Your daily iPhone 7 shots, these ones in high-res

Another day, another set of iPhone 7 shots … The latest ones, posted by Czech site LetemSvètem, are higher-resolution than most that we’ve seen to date, and you can click the images below to view them in all their 3264×2448-pixel glory.

The site says that the source – an online store – also has a blue version, though these photos were not supplied …

Given that we already know blue mockups exist, however, this fact doesn’t prove anything. So far, the smart money, supported by component shots, is still on the new color being Space Black. The photos shown, however, are of the gold model.

We’re of the opinion that the mockups were created from an incorrect story about blue (which is actually the space black) color but we’ll need to wait a few weeks to know for sure.

It’s a near-certainty that these are yet more photos of the same set of mockups doing the rounds, appearing identical in every respect to ones we’ve seen numerous times before, but at least the large size gives us a close look.

The same source that posted earlier mockups on Chinese site Weibo has posted a couple of iPhone 7 Plus photos:

GeekBar, meantime, has posted what are claimed to be screen assemblies for the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. Some are citing these as confirmation of the rumored touch-sensitive Home button, as there is no cut-out visible for a mechanical button (compare with iPhone 6 shot, right).

iPhone 7 Display Photos Show Reversed Orientation, Usual Home Button Cutout

Mobile phone repair firm GeekBar continues to share photos of iPhone 7 components on its Weibo page, with the latest set showing off the display assembly for the device. One photo in particular is interesting because it includes the display assembly paired with a front panel for the device, revealing that the display is mounted upside down compared to previous iPhone models.

iPhone 7 display and front panel photographed upside down

The iPhone’s display and digitizer flex cables have traditionally come from the top edge of the display, routing toward connectors in the top portion of the iPhone’s main logic board. The 3D Touch chip built into the display assembly on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus is also located near the top of that display.

When the bare logic board for the iPhone 7 surfaced earlier this week, one notable change was that the main A10 chip had been shifted higher on the board than corresponding chips on other iPhones, and several of the usual display-related connectors were not in their typical locations. Instead, there were extra spots for flex cable connectors found near the bottom of the iPhone 7 logic board, and today’s display assembly photo shows a corresponding change to the display part.

Several other sites reporting on these photos today have been looking at the part upside down and noting that the “bottom” portion of the display appears different with no cutout for the home button, potentially supporting rumors of a flush, Force Touch home button integrated into the front panel.

What these sites are looking at as the home button area is actually the top of the part with the earpiece and camera and sensor holes. With the reversed orientation of the display assembly on the front panel, the home button would be at the top of the photo and a portion of the home button cutout can indeed be seen under the flex cable.

The presence of a cutout does not necessarily mean the home button won’t have Force Touch haptic feedback as rumored, however, as the functionality could still be included in a separate home button component attached in much the same way as on previous iPhones.

The iPhone 7 is expected to be unveiled at a media event tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, September 7, with pre-orders reportedly beginning on September 9 and a launch following on September 16.

Wallpapers of the week: simple geometry

In our continuing Wallpapers of the Week series, geometric walls have been a continued success. Popularly determined by traffic and social shares, previous geometry based wallpapers are crowd pleasers. In today’s section we dive a little further into the genre, hopefully to your delight!

Inside, you will find a collection of five new wallpapers. Step past the fold for the download. 

Geometry wallpaper

Download: iPhone

Download: iPhone

Download: iPhone

Download: iPhone

Download: iPhonex

Chinese company creates high quality deep blue iPhone 7 Plus mockup to promote upcoming headphones

BeSound, a company that’s currently running an Indiegogo campaign for Lightning-enabled noise cancelling headphones, has developed an iPhone 7 Plus mockup in a deep blue color to help promote its product. It also teamed up with a popular YouTuber to show off the mockup on video and help spread the word about its campaign.

Last week we saw a pair of similar iPhone 7 mockup videos, but this is among the first high quality glances at what the iPhone 7 Plus might look like come launch next month.

The mockup hits on all of the key points, including the lack of a 3.5mm headphone jack, a second set of speaker holes, subtler antenna lines, and a dual camera housing. The most obvious difference with this mockup is the deep blue color, a color that has been rumored to be on the table in previous reports although later reports have pointed to darker gray or black.

Three Smart Connector pins are also featured near the bottom of the dummy unit on its rear. The Smart Connector pins have been rumored to appear on a so-called iPhone 7 Pro model. Whether or not the iPhone 7 Plus will ship with Smart Connector pins is still yet to be determined.

YouTuber Lewis Hilsenteger, better known as Unbox Therapy, went hands-on with the mockup on video:

Thunder headphones

As stated at the outset, the idea for the iPhone 7 Plus mockup was a clever marketing move from Chinese company BeSound to drum up support for its noise cancelling headphones.

Noise cancelling headphones often feature a rechargeable battery, but the Thunder headphones will utilize power drawn from the iPhone’s Lightning port. BeSound states on its page that the Thunder headphones use an internal audio chip, and can offer 100% digital sound and end-to-end lossless playback.

BeSound is halfway to its $10,000 goal to fund its Thunder headphones. I suspect that, with the hype this mockup will drum up, it’ll have no issue reaching 100% funding.

New iPhone 7 photos claim to be the real thing; earlier blue ‘mockup’ too

We’ve seen so many convincing-looking Chinese mockups of the iPhone 7 that anything with the appearance of the finished product has to be assumed to be fake unless proved otherwise. That isn’t stopping one Chinese team claiming that what it has photographed is the real thing (larger versions below), reports French site NWE. 

To add to the fun, Forbes’ Gordon Kelly is claiming that the blue model Beosound was using to promote its headphones is also real …

Consequently, having done a lot of digging, I’d put a great deal of significance behind this latest leak. The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are now at the mass production stage in the run up to their unveiling and release in September (we also know the exact release date) so keeping a lid on a supply chain of this magnitude is virtually impossible.

Lewis Hilsenteger, the man behind the Unbox Therapy YouTube channel where the video was posted, gives mixed messages, describing it in the video title as a ‘prototype’ but in the description as a ‘mockup.’ Personally, my view is that it would be surprising at this stage to have heard only slim and contradictory messages about a blue model if it’s real, but we’ll see.

Either way, the latest photos don’t show us anything we’re not already expecting. The headline features expected right now are neater antenna lines; a dual-camera on the Plus/Pro model; an improved camera on the smaller one; 32/128/256GB storage tiers; a Force Touch Home button; removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack; and a new color which may be blue but is perhaps more likely to be Space Black.

Click on the photos below to view them full-size, watch the video and let us know your views in the comments.