A man holds an iPhone 6s Plus as the Apple iPhone 6s and 6s Plus go on sale at an Apple Store in Los Angeles, California September 25, 2015. REUTERS/JONATHAN ALCORN
A man holds an iPhone 6s Plus as the Apple iPhone 6s and 6s Plus go on sale at an Apple Store in Los Angeles, California September 25, 2015. Reuters/Jonathan Alcorn

The current iPhone 6s is not even three months old; speculations are already doing the rounds regarding the probable specs and features of the upcoming iPhone 7. Let us compare the features of the iPhone 6s and the next generation of iPhone and figure out what’s new.

Display: Better screen resolution

The upcoming iPhone of 2016 which is likely to be named as iPhone 7 is expected to sport two variants with 3D Touch but with a higher resolution. The 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch models are slated to be shipped with a QHD display of 2560 x 1440 resolution. The iPhone 6s features a 1080p screen.

Veteran industry analysts like Ming Chi Kuo from KGI Securities and Kevin Wang, Director of IHS Technology Research confirmed that considering the available demand in the market, Apple will introduce a 4-inch iPhone 6C in 2016. Apple is also slated to incorporate the scratch resistant sapphire display in iPhone 7.

Design: No Home Button

Reportedly, Apple will completely revamp the design of the iPhone 7. The company is tipped to adopt the glass-on-glass touch panels with no physical Home Button. The device could be the first ever smartphone to tout a top-to-bottom display screen. Rumours also indicate that the iPhone 7 could be the thinnest iPhone ever, with a thickness between 6mm to 6.5mm. Earlier there were speculations that Apple might use the AMOLED display for the first time.

But reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo who has an excellent track record with predicting iPhone specs, revealed in a research note that Apple will continue with the LCD IPS screens for upcoming iPhone 7, as reported by Apple Insider. Industry experts also speculate that the iPhone 7 will be completely waterproof.

Connectivity: LTE chip by Intel

Recent rumours suggest that Intel is working on a LTE compatible chipset which might be used for Apple iPhone 7, reports Know Your Mobile. Currently Qualcomm supplies the LTE chips for the iPhone 6s. The new 7360 LTE modem chip will probably be dubbed as A10, the successor of A9 which powers the iPhone 6s.

Better Storage and Bigger RAM

The iPhone 6s offers 16 GB, 64 GB and 128GB storage options coupled with 2 GB of RAM. Speculations state that the upcoming iPhone 7 will be shipped with a bigger 3 GB RAM and Apple will totally get away with its 16 GB variant to offer 32 GB, 64 GB and 128 GB storage options. In this context, it is worth mentioning that Samsung Galaxy S7 which is supposed to be launched in February 2016 is tipped to house 4 GB of RAM.

Panic Button

In May 2014, Apple had allegedly filed a patent to add a new feature to its next iPhone. First noted by The Telegraph, the patent has been approved by the US Patent and Trademark Office. The details of the patent reveal that the Touch ID fingerprint sensor of the next iPhone 7 can also be used to enable a “panic mode” apart from unlocking the phone and making online payments. The data of the phone will become inaccessible, once the new mode is launched.

Similar Camera

With its 12MP rear camera, the iPhone 6s got a huge camera overhaul from the 8MP camera unit of iPhone 6. The upcoming iPhone 7 might keep the same camera module with 4k video recording on the rear camera .

Battery and Wireless Charging

There are contradictory rumours on whether Apple would improve its battery or carry on with the 1715 mAh battery of the iPhone 6s. Apple might also add wireless charging facilities to the next iPhone.

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