New iPhone 7 leaks show possible Smart Connector, lack of mute switch

Another day, another set of iPhone 7 leaks.

Per a series of pictures released on Chinese social media website Weibo, the latest iPhone 7 photos appear to show a very similar design to the iPhone 6s Plus … with the interesting addition of a Smart Connector, visible at the bottom of the device on the back side.

In addition to previous rumors, a new rumor has sprung up about a flush capacitive Home button for the next-gen iPhone, albeit details are still murky.

Perhaps most surprisingly, the new photos of the iPhone 7 Plus do not include a mute switch. A toggle to enable and disable the ringer cannot be seen in its usual location above the volume buttons. This is the first time the removal of the mute switch has been floated for consideration, albeit the source is still considered murky at this point.

Even so, Apple has slowly been removing the mute switch from its iOS devices. Beginning with the iPad Air 2, current generations of iPads have lacked a mute switch. Still, the mute switch has been a defining feature of the iPhone since its inception.

The new Home Button looks to have a more defined border, a solid silver outline is depicted in these images. Existing Space Grey iPhones do not have such a metallic ring — unlike the other color SKUs Apple makes. This indicates that the button itself has changed to some degree.

If Apple is moving to a touch-sensitive Home Button, it makes sense to have some kind of outlined affordance to show iPhone 7 users where they are supposed to press. The button does not appear to be completely flush, however. Previous reports suggested that the new Home Button would help Apple’s waterproofing and dustproofing efforts.

A new backside image appears to corroborate existing rumors of new camera components and redesigned antenna lines. A dual-camera cutout can be seen in the top corner and the current rumor has it that the new camera system could use two separate 12-megapixel sensors. As before, antenna lines do not extend over the full-width of the chassis like the current iPhone 6s. The new antenna lines for iPhone 7 will seemingly only cover the top and bottom edges.

The device appears to incorporate a Smart Connector on the bottom middle of the back case. As of yet, there’s no consensus as to whether the Smart Connector will make its way into the final product.

There’s currently no word as to whether the next-gen iPhone will feature an edge-to-edge display, although the long-controversial removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack seems more certain at this point.

Pricing will likely stay the same but rumors indicate buyers will be getting a little more storage for their dollars: the 16 GB model is being dropped and 32 GB will be the new base model.

Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

Via 9to5Mac and http://s.weibo.com/weibo/iPhone%207