iPhone 7 Pro release date, news and rumors

As leaks and rumors continue to pour in about the iPhone 7 Pro we've also given some thought to the features we'd like to see. Some of these are likely, others not so much, but they'd make for a great phone.

A screen to rival the best

Apple's phones have good screens, but relative to rivals they don't have sharp screens, so that's one area we'd really like to see improved and with its 'Pro' marketing the iPhone 7 Pro is in prime position to do that.

iPhone 6S Plus

Pump the resolution up to QHD or higher and it could be extra appealing to digital artists and mobile photo editors, who want a clear view of their work. But it would also benefit everyone else, especially if the screen is as large as we're expecting.

A brave new design

It's largely expected that Apple won't change the design of its phones much this year, instead waiting until 2017 to reinvent them in time for the 10 year anniversary of the iPhone.

Almost everything so far suggests the iPhone 7 Pro will look a lot like the iPhone 6S Plus, with a few minor changes like relocated antenna bands and a smart connector, but if that turns out to be wrong and in fact Apple has kept a completely new design under wraps it would be a huge win for the company.

It's very unlikely, but it would definitely get people talking and, more importantly from Apple's perspective, buying.

A bunch of smart accessories

One of the key likely features of the iPhone 7 Pro is a Smart Connector, but it's also one of the biggest mysteries, as it's not clear what it would be used for here.

With the likes of the LG G5 and Moto Z exploring modular accessories over in Android land it would be great if Apple did similar here, giving us all manner of things to clip onto our iPhone, from keyboards, to speakers, battery packs and more. We wouldn't count on a wide range of high-tech accessories, but we'd like there to be.

A big battery

Mediocre battery life has long plagued iPhones and many other handsets and it's about time that changed. Apple is rumored to be using Fan-Out technology to shrink components, which could mean it will be able to fit a bigger juice pack in. Here's hoping it does, rather than just slimming the phone down ever more.

Powerful beats

One of the more unlikely rumors that's been attached to the iPhone 7 Pro is the possibility of four speakers, to pump out louder, better sounds.

iPhone 6S Plus

It would be great to see, because smartphone audio is typically quite weedy and with four speakers the iPhone 7 Pro could leapfrog even the likes of the HTC 10, which sells its audio capabilities as a powerful feature.

A headphone jack

Sadly, it looks as though the 3.5mm headphone jack is on its way out and while there may be good reasons for cutting it the annoyances are likely to outweigh them, at least in the short term. We're in no hurry to see it go, so how about keeping it around for a while longer Apple?

A huge display

The iPhone 7 Pro will probably have a 5.5-inch screen, just like the iPhone 7 Plus, but it seems like a great opportunity for Apple to launch a true phablet with a 5.7-inch or larger screen.

Currently Apple doesn't have anything that can directly compete with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Note range. Plus, by enlarging the screen the iPhone 7 Pro would be able to stand out better from the rest of the range and also be better equipped to benefit from a Smart Keyboard, if indeed Apple is planning to give it one.

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.

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