iPhone 7 Design 'Confirmed' In First Leaked Images

French site NoWhereElse (home to prolific leaker OnLeaks) has obtained the first iPhone 7 schematics and they reveal Apple  plans to change – well, not a lot. Nevertheless the schematics, which OnLeaks (aka Steve Hemmerstoffer) ‏states are ‘confirmed’ give us 3 key revelations:

Goodbye Antenna Bands

It has long been rumoured that Apple has created a breakthrough ‘smart’ material that would enable it to finally kill off the unsightly antenna stripes on the iPhone range. The stripes are cut into the handsets’ aluminium chassis to stop it killing signal strength and, right on cue, NoWhereElse’s schematics show they have gone, which creates a much cleaner overall look.

That said, antenna bands are expected to remain on the top and bottom edges of the iPhone 7 – something the technical drawings don’t reveal.

Upgraded Camera

It should be no surprise that the iPhone 7 will sport an upgraded camera – every new iPhone does – but the NoWhereElse schematics show something that Apple hasn’t done in several years: make the module bigger.

The giveaway is the hole for the camera module is significantly larger than on the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6. It has also been moved closer to the edge of the phone. Note: a larger module doesn’t necessarily indicate it will protrude more than the current camera. In fact talk is the iPhone 7 camera will be completely flat – the first time this would have happened since the iPhone 5S.

Then again this larger module wouldn’t accommodate a dual camera (the smaller hole is for the LED flash). Controversially this, potentially revolutionary technology, is thought to be reserved solely for a new top of the range 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus variant called the ‘iPhone 7 Pro’.

Thinner Design

While the dimensions are not shown in the leak, Hemmerstoffer says iPhone 7 schematics are marginally thinner than the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus – models which were actually fractionally thicker than the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

Ever thinner smartphones have started to irritate customers who’d rather manufacturers focused on practicalities like bigger batteries. Samsung finally accommodated this with the superb Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge so, if Apple does not do the same, it could prove a controversial move.

Of course the biggest talking point with the leaked schematics though is clear to everyone…

Despite the iPhone 7 expected to be a ‘design change year’, it appears Apple is not planning to make wholesale changes from the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6S that preceded it.

Antenna bands and camera module aside, the schematics appear to show a phone which is virtually identical is style designs Apple has been selling since 2014. This is likely to come as a disappointment given Apple is set to kill the headphone jack and the hope was, as compensation for this polarising move, customers would see Apple make dramatic design improvements.

Instead it appears owners will get a much less exciting jack replacement.

So should we be taking the NoWhereElse schematics seriously? Most definitely. Hemmerstoffer was first to reveal schematics for the iPhone 6 and Galaxy S6 in 2014 and iPhone 6S and Galaxy S7 in 2015 – all proved to be on the money.

Of course we won’t have to wait long for official Apple iPhone news, though it won’t be about the iPhone 7 itself. Apple has announced a media event for March 21st which will see the launch of the new 4-inch iPhone SE and probably a new 9.7-inch iPad Pro.