New iPhone to Have Dual Camera but No Headphone Jack

Apple Inc. is preparing to unveil successors
to the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus as early
as next month with more advanced
photography capabilities and upgraded
hardware in a design similar to that of last
year’s models, according to people familiar
with the matter.
The standout features will be a dual-camera
system on the larger iPhone, a re-
engineered home button that responds to
pressure with a vibrating sensation rather
than a true physical click and the removal of
the devices’ headphone jack, said the
people, who didn’t want to be identified
discussing unannounced features. Apple
declined to comment.
While iPhone demand has waned in recent
quarters, partly due to the lull between
product launches, the device continues to be
the major source of Apple’s revenue. The
new models will be critical to the holiday
quarter, and Apple is counting on the
phones to prop up sales ahead of an
expected iPhone overhaul in 2017, the
device’s 10th anniversary.
Moving away from the typical two-year
iPhone redesign cycle, this year’s models will
look similar to the 6 and 6S, the people said,
who added that there will still be noticeable
tweaks. The new iPhones will retain the
same 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch screen sizes as
their predecessors, the first of which was
introduced in September 2014. Apple will
remove the two innermost antenna lines
that run across the back of the current
iPhones, the people added.
Sharper Photos
The dual cameras on the larger new iPhone
will produce brighter photos with more
detail, according to a person who has used
a prototype version of the upcoming device.
Both sensors, which each capture color
differently, simultaneously take a picture,
and the device produces a single, merged
photograph, said the person.
The dual system sharpens photos taken in
low-light environments, the person said. The
combination of the merged photos from the
two camera sensors also allows users to
zoom while retaining more clarity, the
person added. The smaller version of the
new phones will not include dual lenses, KGI
Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said earlier
this year.
Home Button
Apple is planning an updated home button
for the new models. Current home buttons
are switches that physically press into the
phone, but the new models will have a
pressure-sensitive button that employs so-
called haptic feedback, according to the
people. This mechanism is similar to that of
the trackpads on the latest MacBook line.
9to5Mac reported on the home button
design earlier.
The new iPhones will remove the
headphone jack in favor of connectivity via
Bluetooth and the charging port. That will
make room for a second speaker, said the
people. Apple started allowing headphone
makers to build headphones that can
connect via the iPhone’s charger connector
in 2014, the same year the company
acquired headphone maker Beats
Electronics. Macotakara earlier reported the
headphone jack’s demise.
The new models will run iOS 10, the new
version of Apple’s mobile operating system
coming this fall. The updated software
offers interactive widgets to quickly glance
at calendar appointments and favorite
contacts, new messaging features, a new
application for controlling smart home
appliances, and a redesigned Apple Music.
The new software will also run on current
and some past iPhone models.
Apple’s shares were little changed at $
107.78 at 9:36 a.m. in New York. The stock
was up 2.1 percent this year through Friday.