A new report from Chinese media site MyDrivers is starting up the rumor mill for the iPhone 7, Apple’s next major revision to the iPhone due later in 2016. The iPhone 7 is expected to feature external design changes which means big changes inside and out. The report claims specifically that the iPhone 7 Plus (5.5 inch screen) will come in a new 256 GB storage configuration and feature a larger internal battery, rated at 3100 mAH.
For battery comparisons, it’s important to remember that the batteries actually got smaller with the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. 3100 mAH exceeds the battery sizes of the 6s Plus and 6 Plus, featuring 2750 mAH and 2915 mAH respectively.
The track record of the site is somewhat dubious, so it’s probably foolish to treat anything as for certain, but it is thought provoking and both points indicate Apple will be addressing too major pain points with the iPhone range with the iPhone 7 …
Battery life is a complaint shared by many iPhone users. Moving to 3100 mAH in the iPhone 7 Plus is an increase of about 10% over the 2750 mAH battery in the iPhone 6s. Whilst more mAH does not necessarily translate to improved battery life (as the power draw of hardware components also needs to be taken account), it is a good indicator as chips and circuit boards tend to get more efficient over time, not less.
We’ll have to keep waiting for any news on the battery capacity of the 4.7 inch model however … It’s a long time ’till the expected fall announcement of Apple’s new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, after all.
Raising the top end storage suggests that Apple could be changing up the storage across the board. Perhaps the no. 1 complaint in the community is that the base 16 GB size is just too small to be usable.
Due to a combination of higher-megapixel images, HD and 4K video, ever-larger photo libraries and bigger apps, the 16 GB phones are very frustrating to use. Anything beyond light usage will fill the space of the phone, forcing 16 GB users to often delete content and constantly manage storage.
If Apple does add a 256 GB option to the lineup, it makes sense that the company will shuffle the other storage sizes. Personally, I’m hoping for the lineup to change to 64/128/256 but other combinations like 32/64/256 or even four storage sizes are plausible. It just seems ridiculous that Apple will continue to sell 16 GB phones to mainstream consumers when it is also offering a 256 GB model.
The MyDrivers report explicitly claims that the 256 GB offering will only be available for the iPhone 7 Plus, so maybe only the larger phone will receive bumps to storage.
With the new flagship iPhones expected in the fall, the rumor mill is currently trending towards the idea that Apple will actually release its first new iPhone of the year in the spring, a 4 inch model with iPhone 6s internals, dubbed the iPhone 7c. Read more about what we expect from Apple in 2016 in our roundup.
