The
iPhone 7,
which Apple is expected to launch next year, could feature a memory
boost, according to a research firm. The handset is also said to have
waterproof capabilities. The research firm also expects
Apple to launch a 4-inch iPhone next year.
TrendForce said that it expects the next
iPhone - currently expected to be called the iPhone 7 - to sport 3GB of RAM. Interestingly, TrendForce
notes
that the '5.5-inch' version of the next iPhone will bear 3GB of RAM,
with no word on whether the smaller variant will get the same amount of
RAM. If not, this could suggest that Apple may have plans to make the
'Plus' model of its iPhone lineup more feature-rich in the coming years.
The firm also noted that it expects the next
iPhone
to be waterproof. While the latter addition seems plausible, the memory
boost might not be on the cards, considering how Apple has introduced
hardware features over the past few years.
It was only this year when Apple finally upped the memory module on its iPhone models from 1GB to 2GB in
iPhone 6s and
iPhone 6s Plus. It seems unlikely that Apple will offer such a hardware upgrade in just one year. From
iPhone 5, released in 2012, to
iPhone 6 Plus, released last year, Apple stuck with 1GB RAM for its smartphones.
As for the other expectation, Apple may consider making its new
iPhone model waterproof. Interestingly, the company is already moving
forward along these lines, with the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus found
by reviewers and users to be exceptionally water-resistant, despite no
announcement of the feature by
Apple.
The company may be ready to make the announcement with iPhone 7
however, once it is more sure of its water-resistant technology.
Notably, Samsung's top-end phones are water-resistant, while
manufacturers like
Motorola included the feature in almost all its recent phones.
TrendForce also noted that it expects to see a new 4-inch iPhone - widely referred to as the
iPhone 6c - in the second half of next year. Multiple
reports
in the past few months have claimed that Apple plans to launch a 4-inch
iPhone next year. It is rumoured to have features similar to the
iPhone 5s, notably the
Touch ID,
an improved FaceTime HD camera with f/2.2 aperture, and support for
802.11ac Wi-FI and Bluetooth 4.1 wireless standards. KGI analyst
Ming-Chi Kuo, who has a reliable track record on upcoming Apple
products,
recently predicted an iPhone 6c launch set for 2016.
TrendForce estimates that Apple will manage to ship 260 million
iPhone units next year with an annual growth of 12.5 percent, and market
share of 18.5 percent.