iPhone 7

                                       iPhone 7 

iPhone  is a line of smartphones designed and marketed by Apple Inc. They run Apple's iOS mobile operating system. The first generation iPhone was released on June 29, 2007; the most recent iPhone models are the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, which were unveiled at a special event on September 9, 2015.

The user interface is built around the device's multi-touch screen, including a virtual keyboard. The iPhone has Wi-Fi and can connect to cellular networks. An iPhone can shoot video (though this was not a standard feature until the iPhone 3GS), take photos, play music, send and receive email, browse the web, send texts, GPS navigation, record notes, do mathematical calculations, and receive visual voicemail. Other functions video games, reference works, social networking, etc. Can be enabled by downloading application programs (‘apps’); as of October 2013, the App Store offered more than one million apps by Apple and third parties and is ranked as the world's largest mobile software distribution network of its kind (by number of currently available applications).

News iPhone 7 release date & new features

iPhone 7 release date rumours, new features, patents  iPhone 7 could have a ceramic back

iPhone 7 rumours are flying, and we've picked up lots of hints about new features that could appear in the iPhone 7, from wireless charging to a touchscreen with built-in Touch ID. It's believed that Apple is going to ditch the 3.5mm headphone jack - and people aren't happy. And we've got our first leaked photos of iPhone 7 prototypes

When will the iPhone 7 come out? (And when will it launch in the UK?) What new features and design changes can we expect in the new iPhone for 2016 when it comes out? And what will Apple's next iPhone be called? iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus? iPhone 7 mini? Something new?

The iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus launched in September 2015, so now we're starting to excitedly think about what this year's iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus could bring. The web is full of speculation about new iPhone(s) that Apple will launch in 2016, and in this article we gather all the rumours about the iPhone 7: release date, design, specs and new features, from wireless charging to a touchscreen display with built-in Touch ID. Plus any leaked photos of iPhone 7 components we get hold of, and all the cool iPhone 7 concept illustrations and videos that designers have come up with.

We're sure to see a next-generation iPhone in 2016, but what will the new iPhone 7 look like? (Traditionally, Apple alternates between internal upgrades for the 'S' update, then a physical redesign for the full-number update, so a completely redesigned chassis is likely.) What new features should we expect? And when will the iPhone 7 come out? We round up the evidence to bring you everything there is to know about the iPhone 7 so far.

In this article we talk about the 4.7-inch iPhone 7 - the follow-up to the iPhone 6s. If you'd like to read about the 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus, take a look at our iPhone 7 Plus release date and new features rumour roundup.

Bookmark this page for a regularly updated summary of all the information currently available - and all the rumours doing the rounds - related to the iPhone 7: details, clues, hints and rumours, as well as any leaked photos of the iPhone 7 that emerge. We'll update the article whenever we hear worthwhile new information (or scurrilous but interesting gossip) on the subject of Apple's next iPhone.

In a nutshell: Macworld's verdict on the iPhone 7

In our iPhone 7 rumour roundup we cover a lot of ground: you'd be amazed by the clues, hints and general speculation about the iPhone 7 that people have managed to dig up. But for those who don't want all the detail, the following section sums up our verdict on the whole thing. Consider it a sort of TL;DR for the article as a whole.

In a nutshell, then, we reckon:

1) Apple will launch two new iPhones in September 2016, and just possibly three. The theory that Apple will push the main iPhone 7 launch forward to summer 2016 seems thin to us, but it is possible we will see an update to the 4-inch iPhone line earlier than the autumn, and maybe even as soon as March 2016.

2) We expect a 4.7-inch phone (called the iPhone 7), and a 5.5-inch model (the iPhone 7 Plus). If Apple does make another 4-inch iPhone (which, thanks to the success of the larger iPhones, is by no means a certainty) then we think it'll be called something like the iPhone 7 mini, but iPhone 6c, iPhone 6e and iPhone 5se are possibilities too.

3) The iPhone 7 is likely to get a substantial physical redesign after the largely identical iPhone 6/6s generations. It's too early to know what direction Apple will pick, but it's likely to be thinner than ever: removing the headphone jack would be one way to help achieve this, forcing music fans to use wireless Bluetooth headphones, or headphones that connect via the Lightning port, or an adaptor. The 'no headphone jack' rumour is starting to gather momentum, with multiple 'confirmations' via multiple (but anonymous) supply chain sources, although we've yet to see firm evidence ourselves. Other design tweaks could include a flush camera and the removal of the antenna bars.

iPhone 7 concept illustration

4) Battery life in the iPhone 7 may be a little better than in the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, but Jony Ive's comments have made it plain that Apple doesn't consider a higher battery life to be worth significant sacrifices in other areas (we suspect that, if they're honest, most smartphone buyers would agree) and Apple's larger-screen iPhones have decent batteries already. You can always buy the lovely new battery pack case.

5) Higher screen resolution is a possibility - Apple undermined its own 'Retina is as sharp as your eyes can see' myth with the iPhone 6 Plus, and the company is playing catchup against many of its rivals in terms of screen resolution. Apple may well take the higher pixel density that was exclusive to the iPhone 6 Plus and 6s Plus (401 pixels per inch, as compared to 326ppi for all non-Plus iPhones), and apply it to all the models in the next generation; it could even raise the pixel density further than this, although we fear that this is unlikely. And a harder screen material would play well, whether Apple manages to resurrect the sapphire situation or goes with Corning's new Project Phire.

6) 16GB will surely be phased out as the lowest storage offering. It's nowhere near enough in this day and age. We hope and expect the iPhone 7 to start at 32GB, with 64GB and 128GB options.

7) The iPhone 7 could get a USB-C port, like the new 12-inch MacBook, but we think this is unlikely. The change from 30-pin to Lightning is recent enough (and was painful enough for many users) that to switch again now would be highly controversial.

8) And as for the other out-there rumours? 3D screen: no. Curved display: probably not. Flexible display: nope. Edge-to-edge screen: yes, quite possibly. Spring-out gaming joystick in the Home button: definitely not. Wireless charging: quite possibly. Better waterproofing: a reasonable bet, although the self-healing ports aren't likely to appear for a while yet.

iPhone 7 design rumours: Buttonless design

In mid October, Piper Jaffrey analyst Gene Munster (who is notorious for his Apple Television predictions, which have so far proved to be inaccurate) has suggested that the iPhone 7 won't have a Home button, thanks to the new 3D Touch technology found in the iPhone 6s display.

"3D Touch may provide Apple with a way to eliminate the home button on the phone and use the additional space to make the screen bigger or the device smaller," he said. "One barrier to this could be Touch ID, which is integrated into the home button currently. Apple would need to move the Touch ID reader to potentially the side of the phone to remove the home button."

As we discuss later in this article, an Apple patent has revealed that the company is investigating ways to build the Touch ID sensor into the screen itself, so Munster's theory doesn't seem implausible, but as proven with his Apple television predictions, Munster isn't always right... even he says that the odds of a buttonless iPhone 7 are 50%.

iPhone 7 design rumours: Could we even get a thicker chassis? (Probably not.)

We expect the iPhone 7 to be thinner, as explained above, but a lot of users feel that the iPhones have already reached the peak of useful thinness - in the sense that reducing the thickness of the devices any further is going to compromise on qualities such as physical robustness without offering any real benefits in terms of portability. It's even possible that the iPhone 7 could be a bit thicker, if Apple feels it can use this change to incorporate useful new features. We think this is unlikely, but let's run with the theory as a thought experiment.

One reason why the iPhone 7 may be thicker than the iPhone 6s, for instance, would be so that it can feature what Apple calls "sidewall displays".

Apple has published a patent relating to such displays, hinting that a future iPhone could feature a display that extends on to the sides of the device (or a slim second display sitting on the side of the device). This could give access to the slide-to-unlock functionality, music player controls, messaging readout, caller ID, system controls and more.

iPhone 7 design rumours: Non-metal body

The Weibo source who spills the beans on Apple's waterproofing tests in our new features section also reckons that the iPhone 6s & 6s Plus will be the last iPhones to be made of metal. The iPhone 7 will have a chassis made of something else.

But made of what? We don't know. Although liquid metal, ceramics, plastics and sapphire have all been thrown around as possibilities. We find it odd that Apple would ditch its metal design so soon after upgrading to 7000-series aluminium, but radical design changes cannot be ruled out for a full-number iPhone update, and as mentioned above a report from Business Korea in February seems to suggest that ceramic is indeed a possibility.

iPhone 7 design rumours: Curved wraparound screen

We're into the realm of patents here, which we would generally warn readers means we're talking about developments that could easily end up appearing in a shipped product several years down the line or not appearing at all - Apple, like most tech companies, routinely applies for far more patents than it's ever going to use. But this one has actually been granted (it was applied for a few years back) so it could be reasonably close to reality.

iPhone 7 release date rumours: Wraparound screen

Patent 9,146,590 refers to an "electronic device with wrap around display". And essentially it describes a curved screen that allows for more screen elements to be displayed without making the device significantly bigger. (Remember that the illustrations rarely represent what the designer has in mind. In theory the display could wrap entirely around the device, or at least extend over one edge like the Note Edge.)

While the patent talks about a "flexible display assembly", it's important to note that this isn't a patent for a bendable screen: the flexible portion of the display is attached to the interior surface of the curved transparent housing, which "provides a rigid support structure that prevents deformation".

This patent, like the wraparound display patent mentioned in the new features section, was spotted by Patently Apple.

iPhone 7 design rumours: The flexible iPhone

If we can return to the subject of patents, here's one that's pretty leftfield. We don't expect this to appear in the next generation of iPhone, but it's an intriguing insight into the design directions Apple is considering - or choosing to pretend it's considering.

Apple was recently awarded a patent for 'Flexible electronic devices', covering both flexible device bodies on the exterior and flexible components inside.

iPHone 7 launch rumours: Flexible iPhone 7 patent

"A flexible electronic device may include a flexible display, a flexible housing and one or more flexible internal components configured to allow the flexible electronic device to be deformed," the patent explains.

That really would be a bold riposte to Bendgate: transforming it from a bug to a feature, in effect (even though, as we've repeatedly pointed out, the iPhone 6 Plus is hardly unusual in its susceptibility to strenuous bending). The iPhone would bend, the screen would bend, the battery inside would bend, everything would be fine.

It's still hard to see exactly what this would gain us, though, as opposed to the converse rumour (discussed further down this section) holding that Apple will beef up the iPhone 7's durability by using the 7000 Series aluminium alloy from the Apple Watch Sport.

iPhone 7 design rumours: Samsung to make iPhone 7's flexible display

According to the latest reports, Samsung Display is set to make flexible OLED displays for the iPhone 7. The rumour stems from claims that Samsung is reaching out to display tech companies in South Korea that they're hoping will lend a hand with building the displays, as the order from Apple will be huge.

Samsung may even be intending to invest billions in an new factory in which it'll manufature the displays.

At present, iPhones use LCD displays, but the Apple Watch uses a flexible OLED so it's certainly possible that Apple intends to bring the tech to the iPhone. We're not talking flexible in the same way as the patent above, though. It'll simply mean that the screen could curve around the design of the iPhone 7 more accurately, hinting further at an edge-to-edge display. It'll also likely be used to improve 3D Touch.

iPhone 7 design rumours: Touch ID built into the screen

In the continuing march of miniaturisation, one of the elements of the iPhone design that's proved resistant to shrinkage is the bezel below the screen - it can't get much smaller than it already is because it needs to house the Home button. Which is why a recurring theory is that Apple will extend the screen down past the Home button, or even incorporate the Touch ID sensor that lives in the recent iPhones' Home button into the touchscreen.

Technology that would facilitate such a development was recently announced by a biometric R&D company called Sonavation.

"Sonavation," the firm declares, "has reached an industry milestone by successfully developing and bonding an ultrasound biometric sensor which is compatible with Corning Gorilla Glass, providing a high-resolution 3D fingerprint image."

This would enable Apple (which is known to use Gorilla Glass in its iPhones, even if the supplier is apparently not permitted to say this publicly) to run the screen vertically edge-to-edge, with no cut-out for the Home button. The Home button could occupy the same position but appear only when needed, much like the software keyboard; and the technology for Touch ID would be bonded to the underside of the screen at the appropriate point.

iPhone 7 design rumours: Touch ID built into screen

Last year Apple filed a patent that appeared to back up the theory that it's looking into ideas like this. Patent application number 20150036065, for "a  fingerprint sensor... incorporated in a display stack in an electronic device", was filed by a number of Apple's engineers in April 2014 and published recently. Here are some of the accompanying illustrations (although you should bear in mind that patent images are almost universally ugly, and shouldn't bear much resemblance to what the finished design would look like):

iPhone 7 new features rumours: Touch ID built into screen

We're still not completely sure what this design would achieve, since (as you can see in the iPhone illustration in Fig. 1) it doesn't even do away with the Home button, and therefore doesn't increase the amount of screen area.

And we've not been blown away by the reliability of the Touch ID sensor on the iPhone 5s, which seems to be hyper-sensitive to any quantity of grease sitting on the Home button. (Granted, the 6s and 6s Plus sensors seem more reliable, as well as faster.) Given how smudged an iPhone screen can get, this seems like it could be even worse, even before you factor in potential complications of embedded the sensor within the screen elements.

iPhone 7 rumours: New features

There's a lot more to the iPhone 7 than screen size, of course. What new features can we expect to see?

iPhone 7 could 'dry itself by shooting water out of its speakers'

One of the most-read articles on Macworld is a tutorial discussing ways of drying out an iPhone that's got wet: it's a distressing, and distressingly common, thing to happen to a device that costs several hundred pounds and contains important, sensitive and possibly unrecoverable data.

For this reason readers and pundits frequently speculate on the possibility that future iPhones will be waterproof. Indeed, the most recent generation of iPhone models are the most waterproof yet; but we still wouldn't be pleased if the iPhone 6s fell in a paddling pool.

A patent published on 12 November suggests a radical new solution to the water logging issue: a mechanism whereby the iPhone can dry itself by pumping water - or other liquid - out through its speaker grills.

iPhone 7 release date rumour: Water expelling patent

Patent application 20150326959, wonderfully, is called LIQUID EXPULSION FROM AN ORIFICE.

"The embodiments described herein are directed to an acoustic module that is configured to remove all or a portion of a liquid that has accumulated within a cavity of the acoustic modules," the patent's summary reads.

The concept is centred around modules within the speaker cavities that can be made more or less hydrophobic, depending on the charge applied to them: when liquid is detected, charges would be applied across the various modules in such a way that the liquid would be moved across the modules and ultimately expelled from the cavity.

We love the idea almost as much as the name of the patent, but as with most of the more interesting patents we hear about, it's unlikely to bear fruit in a real shipped product for a little while.

iPhone 7 new features: Self-healing ports

One solution to the waterproofing conundrum used on rival smartphones has been small removable caps that sit over the ports that are vulnerable to water. But these tend to be fiddly, and a bit ugly: not very Apple. What about if the ports were covered, but you didn't need to take anything out before plugging in your headphone or charging cable?

This sounds more sci-fi than R&D, but a patent application published on 10 December 2015 shows that Apple has been looking at the possibility of using port seals that can be pierced by a male plug connector, and then heal themselves back to waterproof integrity after the connector is removed.

Patent application 20150357741, called ELECTRONIC DEVICE WITH HIDDEN CONNECTOR, describes "a self-healing elastomer applied over one or more external electronic connectors" that may "provide environmental protection for the connector and the electronic device".

iPhone 7 release date & new feature rumours: Self-healing ports

The plug is forced through the elastomer seal whenever a connection is needed.

"Electronic probes may temporarily penetrate the self-healing elastomer to mate with the electronic connector," the application explains. "After removal of the probes the self-healing elastomer may elastically reform and self-heal."

Self-healing materials are currently used in a variety of products, such as smartphone cases and screen protectors, so this isn't quite as fanciful a concept as it might sound to the uninitiated. We haven't been particularly impressed by such products thus far, but part of the problem is aesthetic: when you've got a scratch on your iPhone's screen protector you would expect the self-healing mechanism to remove the scratch so effectively that you can't see it was ever there, but our experience suggests that isn't practical with current technology. But Apple's concept only needs the self-healing to be effective in a crude, broad sense - making the aperture waterproof again, without it having to look perfect.

For those who are interested in materials sciences, here's what Apple's application has to say about the self-healing elastomer:

"[0039] Self-healing elastomer 315 may be a polymer with elastic properties such as a low Young's modulus and a high failure strain. In further embodiments, self-healing elastomer 315 may comprise a silicone material, also known as a polymerized siloxane. In some embodiments, the polymerized siloxane may be mixed inorganic-organic polymers with the chemical formula [R2SiO]n, where R is an organic group such as methyl, ethyl, or phenyl. In these embodiments the silicone material may comprise an inorganic silicon-oxygen backbone with organic side groups attached to the silicon atoms. In further embodiments self-healing elastomer 315 may include one or more materials that change its color. In some embodiments self-healing elastomer 315 may approximately match a color of housing 150. Other formulations may be used without departing from the invention."

Via Cult of Mac

iPhone 7 new features: Waterproofing - and official waterproofing this time

And while we're on the subject of waterproofing...

It's been claimed on the Chinese micro-blogging site Weibo that Apple is testing out waterproof designs for the iPhone 7. (Mac Otakara, which picked up on the claims, says that dustproofing is also being looked at, although we can't spot any mention of this in the original posts. Perhaps it's an issue related to translation.) This is reportedly and unsurprisingly at a very early stage - "volume production is very low!", the (translated) post points out - but is being assessed ahead of work starting on prototype designs.

The claims remain just that at this point, of course, since we have only the word of a Weibo user to back this up. (A user who cites 15 years of experience in integrated circuit design and has - a presumably respectable - 32,904 fans on the site, but still.) If they are true, though, it's likely that more leaks and evidence will emerge in the months to come, and we'll update this article with any developments.

What we're talking here, at any rate, is proper official waterproofing, since brave early buyers have discovered that the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus are themselves much better at dealing with submersion than previous Apple devices. Apple evidently doesn't feel quite confident enough about this upgrade to name it as a new feature (which is odd, since this would be a big step forward to boast about). We saw similar reticence with the Apple Watch, which Apple would only claim as splash-proof but appears to be basically waterproof in any reasonable conditions.

Whether the iPhone 7, then, will be announced as Apple's first officially waterproof phone (regardless of its true capabilities) remains to be seen. Some commenters to the original Weibo post, indeed, predicted that waterproofing wouldn't be seen until the iPhone 7s… but now we're really getting ahead of ourselves.

iPhone 7 new features: Wireless charging

It's a perennial rumour for upcoming Apple devices, but wireless charging could be a reality this time around: it didn't arrive with the iPhone 6s as some had predicted, but was introduced to the Apple Watch as inductive charging.

As iMore's Rene Ritchie points out, inductive charging hasn't been practical for the iPhone in previous years because the technology available at the time didn't work through an aluminium backplate (the Apple Watch, which does offer wireless charging, has a ceramic back). But this could all be about to change in the near(ish) future. In July Qualcomm announced a wireless charging breakthrough that does work through metal. This came too late for the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, but the technology may appear in a subsequent generation of Apple smartphone.

It has to be said that, whatever the reasoning behind it, Apple is behind a lot its rivals in this respect. The Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge both offer wireless charging, as does the Google Nexus 6 and the Motoroloa Droid Turbo, but the tech has been available in a handful of phones since around 2010. (Electric toothbrushes have had it since the 1990s.)

Indeed, there have been inductive charging cases available for the iPhone for some time, and nearly two years ago we were talking about the technology appearing in what we were then referring to as the iPad 5: iPad 5 patent: inductive Smart Cover contains battery.

Wireless charging sounds amazing, but we should stress that at the moment inductive charging has a very short range; so you wouldn't be able to just sit at your desk and have your iPhone (in your pocket) charge from the plug several feet away. Rather, you'd place the device on a wired mat. Convenient, but not quite as space-age as it might have sounded when we talked about 'wireless charging'.

The artist Yasser Farahi, whose work appears lower down in the images and videos section, has come up with a mocked-up advert for this feature:

iPhone 7 concept illustration by Yasser Farahi: wireless charging

iPhone 7 new features: Anti-overheating tech

Some iPhone 6s users have been complaining that their Touch ID fingerprint sensors have been overheating, causing the home button to become "burning hot," but that should soon be a thing of the past if Apple's latest patent is anything to go by.

On 13 October, a new Apple patent was published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office that describes a method of automatically capping its power usage in order to cool down. It would use a built-in temperature sensor that would monitor the heat of the iPhone and adjust its power usage accordingly.

This tech could well make its way into the iPhone 7 in order to address the overheating issues.

iPhone 7 new features: Gesture passcode

There was a small amount of mild irritation when iOS 9 launched and Apple started to ask us to set up 6-digit passcodes on new iPhones (instead of 4-digit ones) by default. Our tutorial explaining how to go back to 4 digits has been quite popular, but we should probably point out that improved device security isn't an entirely terrible thing.

Meanwhile, the next iPhone - or one a few generations down the line, since we're talking patents again - could entirely transform the way we unlock our devices. Apple has been granted a patent for a gesture-based passcode system.

iPhone 7 release date rumours: Gesture passcodes

The patent - number 9,147,058 - is labelled "Gesture entry techniques", and describes its claims thus:

"The present embodiments relate to the use of security measures based on non-alphanumeric inputs that are user configurable (as opposed to purely biometric inputs) to control access to restricted information or functions. For example, access to confidential information may be based on a gesture input via a touch sensitive input device, such as a touch sensitive display or touchpad. A gesture may be used to invoke one or more authentication screens, such as, a gesture entry screen, a gesture replay screen, and a gesture re-entry verification screen, for accessing confidential information or functions that may be otherwise unavailable."

We've seen this before in Android world, but it would be a nice option for iOS users. Apple's been on the case with this since 2012, but has finally been granted the patent, so we're hopeful that it could make an appearance at some point in the near future - whether touted as a feature of the iPhone 7, or as a software update as part of iOS 10, or as a feature that relies on both.

iPhone 7 new features: No SIM card…

Will Apple ditch SIM cards?

A report in the Financial Times [paywall] in late July suggests that smartphones with physical SIM cards may soon be a thing of the past, as Apple and other smartphone manufacturers come closer to agreeing a standard for a built-in software/electronic SIM.

The FT predicts that this project is more likely to bear fruit in the 2016 generation of iPhones than the ones released in autumn 2015; this year's iPhones (the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, perhaps) are more likely to come with an Apple-branded hardware SIM like the iPad Air 2. The Apple SIM (which we discuss in the next section) works with multiple networks, offering many of the same benefits as a software SIM but requiring less wrangling with the networks.

iPhone 7 new features: or a pre-installed 'Apple SIM'

The same source who told AppleInsider about the RAM increase (in the specs section, above) also reckons that the iPhone 7 is likely to come with a pre-installed Apple SIM.

"[The Apple SIM], which also made its debut with the iPad Air 2, allows consumers to sign up for mobile data plans from any participating carrier directly from the Settings app without long-term contracts and to switch providers at any time," says the site.

This is unlikely to be a popular move with the carriers, although it may be a hit with users. Read more about the Apple SIM in this article:

Apple's new SIM and what it means to you in the UK

iPhone 7 new features: Dynamic Home button

This one sounds a little like the 'joystick Home button' rumour we look at below, but is rather more plausible.

Apple has published a new patent for a Home that is sensitive to gestures: you'd be able to swipe across it, or lean a thumb in one direction to scroll the screen of a game, for example, that way.

As BusinessInsider puts it:

"The patent details an iOS home button capable of detecting various gestures along with the force of each touch. In other words, imagine Force Touch , albeit applied to the home button as opposed to the device's display."

It certainly sounds less damage-prone than the 'pop-out' Home button we heard about earlier this year, and which we find very hard to imagine appearing in the iPhone 7. Then again, plenty of pundits have been speculating about Apple doing away with the Home button entirely - as is the case on a number of Android smartphones - and installing Touch ID on the screen itself. Colour us unconvinced.

See also: EE WiFi calling - What is it and how do I set it up on my iPhone?

iPhone 7 new features: 'Joystick'-style Home button for gamers

This rumour is pretty far out there, and we're not sure it's realistic to expect this to appear in any Apple devices for a while yet. But it's definitely an interesting idea.

Essentially the concept is this: the Home button on the iPhone 7 would be able to 'pop up' on a little spring and turn into a sort of mini-joystick for playing games. There are plenty of iOS games that would benefit from a hardware controller (this explains the enduring popularity of Bluetooth gaming controller accessories) and this sounds like a lot of fun.

But gamers remain only one section of the iPhone's audience, and it seems like a risky idea to potentially compromise the resilience of everyone's iPhone Home button (which has famously been very prone to breakage in the past) for a feature that would benefit only some users.

A wacky idea that we're not convinced by, then - but one that is backed up by an Apple patent: application 20150015475, originally filed on 9 July 2013 but only published by the US Patent Office on 15 January 2015. So somebody at Cupertino thinks the idea is worth a thought.

iPhone 7 release date rumours: patent for 'joystick' Home button

(Bear in mind, however, that Apple often patents ideas that it doesn't actually build - to cover itself for future changes of plan, to avoid patent trolling, and perhaps even to mislead rivals about its direction.)

Best iPhone (and iPad) games

iPhone 7 new features: New charger

In August 2014, rumours about a new iPhone charger emerged, suggesting that the USB part of the charger could be reversible, just like the Lightning connector.

A video showing what's believed to be a new charger for a future with a reversible fully reversible USB Lightning cable emerged on the web earlier in 2014. It shows the USB being plugged in to the adapter both ways, in the same way that the Lightning connector itself is reversible.

iPhone 7 new features: iOS 10

iOS 10 is also likely to introduce new features at a software level. Among the features we're hoping to see in iOS 10: improved parental controls and group FaceTime calls.

We should get our first glimpse of iOS 10 complete with plenty of clues about future iPhones and iPads during WWDC 2016 in June, where Apple will show off what it's been working on when it comes to software. You can find out more about what to expect from iOS 10 in our iOS 10 rumour round-up.

Interestingly, Apple has revealed new features in iOS 9.3, which is already available as a public beta and should be released in its final form soon. iOS 9.3 includes new Night Mode, new 3D Touch shortcuts, new tactic feedback and more. Read more in our iOS 9.3 article.

iPhone 7 new features: Apple patents

Looking closer at Apple's patent portfolio, we can come up with some further iPhone 7 features that could well be on the cards for 2015. Face recognition could be used to unlock the device, or the entire display of the iPhone 7 could be a Touch ID fingerprint sensor, eliminating the need for a Home button and making room for a larger display.

Take a look at our Apple patent round-up for more features that Apple is investigating for future products.

iPhone 7 rumours: Specifications

It's time to get a bit more technical. Let's talk iPhone 7 specs.

iPhone 7 specs rumours: LiFi

The latest rumour about the iPhone 7's specs relates to LiFi, a new wireless standard that boasts 100x faster download speeds than conventional WiFi connections. LiFi uses visible light communication (VLC) instead of radio waves like conventional WiFi routers.

Intrigued? Find out more about LiFi in our complete guide over at PC Advisor.

iPhone 7 specs rumours: Stacked battery cells

One rumour holds that Apple will take the battery developments it deployed in the 12-inch MacBook - whereby contoured, layered battery units are stacked inside the chassis in order to take up every possible inch of space - and use these to squeeze more battery volume inside the iPhone 7.

(According to Wired's write-up, Apple actually claims to adjust its battery contours on a machine-by-machine basis, by photographing the inside of the chassis and modifying the battery stack to fit all the tiny imperfections - which, if it's true, is amazing.)

Apple could even, thanks to the new battery technology, make more radical changes to the overall design of the iPhone, because its engineers no longer to base their work on a fixed battery shape; although the idea of Jony Ive coming up with a BlackBerry Passport-esque square design at this point in the iPhone's history is a little off-putting.

iPhone 7 release date rumours: Battery life

Smartphone battery life is one of those things that everyone says is important, and once again Apple will hear many requests for improved battery life in the iPhone 7 - but you do wonder how much of a compromise the average Apple fan would be willing to make in return. What if, in order to achieve a superb battery life, the iPhone 7 was twice the weight, or cost significantly more? What if the screen was less powerful or the processor scaled back?

Mirroring these thoughts somewhat, Jony Ive discussed battery life briefly in an interview with the Financial Times' 'How to spend it' supplement recently. And he gave fairly heavy hints that Apple doesn't think battery life is a high enough priority to make compromises in other areas worth it.

"Talking of performance, when the issue of the frequent need to recharge the iPhone is raised, [Ive] answers that it's because it's so light and thin that we use it so much and therefore deplete the battery. With a bigger battery it would be heavier, more cumbersome, less 'compelling'."

It's possible that will see conservative increases in battery life, as we did with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. But those advances were feasible because the bodies of those devices were larger, and they could therefore accommodate larger batteries. And it sounds like Apple won't be sacrificing portability to make the iPhone 7 have a significantly better battery life.

Sorry, everyone. Still, cheer up: as the Express reports, Apple was recently granted a patent that would allow it to embed solar panels under the screen of future iPhones, thereby doing away with the need to charge them up at all. No, it's not going to appear in the iPhone 7, but some day…

iPhone 7 specs rumours: What does the new battery pack tell us about iPhone 7 battery life?

In December 2015 Apple gave its critics an early Christmas present by unveiling a battery pack for the iPhone 6 and 6s that is, without wishing to be unpleasant and apologies for the language, pretty gosh-darn ugly. (To be fair, we've not yet got our hands on a review sample, so we may be won over by its feel, performance, usability and so on.)

iPhone 7 release date & new features rumours: Battery life

In a single surprising step the company put its famed sense of taste and design nous in doubt (coming after the suspect decision to put the charge port for the Magic Mouse 2 on its bottom), and simultaneously reminded everyone that iPhone battery life is generally felt to be subpar.

Is this a tacit acknowledgement that battery life is a problem for the iPhone range? Can we therefore expect the iPhone 7 to see improvements in this department as Apple looks for a more full-time and less bulky solution to the issue?

We might (battery technology is improving all the time), but this probably isn't the mea culpa some iPhone users were looking for. When discussing the new case, Tim Cook emphasised that it wasn't for everyone (at £80 you'd hope not), and that he felt that even those who did need the case would only use it in relatively extreme scenarios when power wouldn't be available for a long time: when hiking, for example.

I would agree that Apple is aware that battery life is a concern for a lot of its customers, but it knew that long before it released its battery pack. And battery life remains a question of compromises, such that increasing it always necessitates either making a device thicker, heavier or more expensive, or choosing not to make it thinner, lighter or cheaper when you could have done.

I still believe that most people would rather have a thin, relatively cheap iPhone than a fat, more expensive iPhone with an extra two hours of battery life. And now anyone who would be willing to make that compromise now has an officially sanctioned alternative: spend the extra money, make your phone fatter and uglier, and get the battery pack.

In a crazy sort of way, the ugliness of the battery pack almost makes sense as a demonstration of what drastically improved battery life actually looks like. "You want twice the battery life? Even if that means your iPhone has a massive lump on the back? Yeah, DIDN'T THINK SO."

iPhone 7 specs rumours: iPhone 7 to get 3GB of RAM

Unusually reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has predicted that the iPhone 7 Plus - but not the iPhone 7 - will feature 3GB of RAM, according to AppleInsider.

We weren't expecting an upgrade in this department just yet; three generations of iPhone (from the iPhone 5 to the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus) came with 1GB of RAM, and this was only bumped to 2GB last year for the 6s and 6s Plus. We expected at least one more generation with 2GB, and potentially two.

Still, Kuo is right more often than he's wrong, and the idea of offering an additional differentiator for the Plus model is appealing. (Other than a larger screen, the 6s Plus offers longer battery life than the 6s and optical image stabilisation for video. It's debatable whether this is enough to justify the extra £80 to £90.)

iPhone 7 specs rumours: Intel LTE chips

According to new reports, Intel has 1,000 people working to get its 7360 LTE chip ready for the 2016 iPhone. Currently, Apple uses Qualcomm's 9X45 LTE chips in all of its iPhones, so this could be a huge deal for Intel.

iPhone 7 specs rumours: A10 processor could be six-core... possibly

A Weibo-sourced rumour, this one - and one that requires even more pinches of salt that the chap who told us about the waterproofing tests. (The Weibo user we're going to quote has just 1,688 fans, compared to the 32,904 who follow our previous source.)

Be healthily sceptical, then, when we report the prediction that the A10 processor in the iPhone 7 will have six cores - a huge leap after sticking with dual-core systems-on-a-chip from the iPhone 4s to the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. It goes without saying that this would create an absolute beast of a smartphone, but whether Apple would consider such gains worth the undoubted compromises and costs required to achieve this - we can't say we're convinced.

Via Cult of Mac.

Incidentally, Cult of Mac also reckons that Apple is already ordering supplies of the A10, 10 months ahead of the expected launch of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

"Apple has placed LCD driver orders with Synaptics for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, indicating that the touch and display driver (TDDI) single-chip solutions its been developing in-house aren't quite ready for prime time," writes the site.

Further reports have emerged seemingly confirming the rumour that Samsung will be cut out of the processing supply deal for the iPhone 7's A10 chip, losing the entire contract to rival TSMC.

Samsung and TSMC shared the deal for the A9 processor in the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, but a minor scandal (promptly christened, inevitably, 'batterygate') developed when it emerged that devices running TSMC's chip (which should in principle have been less efficient as a result of being made on a 16nm process instead of a 14nm one) were fractionally faster and had slightly better battery life. Some analysts believe that this minor victory will result in TSMC getting to make all of the A10s.

Indeed, this rumour is sufficiently credible for one analyst firm to lower its stock price target for Samsung - its chip supply business is vital to the health of the company as a whole, and the iPhone gig is clearly one of the biggest and most lucrative in the industry.

iPhone 7 specs rumours: Camera

iPhone 6 Plus camera

It's possible that the iPhone 7's cameras will see another bump in megapixel rating, after the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus went from 8Mp to 12Mp (rear-facing) and 1.2Mp to 5Mp (front-facing). But we tend to think that Apple prefers to change the way its iPhone cameras work rather than focusing on their specs. And if a patent published in March (but applied for back in 2011) is any indicator, Apple is pondering a bold new camera miniaturisation technology based on what it calls "a light splitter cube".

"The cube splits the incident light into first, second, and third color components that emerge from the cube through a first face, a second face, and a third face of the cube, respectively," the patent explains. "First, second, and third image sensors are provided, each being positioned to receive a respective one of the color components that emerge from the first, second, and third faces of the cube."

iPhone 7 rumours: New camera patent

Above: a selection of the illustrations provided as part of the patent application. That's an interesting placement for the dock connector, isn't it? (Note, too, that it appears to take the form of the old 30-pin connector, since Lightning wasn't introduced until 2012.)

As Business Insider points out, this isn't a wholly new development, but rather a miniaturisation of an existing system (used in video camera, for instance) in order to make it suitable for a smartphone or similar ultraportable device. If this does make an appearance in the iPhone 7, it could lead to improved colour and light capture and reduced blur when the camera moves.

On the other hand, patent-based rumours should always be viewed with a certain degree of scepticism, since the majority either never see the light of day as actual shipped products, or do so many years after the public hope or expect them to. It's widely believed that Apple routinely files patents it has little intention of using, in order to head off or mislead competitors, and in any case these were very much at the concept stage when the patent was filed. Who knows how the company's plans have changed since 2011.

A more reliable gauge of near-future camera upgrades - since Apple has spent $20m on it, and is therefore rather more commited to the idea - is its recent acquisition of a company called LinX, which makes 3D camera sensors.

LinX's cameras are tiny, but the company claims they are a match for digital SLR cameras in performance terms. And their depth-sensing capabilities make them ideal for facial recognition and 3D-scanning, as well as post-shot refocusing. The possibilities that this would open to developers - apps that translate 3D scans into plans for 3D printers, for instance - are highly appealing.

Daring Fireball's John Gruber has quoted a source who claims the iPhone 7's camera will have a two-lens system that could help allow users to capture "DSLR-quality imagery".

A dual-lens design offers a number of advantages over the present (admittedly highly acclaimed) iPhone camera setup, including the option to add an optical zoom. It's also been suggested that future iPhone cameras will have better performance in low-light conditions.

For a real-world example of the technology, the HTC One M8 already features a rear-facing camera that uses a dual-lens system. (See iPhone 6 vs HTC One M8 comparison.)

NEW: In February, further rumours about a dual-camera on the rear of the iPhone 7 emerged, but they suggest that the tech will be limited to the bigger iPhone 7 Plus and won't feature in the smaller model. Those rumours are backed up by Sony's comments about dual lens cameras: "Our so-called dual lens - dual camera - platform will be launched by, we believe, major smartphone players," said Sony's CFO. "The real start, the takeoff smartphone with dual lens camera will be in the year of 2017," he said, which could indicate that the iPhone

Plus, Digitimes has said that Largan Technology, which is believed to be one of Apple's main camera suppliers, has sent dual-camera samples to Apple for testing.

Optical zoom, based on multiple cameras (patent)

On 7 January 2016, an Apple patent was published that may have a bearing on future iPhone developments - although almost certainly not on the iPhone 7, except in the very general sense of 'this is the sort of development Apple has been considering recently'. (The application was published on 7 Jan; it was applied for back in June 2015, but it isn't likely to be granted for a good while yet, with another 6 to 18 months a reasonable ballpark figure.)

Apple is looking at ways to implement optical zoom in its iPhone (and possibly iPad) cameras.

Patent 20160007008, entitled MOBILE CAMERA SYSTEM, describes the use of "multiple cameras to provide optical zoom to a user". Needless to say, this means multiple cameras facing in the same direction, rather than the front- and rear-facing cameras already present on the current range of iPhone and iPad models.

iPhone 7 rumours: Optical zoom patent

"Increasingly," explains the patent, "as users rely on these multifunction devices [smartphones and tablets] as their primary cameras for day-to-day use, users demand features, such as zoom photography, that they have become accustomed to using in dedicated-purpose camera bodies. The zoom function is useful for capturing the details of a scene or alternatively capturing the context in which those details exist. The ability to change focal length to achieve zoom effects is sufficiently compelling to users of dedicated purpose cameras that it compels them to carry bags with an array of removable lenses, each of which weighs more and takes up more space than many common examples of a multifunction device, such as a phone."

In order to achieve this, Apple proposes the use of side-by-side cameras, potentially with different focal lengths, and adds that it may be desirable to store the images taken by each camera separately.

Via Techworm

iPhone 7 specs rumours: Storage capacity - The end of 16GB?

Each time the iPhones get updated we speculate about the possibility that Apple will boost storage: removing the 16GB baseline option and starting at 32GB. (At the moment, for the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus at any rate, there is a curiously isolated 16GB model, a gap, and then the 64GB and 128GB models above. You can buy a 16GB and 64GB iPhone 6 and 6 Plus (no 128GB option any more), while the iPhone 5s comes in 16GB and 32GB.)

We're hopeful that this will finally happen with the iPhone 7, and we'd be glad to see the back of the 16GB storage tier, which we increasingly find unrealistically restrictive for the average user.

Many iPhone users find that 16GB isn't enough for their day-to-day needs, but the price jump up to 64GB (the 32GB models have been phased out) puts them off shelling out for more storage.

Read next: Why is an iPhone's true storage capacity less than its advertised capacity?

iPhone 7 specs: Screen size

What screen size will the iPhone 7 have? There are a number of competing theories.

Of the three smartphone screen sizes Apple currently sells, the 4.7 inches of the iPhone 6 appears to be the favourite among customers. The iPhone 6s Plus and its 5.5-inch screen strikes many people as too big; the 4-inch iPhone 5s seems too old-fashioned and titchy to many more. 4.7 inches may be the sweet spot for the average Apple fan.

But it seems unlikely that Apple will give up on its other screen sizes as easily as that. For one thing, there are definitely smartphone users out there who still value smaller devices: those with smaller hands, those who prefer to use their smartphone one-handed, people who just don't like change. (That last category includes the author of this article, to be quite candid. I wrote a little about the significance of very small alterations in the size and shape of smartphones in an article that I called The handbag theory.)

iPhone 7 rumours: iPhone 5s and iPhone 6 Plus

Apple may seek to placate this market by updating its 4-inch line-up. And while they have been consistently outsold by the iPhone 6 and 6s, the Plus models haven't been a sales disaster either - and they're important products for Apple in terms of prestige and acquiring a foothold in new markets.

For simplicity, therefore, we're predicting three new iPhones from Apple over the next year or so. An update of the iPhone 5s with a 4-inch screen, which could be called the iPhone 7 mini; a 4.7-inch update of the iPhone 6, which we're calling the iPhone 7; and a new phablet, based on the iPhone 6 Plus, with a 5.5-inch screen. This last update is the one we're calling the iPhone 7 Plus.

Does the new iPod touch make an updated 4-inch iPhone more likely?

Our colleague Jason Snell, writing for Macworld US, discusses the theory that Apple’s recent refresh of its iPod touch line may signal a similar update to its line of 4-inch iPhones.

"The new iPod touch, for all its advancements, still sports the same 4-inch Retina display as the iPhone 5, 5s, and 5c. And it makes me wonder if maybe, just maybe, it's the first hint that we’ll be seeing an updated 4-inch iPhone this fall.

"My guess is that there will be a new 4-inch iPhone this fall. It might look more like a small iPhone 6, or it might take a cue from the new iPod touch and remain exactly the same on the outside, while being completely different internally. But will it be a "cheap iPhone"? I doubt it. More likely, it'll be outfitted with last year’s iPhone 6 technology and fill the slot that’s one step down from whatever replaces the iPhone 6."

There are plenty of fans of the smaller, 4-inch-screen form factor here in the Macworld UK office, and we think it would be unwise of Apple to abandon this market entirely. Read the rest of Jason's thoughts here.

iPhone 7 specs rumours: 3D display

The iPhone 7 could feature a 3D display, according to Economic Daily News, which claims that Apple supply chain partner TPK is working on a project that relates to "naked eye 3D screen" - in other words, a 3D screen that doesn't require glasses to see.

iPhone 7 specs rumours: OLED display

We leave this until last, because it's a rumour that apparently affects the iPhone 8 generation rather than the upcoming iPhone 7. Samsung, which supplies components for the iPhone range despite being a major rival in the smartphone market, has reportedly been pressuring Apple into using OLED screens rather than the LCD ones currently included.

BGR claims Apple will give in to this pressure and start using OLEDs in 2018, which (assuming Apple continues to follow current traditions) would be the year of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, the 7s generation having launched in 2017.

OLED screens are more desirable than LCD in a number of ways: they produce sharper, more brightly coloured images, and are more power-efficient. (The Apple Watch uses an OLED screen.) But they cost more to manufacture, which explains Apple's reluctance to deploy them in iPhones thus far.

iPhone 7 images, leaked photos and videos

We can't wait to see what the iPhone 7 looks like. We won't know for sure until Apple reveals the new design in September, but there are ways to get a sneak preview before then.

Every year one or more factory workers in the Apple hardware supply chain gives into temptation and starts posting photos of prototype or even production units, and we'll post them here as soon as they emerge. There are also loads of talented designers and illustrators out there who have put their minds to work on coming up with iPhone 7 concept images: artists' impressions, if you like, of what the iPhone 7 could look like. (See also: The 10 weirdest Apple concept art designs.)

Here are the latest images, photos and videos of the iPhone 7.

Leaked photo of iPhone 7 prototype and components

Our first leaked photo of iPhone componentry appears to be here, thanks to postings from the Chinese-language site AppleClub.tw and the French site NowhereElse.fr, both sites that have provided legitimate component leaks in the past. For this reason we're treating these as unconfirmed but likely to be genuine images - of iPhone 7 prototypes at least, if not the final design so far ahead of the likely launch date.

iPhone 7 leaked photos

All this said, there's not a huge amount that can be gleaned from the photos. You can see the iPhone 7's backlight, whose components and connectors look largely the same as the backlight on the iPhone 6s but have changed positions; a few other ports and apertures have also moved around, and AppleClub reckons the 3D Touch 'wafer' is in a different position too. This is our first confirmation that, as expected, Apple has rethought the iPhone's physical design, but but the extent of the redesign remains unknown.

iPhone 7 leaked photos

AppleClub got the scoop (sourcing the photos from the micro-messaging service WeChat) and then NowhereElse republished the images, but the latter added useful annotations and comparison images for the iPhone 6s, which is why we're reposting from that site. Rest assured that any further leaks from the supply chain will be posted as soon as we hear about them.

What the iPhone 7 would look like 'if Apple was a democracy'

Joy Of Tech, a regular webcomic satirising the tech industry - and which once featured Macworld publishing director Simon Jary, although that's another story - covers the iPhone 7 in its 11 January 2016 update. This shows what the artists think the iPhone 7 would look like "if Apple was a democracy" - in other words, incorporating all the features people like us are always saying they should include. We've posted a small taster below, but you should go to the site to enjoy it for yourself - and then stick around to read the other postings, most of which are good too.

iPhone 7 rumours: Joy of Tech comic

iPhone 7 'leaked' in new viral video

Is is that time already? Somebody on the production supply chain has got an early prototype or unfinished unit, grabbed a quick video of it and posted it online. The iPhone 7 has leaked, everyone!

But hold on for a second, because we're pretty sure it's a hoax. Take a look at the video embedded above and you'll notice a few oddities:

1) Anyone working with a confidential prototype would surely have their phone confiscated beforehand. And be searched afterwards. And watched closely at all times. For someone to have their hands on the hardware, alone, with access to a phone, is a bit implausible.

2) The person doing the filming gets caught… and yet is still able to post the footage. Was this originally a Periscope-style live broadcast? Again: possible but unlikely, unless they knew they were going to get caught.

3) The person who shouts "Hey!" at the end sounds suspiciously American. An American supervisor in a Chinese factory is not impossible - a visiting inspector from Cupertino, perhaps? - but unlikely. (It's also, let's be honest, deeply, deeply unconvincing as a piece of dramatic acting. HEY!)

Any of these elements taken alone would make us raise our eyebrows, but between the three of them they leave us in little doubt that this is a fake. A conclusion confirmed by the fact that the sharer - matched by a watermark logo on the video itself - is a company named Viral Video Lab, which has been accused of posting hoaxes before.

Here is an article about a Viral Video Lab clip explaining how to make a paper plane float on the hot air above a stove, and another about a 'walk along glider'. Both are, the article argues, completely fake. And if you look at the Viral Video Lab channel, most of the videos are of the 'believe it or not' type, with sketchy believability.

iPhone 7 leaked in (probably fake) video

For what it's worth, the 'iPhone 7' in the video has a horizontally edge-to-edge screen, no Home button and a rear-facing camera in the centre of the back rather than on one side. (It's hard to make out, but the slot on the bottom looks a bit wider than a Lightning port - almost like the old 30-pin dock, as unlikely as that sounds.)

iPhone 7 leaked in (probably fake) video

Concept video shows iPhone 7 running iOS 10

A video by a design firm named DeepMind, shows an iPhone 7 running iOS 10 on a stunning edge-to-edge screen. Interestingly enough, it retains the traditional screen allocation most of the time, with the menu bar sitting across the top of the screen about an inch down from the top of the phone and what appears to be a blank bezel at the top and bottom of the device - but when required, these areas spring to life as spare screen area. It's a lovely bit of work. Take a look:

There are also a couple of similar concept images that have come from iPhone-Tricks.com, with an edge-to-edge screen and running iOS 10. The concept shows iOS 10 with bigger app icons that are a bit like Android widgets.

Next up is a fan-made concept video examining the 'dynamic Home button' concept that we talked about in the new features section (among other new ideas). It's really well-made; Jony Ive, eat your heart out and here's a rather terrifying iPhone 7 parody video. None of it is real (thankfully), but it's quite funny. If you've recovered from that, shall we look at some iPhone 7 concept illustrations?

iPhone 7 concept illustrations

First up is a truly remarkable set of designs that take a key element of the Apple Watch design - the digital crown control - and transplants it on to the side of the iPhone. It's really far out there, in terms of plausibility, but a fascinating imaginative leap. What do you reckon?

iPhone 7 release date rumours: iPhone 7 concept image by ADR Studio

iPhone 7 release date rumours: iPhone 7 concept image by ADR Studio

iPhone 7 release date rumours: iPhone 7 concept image by ADR Studio

A little radical for our taste, as we say, but what a great bit of lateral thinking! These renders are by ADR Studio. Visit their website to see the rest of the set. Design student Marek Weidlich has also created an iPhone concept that takes inspiration from the Apple Watch, particularly when it comes to the OS.

Designer Martin Hajek is well known for his work in this area. He's created some beautiful images of the next iPhone, and his designs, like ADR's work above, looks at the ways in which its design could be informed by the Apple Watch - but in terms of colour options rather than drastic changes to the controls. Here are his visualizations of a Rose Gold iPhone:

iPhone 7 release date rumours: Rose Gold concept images by Martin Hajek

We've also seen some beautiful concept renders from the artist Yasser Farahi. Here are some of Farahi's stunning designs:

iPhone 7 concept illustrations by Yasser Farahi

As you can see above, Farahi has come up with some smart new colour options for the iPhone 7 - more varied than on the iPhone 6 series, but more restrained and adult than on the iPhone 5c. Here are the new 'wine' and 'copper' options in more detail:

iPhone 7 concept illustrations by Yasser Farahi

Let's return to our old friend Martin Hajek for a moment. A slightly older iPhone 7 design concept that Hajek came up with is based on the idea that the screen of the next iPhone will reach all the way to the edges, allowing the phone itself to be slightly smaller than the current iPhone 6 while accommodating the same amount of screen space.

iPhone 7 release date rumours and leaked images: Concept image by Martin Hajek

The illustration above shows a second concept that Hajek has come up with: putting holes in the display for the Touch ID button, speaker and front-facing camera

They're lovely, aren't they? There are lots more iPhone 7 concept images on Martin Hajek's website.

If that's not enough for you, we're also starting to see concept images of the iPhone 8. (Yep, the iPhone 8. This is getting ridiculous.)