This year, Apple's rulebook has gone out the window. Actually, it kind of did last year too, with the usually predictable iPhone and iPad maker holding only one launch event in the tail-end of the year, rather than the usual two, and piling all of its phone and tablet launches into that one September slot. Apple launched the iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, a new iPad Mini and the iPad Pro (itself a deviation from Apple's typical approach - being the giant iPad it said it would never make)
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In 2016, however, Apple will have an additional launch date, allegedly in March, which will reportedly see the iPhone 5se, a return of the 4in iPhone design, as well as a new iPad Air and possibly a second-gen Apple Watch. With the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus marked for a launch in the usual September slot, this means that this year is the first where we'll see Apple launch three new phones.This will make 2016 Apple’s busiest year for a very long time. Never before has the company launched so much hardware in such as short space of time. Even just a few years ago the idea of a dual-iPhone launch seemed bizarre — and now we’re looking at three (and one inside Q1, no less). Is this a case of Apple striking while the iron’s hot? Most definitely. The iPhone has never been more popular, so what better time to expand its reach in the mobile space? Record sales figures for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s are impressive, but factor in the iPhone 7 this year alongside a new and slightly cheaper 4in iPhone 5se and it is easy to see Apple performing another record year for 2016/17. Some advanced engineering news has leaked out about the iPhone 7. Apple is reportedly working on electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding that will individually shield most of the phone's major chips.I know, what the heck does that mean? Will your iPhone now be able to withstand an EMP attack from a rouge foreign state?No. No it won't EMI shielding is a layer of thin metal protective shielding put over various computer components to protect them from becoming affected by or affecting other components nearby. The negative effects various components put out usually come in the form of wireless signal (think NFC or Wi-Fi) interference. The more complex components get, the greater a chance are for them to interfere with other components in the same device.That’s where EMI shielding comes it. It can contain any negative effect a component may have. Apple has actually used EMI shielding in the iPhone for a while now with various portions of the iPhone circuit board and some individual chips featuring the shielding. But now, according to ETNews, the iPhone 7 will feature the technology on a wider array of its chips.“Apple first applied EMI Shield technology to major chip package ‘S1’ of Apple Watch that was released last year. To apply such technology onto major chips of iPhone 7, it has been doing development project with packaging businesses since last year. It is heard that Apple personally chose equipment partners during this process and had induced packaging businesses to give them contracts,” ETNews reported. “StatsChipPac and Amkor have made many contracts with South Korean sputter and handler businesses for EMI Shield since end of last year. Contracts are worth more than tens of millions of dollars, and additional contracts will take place during first half of this year also.”“As clock signals of digital chips have increased and as diverse functions such as 3D-touch and others have recently added, reduction of electromagnetic waves have emerged as major topic of this industry.” a representative of chip industry told ETNews. “As other Smartphone businesses might be looking to apply EMI Shield technology to major chips just as Apple did, packaging and other related equipment industries will benefit a lot from this.”So what does this mean for you, the end user? Well, not too much. Chances are the iPhone 7 will now be less prone to interference with whatever advanced chips it contains, but given Apple has handled this interference problem pretty well in the past without users noticing means you shouldn’t notice anything different in regards to this tech in the iPhone 7.
Hands down, this is the most exciting news about the iPhone 7 we’ve heard yet. For months the iPhone 7 has been rumored to be waterproof, so if you drop in in the toilet you don’t need to spend another £600. But the really exciting news is now that the iPhone 7 won’t only be waterproof, but you’ll be able to interact with its touchscreen even when your fingers are wet.
Currently if you touch your iPhone’s screen with wet fingers it either won’t register your touch or the touch sensors will misinterpret the action, which will result in a wrong button being activated or odd scrolling on the screen. This is because water is capacitive and confuses the electric signal that the iPhone’s touchscreen needs to register from your finger when you touch it. If you want to see this in action, just think of trying to use your iPhone the last time you were outside and it started to drizzle.
But now thanks to a new screen from Japan Display called "Pixel Eyes” wet fingers won’t interfere with the iPhone’s touchscreen anymore. The company, who Apple already uses for some of its displays, has released a second generation "Pixel Eyes” display that can be operated with wet fingers, according to MacRumors.
“iPhones, iPads, and the Apple Watch, for example, don't respond well to touch with wet fingers or when placed in water, so technology like this could be essential if Apple wants to have a functional display in a device advertised as ‘waterproof’,” the site says.
Japan Display has already begun volume production of the displays, so they are indeed ready well ahead of time that iPhone 7 manufacturing would need them to be. The inclusion of the wet finger display technology isn’t a sure thing, but with the other waterproof rumors of the iPhone 7 it makes a lot of sense.
Great post!
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