Thinner housing, updated design, more powerful processor, improved antenna design, better displays, hugely improved cameras, new 3D Touch home button, double the storage, better water-resistance… man oh man, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus sure do sound boring!
We have discussed at length the idea that Apple’s new 2016 iPhone lineup is going to be “boring” in recent weeks, and this past Friday I penned a post suggesting the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are going to be anything but boring when they’re finally unveiled in the coming weeks. Now, on top of everything we’ve already heard, evidence from a source with a decent track record suggests that Apple has yet another new feature coming to this year’s new iPhones that Apple fans have been waiting for.
MUST READ: The iPhone 7 is going to be so much more exciting than you think
What’s the worst thing about Apple’s iPhone lineup? Different people have different opinions, but most would likely point to battery life as their biggest iPhone pain point. Compared to rival devices, battery life is one area where Apple has fallen well behind other companies in the market.
Compounding matters, Apple’s iPhones don’t have a feature comparable to rivals’ extreme power saving modes, and they also don’t support fast charging technology so they take way too long to charge. In fact, I’m testing an Android smartphone right now with a battery that’s more than twice the size of the one in the iPhone 6s, but they both take about the same amount of time to charge.
Thankfully, it looks like Apple is going to address at least one of these issues when the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are released next month.
Twitter user The Malignant has been known in the past to post leaks from various sources on Chinese microblogging site Weibo that turn out to be authentic. In one of his latest posts on Twitter, he shares a leaked image that purportedly shows a new component Apple plans to include in the upcoming iPhone 7. It’s unclear exactly what the component is, but the source claims that it’s a new power management assembly that supports fast charging technology. The supposed new component is shown next to the same component from last year’s iPhone 6s, and the differences between the two are obvious.
The good news if this new leak pans out is that Apple’s new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will recharge faster than earlier iPhones, which is a big deal considering how often they need to be recharged — I know my iPhone never lasts a full day. The bad news is that the source of the leak says Apple’s new iPhones will support at least 5V/2A fast charging. Hopefully that “at least” turns out to be a low estimate because 5V/2A would put the new iPhones on par with Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 1.0 tech from all the way back in 2013.
