iPhone 7/7 Plus Rumor Thread

[MacinJosh]

As the rumors are heating up about Apple's next Flagship, it's time for a rumor thread. Post everything relevant about the iPhone 7 in this topic.

[AppleFanBoy]

Here's a good summary: http://9to5mac.com/2016/05/24/iphone-7-specs-features/

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6S Plus using Tapatalk

[sbolen]

 

Qualcomm's Fast X12 LTE Modem is Appropriate Candidate for iPhone 7

 

In that same article:

 

Apple is rumored to use Intel's XMM 7360 LTE modem with theoretical download speeds up to 450 Mbps and upload speeds up to 100 Mbps. The chip also features LTE Advanced with 3x carrier aggregation and support for up to 29 LTE bands overall, VoLTE, dual SIM cards, and LTE and Wi-Fi interworking. 

[WiWavelength]

 

 

Qualcomm's Fast X12 LTE Modem is Appropriate Candidate for iPhone 7

 

In that same article:

 

 

Any Sprint variants will not use an Intel baseband.  Unless Apple wants to double up on the chipsets and also throw in a Qualcomm baseband -- because that is the only way to get CDMA2000 support.

 

AJ

[dedub]

I wish sprint was in a position to move towards LTE only devices.

 

They may be close, but so far.

[Arysyn]

With the loss of my hope getting the excellent Vivo Xplay5 Elite from a reliable source, I'm moving on to deciding on a new device. I'm considering the Samsung Note 6, the Sony Xperia X Performance or Premium, and then quite possibly the Apple iPhone 7 whichever is the best model of it. I'll keep looking out for information about it here and elsewhere.

[Fraydog]

Qualcomm's Fast X12 LTE Modem is Appropriate Candidate for iPhone 7

 

In that same article:

Something just seems way off with the Intel baseband rumors. Apple was rumored to do this with the SE and didn't. Furthermore there is the long record of failure that Intel has in mobile. It just seems like lots of smoke.

 

Furthermore Intel basebands aren't known for their performance. That's before we throw in the CDMA2000 racket. Intel bought out the assets of VIA Telecom but VIA chips were bad CDMA2000 performers too.

 

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[newboyx]

Didn't Intel quit the mobile market?

http://anandtech.com/show/10288/intel-broxton-sofia-smartphone-socs-cancelled

 

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[WiWavelength]

Didn't Intel quit the mobile market?

http://anandtech.com/show/10288/intel-broxton-sofia-smartphone-socs-cancelled

 

Those that got canceled are entire SoCs -- systems on chips, including processors, at the very least, possibly baseband modems, too.  Intel wants into the mobile processor game, but it may have missed the boat.  Apple always is going to use its own ARM processor -- even though that requires a separate baseband.  Qualcomm Snapdragon CPUs capture nearly the rest of the market.  Other processors, such as NVIDIA Tegra, tend to be niche or low end.

 

That said, Intel still has the 3GPP baseband intellectual property that it acquired from Infineon, which was one of the early Apple iPhone part suppliers, when the iPhone had no CDMA2000 capability.  And I was not aware that Intel had bought the 3GPP2 intellectual property of VIA Telecom.  Thanks to Ryan, though, I do now.

 

If Intel totally is giving up on mobile chipsets, including basebands, it ought to sell or write off that baseband intellectual property now.

 

AJ

[Fraydog]

Smartphone SoC's for non Samsung and Apple devices seems to be a Pyrrhic victory won by Qualcomm. It has all the makings of a race to the bottom, especially when the big boys are moving more and more in house as far as SoC production goes. Yes, I'm aware US, China, and Japan have Snapdragon 820 in the GS7 but the rest of the world does not. 

 

Yes, Qualcomm is selling gigabit in a phone but who really needs all that? Most people are OK with the RF performance in their devices in 2016. Even on the iOS devices I see that were once behind on RF seem to be more even to the point where most people won't even note the difference. 

[WiWavelength]

Smartphone SoC's for non Samsung and Apple devices seems to be a Pyrrhic victory won by Qualcomm. It has all the makings of a race to the bottom, especially when the big boys are moving more and more in house as far as SoC production goes. Yes, I'm aware US, China, and Japan have Snapdragon 820 in the GS7 but the rest of the world does not. 

 

Yes, Qualcomm is selling gigabit in a phone but who really needs all that? Most people are OK with the RF performance in their devices in 2016. Even on the iOS devices I see that were once behind on RF seem to be more even to the point where most people won't even note the difference. 

 

Winning the battle -- but losing the war?

 

Maybe.  I will give you that.

 

However, as long as Apple continues to use Qualcomm Snapdragon baseband chipsets, which Apple has used exclusively for the past, what, 8-10 generations of its cellular devices, Qualcomm will be fine.

 

The Qualcomm processor business could be in jeopardy.  But, for things non iOS, Qualcomm does provide the advantage of being able to put top notch processor and baseband both on SoC.  No one else offers the same.

 

And what is this "Pyrrhic victory" of which you speak?  Me no smart.

 

 

AJ

[Fraydog]

 

 

Winning the battle -- but losing the war?

 

Maybe. I will give you that.

 

However, as long as Apple continues to use Qualcomm Snapdragon baseband chipsets, which Apple has used exclusively for the past, what, 8-10 generations of its cellular devices, Qualcomm will be fine.

 

The Qualcomm processor business could be in jeopardy. But, for things non iOS, Qualcomm does provide the advantage of being able to put top notch processor and baseband both on SoC. No one else offers the same.

 

And what is this "Pyrrhic victory" of which you speak? Me no smart.

 

 

AJ

It has all the elements of a race to the bottom with smartphone prices steadily decreasing along with increased competition from Mediatek along with other manufacturers from China. Meanwhile the top end is moving away. I would argue Apple could assemble their own baseband team that would be ridiculously good. People doubted Apple's ability to put together a good SoC unit. Apple proceeded to prove a lot of their doubters wrong. Samsung followed the same path, and did a lot of the same things with Exynos. It helped they were familiar with Apple's SoC since they assembled it.

 

Qualcomm misfired with the 810 and only recovered a year later with the 820. Now they will be getting fierce competition from both sides. Low end MediaTek is getting better and better each year.

 

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[Tengen31]

Lets hope for 3xca on iphone 7/7plus or even better 4Xca. one can hope right?

[clbowens]

With the rumors that the iPhone 7 will not have a 3.5mm audio port, and with leaks of images of lightning port headsets, do you guys think that mean the iPhone will not be getting USB-C support anytime soon?

[MacinJosh]

With the rumors that the iPhone 7 will not have a 3.5mm audio port, and with leaks of images of lightning port headsets, do you guys think that mean the iPhone will not be getting USB-C support anytime soon?

Apple is in their own world. One of these days, if they feel like it, I suppose we will see USB-C on an iPhone, but for now, it won't be. They could very well make a lightning to USB-C adapter though.

 

 

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[clbowens]

Apple is in their own world. One of these days, if they feel like it, I suppose we will see USB-C on an iPhone, but for now, it won't be. They could very well make a lightning to USB-C adapter though.

 

 

Sent from my Gold iPhone 6s Plus 128GB using Tapatalk

I mean, if there were ever a time to do that change, NOW would be a great time, IF they are really getting rid of the 3.5 MM port.  Now accessory makers are making lightning accessories.  Now say that Apple decides to change the lightning port to a USB port with the iPhone next year.  Now people will be upset since they just bought a lighting accessory and they are again changing the port.

 

But I do agree with you.  Apple is in their own world.

[nobius]

If they drop the headphone port, they better make the thing waterproof, especially now that there's rumors that the home button will use force touch.

[dedub]

as a music lover with a variety of headphone investments, no headphone jack = no sale.

 

That said, in the unlikely event that apple went to usbc port and got rid of both lightning and headphone jack, that might make for an interesting proposition..

 

if the lightning only, no headphone is true, you can forget anything about usbc ever hitting an ios device.

 

what I really want though, would be a MAGSAFE type connector that works for both power and headphones.

 

if we are forced into some kind of cable change, i want something that break free safely without damaging cables or connectors.

[Arysyn]

I haven't been here as often lately, so while my posts have been fewer I've also forgot whether or not I mentioned the Apple iPhone 6s T-Mobile gave to my mother many weeks ago. I've been using her phone now and then while I wait for a new phone for me to replace the Vivo Xplay 5 Elite I wanted but had an issue with the selling company overseas. The iphone 6s really is a great device, much better than most of the Android device I've had so many problems with, yet the iPhone really does just works well. Unfortunately, I returned the LG V10 last year when there were phone calling issues I now think may have been related to the VoLTE, not the device itself. That was probably my favorite device, other than the iPhone 6s.

 

I was considering getting the iPhone 7. However, I've been reading that it'll be a small improvement from the 6, and that the 8 will be a larger changeover. I'm now thinking I might wait for that, and purchase the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium to keep his year until net year when I can get the iPhone 8, as I read there won't be a 7s or any "s" models anymore, which I think is a good idea to change.

[Steve Dean]

The only real improvements I have heard is 3CA.  Most everything else will be a minor tweak or status quo.  From the rumors I have read on the 8, I will most likely wait until the 8 is released to purchase a new phone.

[Tajustin95]

Didn't Intel buy a company for CDMA assets?

[Steve Dean]

Were there any new leaks for the 7 that would change my mind about purchasing this model besides 3CA?

[anthony.spina97]

Were there any new leaks for the 7 that would change my mind about purchasing this model besides 3CA?

Change your mind to what? Not get it or get it? I just saw a leak of the display panel that shows that the 7 is getting a 1080p screen and the 7 Plus is getting a 2K/QHD screen.

 

-Anthony

[Steve Dean]

Change your mind to what? Not get it or get it? I just saw a leak of the display panel that shows that the 7 is getting a 1080p screen and the 7 Plus is getting a 2K/QHD screen.

 

-Anthony

 

Not getting it. If the changes are subtle, I was going to wait until fall 2017.

[Arysyn]

Change your mind to what? Not get it or get it? I just saw a leak of the display panel that shows that the 7 is getting a 1080p screen and the 7 Plus is getting a 2K/QHD screen.

 

-Anthony

 

I think these are very good updates. I've heard a lot of people online mentioning their disappointment of both the Apple iPhone 7 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 because of "minimal upgrades". However, from what I've been reading it sure seems to me the upgrades are pretty substantial. Maybe not in the specifications that are major features to a device, but are updates to more common everyday use aspects. The iPhone 7 looks to have added extra speakers space to the device, likely to make up for the removal of the headphone jack, and Apple appears to have upgraded the antenna design, which very well may mean better signal/reception. Surely that will be a very welcome upgrade to people here on S4GRU. I'm even planning on my mother getting the iPhone 7 when it gets released. She had the Phone 6 from T-Mobile she traded in when we went to AT&T, but still we both really liked the device. I discovered I vastly prefer iOS to Android, and I'd switch completely over to the iPhone myself, if only the iOS AppStore allowed for video game emulators I play using Android.

 

Thankfully, the Note 7 has a bunch of important upgrades for me, that I'll be satisfied using Android meanwhile emulators remain on the platform pretty exclusively. When I tried the one or two on the Microsoft Lumia 950xl, I discovered they barely even worked. While I don't like desktop Windows 10, it wasn't bad on the Lumia. However, with the lack of apps on the device, it just wasn't useful for me, so back I went to Android. I am still interested in seeing what the Microsoft Surface smartphone will be like, and if it uses x86/x64, I know that is what I'll get.