Traditionally, a full release of Apple’s iPhone deals a hefty design change, while the s-release focuses on hardware. We certainly saw that with the 6s, adding a new chip and processing power to the smartphone, but now we’re starting to hear rumors of some significant design tweaks – Macrumors has just reported on a source which details the first key design changes on the iPhone 7.
The report points towards the removal of the rear camera protrusion, which arrived with the arrival of the iPhone 6 in 2014. Secondly, the white antenna bands that appear on the back of the iPhone’s casing are set to drastically reduce – while they won’t disappear completely, the bands will be removed from the back, but will remain around the sides and along the edges at the top and bottom.
iPhone 7: Apple rumored to be removing rear camera protrusion and antenna bands. https://t.co/ZvLFnEmZSK pic.twitter.com/vuuznuwFau
— TapSmart (@TapSmart) February 3, 2016
The details join another design rumor this week that suggests the iPhone 7 Plus will feature a dual-lens rear camera which could seriously ramp up the capabilities of the camera.
So, for those expecting a full-on redesign, these might be minor tweaks. However, the removal of the protruding camera will be even more impressive if Apple manages to make the casing thinner, as currently rumored – potentially through the removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack.
Of course, as many commenters note, considering the huge number of iPhone users using external cases, the protruding camera has never really been a problem.
Read more: Does the iPhone really need a headphone jack?