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iPhone 7: Our biggest question was just answered

Published Aug 17th, 2016 10:26AM EDT
iPhone 7 Rumors 2016
Image: iFeng

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Apple’s upcoming new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are the most talked about smartphones of 2016… and they don’t even exist yet. We’re less than one month away from seeing Apple unveil its next-generation iPhone lineup and if an earlier report from a reliable source ends up panning out, we’re almost exactly one month away from seeing the new iPhone models hit store shelves. Of note, a more recent report suggests that the iPhone 7 might be released a bit later than expected, but we’re not very confident that rumor is accurate.

Leaks and rumors from reliable sources have painted a near-complete picture of Apple’s upcoming new iPhones, but there are still a few questions that remain. Now, however, one of the biggest ones may have been answered.

MUST SEE: See the Space Black iPhone 7 Plus you’ve been waiting for in these leaked photos

At this point we know exactly what the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will look like. They’ll feature a familiar design in line with the current iPhone 6s and last year’s iPhone 6 lineup, but they’ll have new cameras and tweaked antenna lines. They will also reportedly feature a new home button design that utilizes Apple’s 3D Touch technology.

We can expect more power thanks to a new Apple A10 chipset, twice as much internal storage, better water-resistance and even a new color option — check out leaked photos of the iPhone 7 in both blue and black. But there’s one key area where no one really knew what to expect until now.

Apple is switching things up in 2016. Since the company has a completely overhauled iPhone planned for next year to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the original iPhone’s release, this year’s iPhone is going to be an “S” upgrade of sorts. Of course, last year’s new iPhone was an “S” upgrade as well. While everyone has been referring to the new 2016 iPhones as “iPhone 7” and “iPhone 7 Plus” to keep things simple, no one really knew what the phones would be named at launch.

Well, Mac Otakara has a good track record with reports covering unannounced Apple products, and on Wednesday morning the blog confirmed the names of Apple’s upcoming new iPhones. Are you ready? They’ll be called… the “iPhone 7” and “iPhone 7 Plus.”

It seems like a gimme since we’ve all been referring to them by those names for months now. Nothing was confirmed until now, however. Some reports suggested Apple’s new iPhones would somehow fall under the iPhone 6 name — “iPhone 6se” and “iPhone 6se Plus,” perhaps — while others suggested the larger iPhone model would be named “iPhone 7 Pro” to better align with Apple’s iPad lineup. According to this new report, however, neither will be the case.

Apple is expected to unveil its next-generation iPhones during a press conference on September 7th. Preorders will then reportedly kick off on September 9th ahead of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus release on September 16th.

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.