010b.pdf

    1. I’m thinking Apple Pay expands to ‘Apple PAYMENTS’. Bill pay (utilities, fees, taxes, friends, personal sales, online etc) using Apple Pay FROM the AP app–where you just simply input the registered Apple Payment recipient and use TouchID and it sends payment to them instantly and sends a receipt to your email.. gotta be coming soon, right?

    1. I’m not sure just what you’re implying here: that all gay people wear eyeshadow, or that there’s something wrong with a man wearing it. Either way, you come off like a huge idiot.

  2. Ah Liquidmetal. Lovely stuff, and as expensive as hell. And that’s the less expensive alloys.

    I can’t see it being use as the case for an iPhone, unless it’s for a stiffening support. It’s just too expensive. But for the watch, it’s a different story. Perhaps for a price tier between that of the SS and gold models.

  3. I want a screen on each side with news/tickers separating them and an OS that can rotate them as needed. Cover it with sapphire so it can’t scratch and needs no case.. I said this long before Samsung made their little unusable touch the side thingy. That was stupid and a waste.

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