Leaked iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus blueprints reveal no headphone jack

iPhone 6S

There've been no shortage of iPhone 7 leaks, but a new set of blueprints could well give us our clearest look yet at both it and the larger iPhone 7 Plus.

The renders were sourced on behalf of uSwitch and supplied to @OnLeaks by Apple subcontractor Catcher Technology, which means they're worth taking seriously, since @OnLeaks has pedigree and the leak can be traced back to the supply chain.

Assuming the blueprints/renders are accurate they reveal a lot about both handsets. Neither phone has a 3.5mm headphone jack for example, which would mean users will have to stick with wireless headphones or connect them via the Lightning port. That's a rumor we've heard before, though one that not all agree with.

iPhone 7 blueprint

You can also see in the images that cameras stick out from the back of the phones, just like they do on the iPhone 6S / iPhone 6S Plus, though apparently without a metal ring around the lens.

In fact, in most ways the designs look similar to the current phones, including the rounded edges and single speaker, as well as the antenna lines that have plagued previous models, as while they aren't visible here they apparently will be on the finished phones.

Even the dimensions are said to be identical, at 138.30 x 67.12 x 7.1mm for the iPhone 7 and 158.22 x 77.94 x 7.3mm for the iPhone 7 Plus, which seems at odds with the decision to remove the headphone port, since part of the reason for removing it was thought to be so Apple could slim the phones down.

Different in more ways than one

Other interesting details include how different the iPhone 7 Plus might be, as it looks set to be more than just bigger than the iPhone 7, with these blueprints revealing a dual-lens camera on the back, as has been rumored before, while the iPhone 7 is shown with just a single lens.

The iPhone 7 Plus also has a Smart Connector in these images, which the iPhone 7 doesn't. This is inherited from the iPad Pro and would allow you to connect other hardware to it, such as a Smart Keyboard. Its presence also suggests the iPhone 7 Plus may be branded the iPhone 7 Pro.

iPhone 7 Plus blueprint

Of course, even with a fairly reliable source behind them these images may not be accurate and even if they were at one time they may not represent the finished phones, especially as they're apparently 3-4 months old.

The absence of a headphone jack and the presence of a Smart Connector seem especially questionable, despite having been rumored before. The former doesn't seem like it would be a popular change and the latter just seems unnecessary on a device this small, but these blueprints certainly add strength to those rumors.

James Rogerson

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.