Seldom does a week go by without news, rumors and speculation about new phones, but the past week was especially busy with smartphone chatter. Apple, Motorola and Samsung have all been in the headlines over the past several days regarding phones they have in the works.
Apple iPhone 7 Leaks
A few days after photos appeared of the upcoming iPhone 7, a video emerged that seemed to show the new smartphone — two months in advance of its anticipated release. A China-based social media website called “Weibo by Techstatic” was the first to show video of the phone, coming on the heels of the leaked photos and schematic drawings.
While the look of the iPhone 7 is comparable to that of the iPhone 6, it seems to have a bigger camera sensor. Speculation is that the 4.7-inch version will have one camera while the 5.5-inch version will have a dual camera. The video also indicates that there is no headphone jack in the bottom of the phone, but instead two rows of speaker holes, suggesting upgraded audio circuitry.
Samsung Galaxy 7 Rumors
Samsung is expected to debut its new Galaxy Note 7 phablet on August 2 — beating Apple to the punch by at least several weeks. The device, said to cost around $900, will include the first dual-edge display to come with a Samsung Galaxy product.
Along with embedding a fingerprint scanner into the new Galaxy, Samsung will include an iris scanner feature that will allow an owner to unlock the device in less than a second with just a glance. The water-resistant Galaxy Note 7 is also said to be the first phablet made by Samsung to use the Google-approved USB Type-C port.
If the rumors are correct, the Galaxy Note 7 will have a 6-inch QHD Super Amoled display and will come in two iterations featuring Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 and Exynos 8893 SoCs paired with 6 GB of RAM. Some reports claim it will have a Snapdragon 820 processor paired with 4 GB RAM.
Storage options will include 64 GB, 128 GB, and 256 GB, with the option to expand. The device, running on the Android 6.0 Marshmallow-based TouchWiz Grace UX operating system, is expected to include a 12-megapixel rear camera, 5-megapixel front camera and a 3600mAh battery.
Moto G4 Is Here
Following the rumors and speculation about new products from Apple and Samsung come some hard facts about Motorola’s newest device in its Moto G series. The Moto G4 comes unlocked and works with LTE on all U.S. carriers.
The $200 Moto G4 base version comes with 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage, or 32 GB of storage for an additional $30. The Moto G4 Plus starts at $250 with 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage. Customers can get it with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB for an additional $50.
Each Moto phone has a 1.5 GHz Snapdragon 617 octa-core processor and 550 MHz Adreno 405 GPU. The Moto G4 Plus also comes with a fingerprint reader as well as extra camera features, including laser auto focus and phase-detect auto focus. Both versions are available for purchase in the U.S. through the Moto Maker Web site.
Pictured above: The currently available Apple iPhone 6 and Samsung Galaxy S6.
