We may be only a few weeks into the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus lifecycle, but that isn’t going to stop the predictions about what the iPhone 7 will bring to the table. Never one to shy away from putting his crystal ball to work, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster has been in the news again, claiming that the next iPhone will feature a new design, Sapphire screen and better battery life while eliminating the Home button completely.
Infamous for claiming repeatedly that Apple was about to release its own television, Gene Munster doesn’t always get things right, but in his prediction that the iPhone 7 will have a new industrial design, we suspect he may be on to a winner. The iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus will very likely be the last to look as they do, especially if Apple continues its tick-tock release policy of bringing new designs to the lineup every other year. Claiming that the iPhone 7 will look different to the last two generations of iPhone isn’t exactly a stretch. And neither is the claim of improved battery life.
Where things really start to get interesting, though, is the claim of an iPhone with no physical Home button. Rumors of such a thing are not new, and Apple is known to be keen on screen technology that is capable of detecting fingerprints, so the idea of the Home button being on its way out isn’t exactly outlandish. Munster believes the Touch ID sensor may make its way to the side of the handset, however.
Whether Apple could remove the Home button next September, though, we’re not really sure.
As many have speculated, the addition of 3D Touch may provide Apple with a way to eliminate the home button on the phone and use the additional space to make the screen bigger or make the device smaller. One barrier to this could be Touch ID, which is integrated into the home button currently. Apple would need to move the Touch ID reader to potentially the side of the phone to remove the home button. We believe a home-buttonless iPhone has a 50% chance for the iPhone 7.
50/50, huh? Nothing like hedging your bets there, Gene.
(Source: Barrons)
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