With the clock ticking toward Apple’s scheduled fall release of the iPhone 7, iOS 10, macOS Sierra and more, the rumor mill about new products and changes by the company is switching into high gear.
Several outlets are reporting leaked images purporting to show the iPhone 7 Plus in new colors, including black and rose gold. There are also reports that Apple is in talks that could lead to Twitter livestreaming NFL games on Apple TV, and an analyst is predicting a future that includes a 10.5-inch iPad and an iPhone featuring a flexible OLED (organic light-emitting diode) display.
Via more official channels, Apple has released the beta 6 version of iOS 10 for developers, along with a fifth version of the public beta of its mobile operating system. Over the weekend, CEO Tim Cook also told The Washington Post that his company had just sold its one billionth iPhone.
‘Every Person Will Have a Smartphone’
As his fifth anniversary at the helm of Apple approaches, Cook told The Post that while the DNA of the company has not changed during that time, Apple has grown considerably in size, moved into new wellness-focused areas with the launch of the Apple Watch and stepped up its social responsibility.
Cook added that the global market for smartphones keeps expanding as PC sales continue to decline. With the iPhone, Apple expects to keep operating in “an unbelievable product category” rather than looking ahead to a future that might not be as bright as its past has been, he said.
“Over time, I’m convinced every person in the world will have a smartphone,” Cook said. “That may take a while, and they won’t all have iPhones. But it is the greatest market on earth from a consumer electronics point of view.”
At the same time, however, Cook said Apple isn’t lagging behind other tech competitors when it comes to innovations in new areas like artificial intelligence. The company’s smart digital assistant Siri is becoming increasingly better at understanding commands and predicting user needs, and will soon drive many new apps now that it is being opened up to third-party developers, he said.
More Memory, Battery Muscle for iPhone 7
The Apple-focused site 9 to 5 Mac reported today that noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo with KGI Securities is expecting several new products from Apple over the next couple of years. In addition to a 12.9-inch iPad Pro, likely to arrive in 2017, and an OLED iPhone in 2018, Kuo’s predictions also call for a 10.5-inch iPad in 2017 alongside a new, less expensive 9.7-inch iPad.
Another site, MobiPicker, today published photos it said were leaked images of a rose gold iPhone 7 Plus. It added that the new device, expected to arrive sometime in September, could also come with a “massive” 3,500mAh battery and be “the first iPhone to feature 3 GB of RAM.”
Set to arrive this fall, Apple’s updated operating systems will include iOS 10, which the company has called its “biggest release ever.” An updated version of macOS Sierra for desktop devices, meanwhile, is set to bring greater integration with the cloud and more support for seamless use across devices.