MacRumors

With the launch of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus creeping closer, rumors about the two devices have been leaking out at a rapid pace, offering a lot of conflicting information that makes it difficult to narrow down the features that might be included.

Images of a set of molds and schematics said to be for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus have surfaced on Chinese site Baidu and were shared by HDBlog, but as with all the alleged iPhone 7 renderings, schematics, and dummies floating around, the authenticity of the parts in the images cannot be confirmed.

In line with past rumors, the iPhone 7 plate appears to depict a larger camera, perhaps to accommodate an improved sensor to boost image quality in the 4.7-inch iPhone. The 4.7-inch iPhone will not include dual cameras, but we expect Apple will introduce some significant single camera advancements to make up for the lack of dual cameras.

It's possible the Smart Connector is simply not included on the plates and that the holes are added at a later point in the manufacturing process. If a Smart Connector is indeed a feature coming in the iPhone 7, rumors indicate it will be limited to the larger iPhone 7 Plus.

Not visible on either plate is the speaker arrangement. Apple is said to be eliminating the headphone jack on the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, with some rumors suggesting additional speakers could be added in its place. Some rumors suggested dual speakers were a possibility and a sketchy device image that surfaced over the weekend depicted a four speaker arrangement, but other rumors and evidence point towards the continued use of a single speaker.

Apple will likely introduce the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus in September of 2016, which means there are several more months ahead in which the rumors we're hearing about the two devices will solidify so we can get a clearer picture of what to expect.

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming OS X 10.11.6 El Capitan update to developers for testing purposes, one week after releasing OS X 10.11.5, the fifth update to the OS X 10.11 operating system.

The OS X 10.11.6 update, build 15G7a, can be downloaded through the Apple Developer Center or through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store.

We don't know what improvements the sixth update to OS X El Capitan might bring, but like prior updates, it's likely to focus mainly on performance improvements and bug fixes to address issues that have popped up since the release of OS X 10.11.5. According to Apple's release notes for the update, OS X 10.11.6 improves the stability, compatibility, and security of Macs.

OS X 10.11.5, the previous update, was also minor in scale and offered only bug fixes with no obvious outward-facing changes.

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming iOS 9.3.3 update to developers for testing purposes, one week after the public release of iOS 9.3.2, a minor bug fix update.

The first iOS 9.3.3 beta, build 13G12, can be downloaded immediately from the Apple Developer Center.

We don't yet know what changes iOS 9.3.3 will bring to iOS 9, but as a minor 9.x.x update, it's unlikely to introduce any major tweaks. There is no iOS 9.3.3 update available for the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, suggesting the new beta does not fix an issue that bricked some 9.7-inch iPad Pro devices. Apple has also pulled the iOS 9.3.2 update for the 9.7-inch iPad Pro and has not re-released it.

The previous update, iOS 9.3.2, introduced support for using Night Shift and Low Power mode simultaneously and fixed a Bluetooth bug that caused iPhone SE devices to experience poor audio when connected to a Bluetooth device.

We will update this post with any changes that are found in the new beta.

Directly contradicting a previous claim of projected weak demand for the iPhone 7, Apple has reportedly asked its Asian suppliers to prepare for the highest iPhone production target in "about two years", according to Barron's Asia.

Citing a story in the Taiwanese Economic Daily Times this morning, the financial news publication said Apple has requested between 72-78 million units of the new iPhone, which is much higher than the 65 million handsets that Wall Street analysts previously predicted.

Supply chain sources claim that Foxconn will remain the key manufacturer for Apple's next-gen handset, while competing contractor Pegatron will also be involved in the assembly process. Additionally, it is claimed that both companies are expected to get more market share this year, as they participate in dual camera and glass casing components production in addition to being assemblers.

The glass reference contradicts recent reports by iPhone casing supplier Catcher Technology and KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, both of which claim that Apple is planning to use glass for the casing of the 2017 iPhone, in order to differentiate it from aluminum-bodied smartphones on the market.

Earlier this month it was reported that Apple would rely on multiple manufacturing partners to assemble the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus to aim for a smooth launch in September, with Foxconn, Pegatron, and Wistron at the center of the assembly process.

Rumors suggest the iPhone 7 could retain a 6s-like design with a faster TSMC-built A10 chip, slightly larger battery, waterproofing and dustproofing, repositioned antenna bands, no headphone jack, faster Intel LTE chips, and more. Meanwhile, the larger iPhone 7 Plus (or Pro) could have a Smart Connector, dual-lens camera, and 3GB of RAM.

Other rumors surrounding the next-generation smartphones have included a flush camera, touch-sensitive home button, stereo speakers, and wireless charging, but it remains possible that Apple dropped some of those features or chose to include them on the OLED-based iPhone with glass casing rumored to launch in 2017.

Apple and the Maine Department of Education have offered to swap school iPads for MacBooks at no additional cost, after it emerged that students and teachers overwhelmingly favor the use of laptops in class.

According to a report in the Lewiston-Auburn Sun Journal, schools in Auburn and other districts in Maine are set to benefit from the "Refresh" swap, following surveys of students and teachers across grades 7 through 12, which revealed that 88.5 percent of teachers and 74 percent of students preferred laptops over iPads.

"The results are pretty darn clear," said Auburn School Department Technology Director Peter Robinson, who conducted the survey. "The findings made the decision for us." Robinson said that three years ago, after seeing success with iPads in primary grades, he thought iPads were absolutely the right choice, but now he realized iPads have shortcomings for older students.

One teacher wrote in the survey that iPads "provide no educational function in the classroom. Students use them as toys. Word processing is near to impossible. I applaud this change."

"The iPads are largely students' gaming devices," another teacher wrote, while one called their introduction into the classroom "a disaster".

As part of the state's "Refresh" swap offer, Auburn's iPads are being returned and 1,718 laptops will be delivered in the fall to Edward Little High School and Auburn Middle School.

The state "underestimated how different an iPad is from a laptop," said Maine Learning and Technology Initiative Director Mike Muir. "Student use of iPads could have been better if the Maine Department of Education encouraged more teacher training."

The offer applies to 7th and 8th-graders' computers, which are paid for by the state, and computers for high school students that some schools pay for as part of the Learning and Technology Initiative. The initiative allows up to $254 per student for a device and teacher training to help students get the most out of technology.

The cost of the new Apple laptop will be $217 per year per student for 2016-17, and $248 per year after that. In Farmington, Mt. Blue High School's technology manager Darcy Dunphy said the state's offer is "too good to refuse", because students would be getting new laptops while saving about $140,000 over four years.

"Three years ago the Apple laptop was $273 per student a year," which meant that to stay with the Apple laptop, schools would have had to pay more, Muir said. "People chose iPads. They were within what the state would fund."

Apple has been working on overhauling its iPad in Education program since 2015. With iOS 9.3, Apple introduced a number of new features that are specifically geared towards the education market. Outlined on a new Education Preview site, education-oriented features in the iOS 9 beta include shared iPads for students, a new classroom app, an Apple School Manager feature, and an improved Managed Apple IDs function.

In a curious twist on recent rumors about the upcoming iPhone 7, French language blog Nowhereelse.fr today posted a series of images purporting to show a prototype rear case for the next-gen iPhone featuring four separate speakers.

According to previous rumors, Apple could drop the headphone jack in the iPhone 7 and replace it with a second speaker that would potentially allow for the use of an additional audio amp provided by Cirrus Logic, which would also supply the noise-cancellation smart codec in an also-rumored Lightning-equipped headphone accessory.

Other more recent rumors based on alleged leaked iPhone 7 blueprints have cast doubt on that claim, showing no second speaker in place of the missing headphone jack and suggesting Apple's evolving iPhone design will continue to have a single speaker setup.

Today's post by serial leaker Steven Hemmerstoffer has therefore thrown a curveball into the rumor mill, with some images apparently taken from a promotional video made by an Italian casemaker, which allegedly received a prototype iPhone 7 case in anticipation of the coming refresh in September.

While the wider lens and lack of horizontal antenna lines are consistent with previous leaks, the appearance of four separate speaker grilles - two at the top and two along the bottom - is a new, albeit sketchy contender.

As Hemmerstoffer himself notes, it doesn't seem viable for a speaker to sit so close to the camera module, unless the reorientation of the camera and LED flash holes from a horizontal alignment across the rear of the handset, to a vertical arrangement running down it, somehow allows for the possibility.

In addition, it's unclear what benefit four speakers would have in such a small profile over one or even two of them. Still, the alleged leak remains an unexpected and therefore interesting development in the continuing iPhone 7 rumor story.

Other, more consistent industry mutterings and leaks suggest Apple's new iPhones will look similar to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s series, featuring only minor tweaks to the design such as the horizontal antenna band removal, flush camera, and a thinner Lightning port, while the larger 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus model is thought to get exclusivity to a dual-lens camera system and Smart Connector.

Chris Chang of Nomura Securities has issued a note to investors claiming that Sony may be running behind schedule in terms of supplying Apple with dual-lens camera modules for the next-generation 5.5-inch iPhone, which rumors suggest may be called the iPhone 7 Plus or iPhone Pro.

We think Sony may not be able to deliver its full share of dual cameras to Apple due to: (1) lower-than-expected yield, and (2) damage to its production facility from the April earthquake in Kumamoto.

Chang believes that Apple will instead turn to LG as its primary supplier of dual-lens camera modules for the larger-sized iPhone expected to launch in September.

Both investment bank Nomura Securities and research firm Citi Research believe all 5.5-inch iPhones will be equipped with dual-lens camera modules, rather than just one model, echoing comments made by KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo earlier this month.

Kuo previously said that Apple had two 5.5-inch versions of the iPhone 7 Plus in development, including one with a single iSight rear-facing camera and another boasting a dual-lens camera module, but he has since recanted. Meanwhile, the 4.7-inch iPhone 7 is widely expected to retain a single-lens camera.

Nomura Securities also believes that Apple will include optical image stabilization (OIS) on both the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhone, whereas the feature has been exclusive to the larger iPhone 6 Plus and iPhone 6s Plus over the past two generations.

Leaked images, components, and renders potentially offer a first look at Apple's dual-lens camera system, but rumors have been conflicting about the exact design.

The switch to dual-lens camera modules has been linked to Apple's acquisition of LinX Technology, which could lead to "DSLR-quality" photos on iPhones. LinX's multi-aperture cameras are also smaller sized than single-aperture cameras, meaning the iPhone 7 Plus could have a slightly less protruding camera lens.

LinX camera modules offer a number of other benefits, including 3D depth mapping, better color accuracy and uniformity, ultra HDR, low noise levels, higher resolution, low costs, zero shutter lag, and a compact design that allows for edge-to-edge displays. A recent video demo provides a good overview of dual-camera technology.

Apple recently patented a dual-camera system consisting of one standard wide-angle lens, similar to what is found in the latest iPhones, and a second telephoto lens capable of capturing zoomed-in video and photos. In a recent video, we visualized what the interface could look like on future iOS devices.

Amid a growing number of complaints over iOS 9.3.2 bricking some 9.7-inch iPad Pro models, Apple yesterday pulled the iOS 9.3.2 update. 9.7-inch iPad Pro users who have not installed iOS 9.3.2 no longer see the update, with iOS 9.3.1 now listed as the most current version of iOS 9 available for download.

Shortly after iOS 9.3.2 was released, MacRumors began receiving reports that the update was causing an "Error 56" message on some 9.7-inch iPad Pro devices. Not all iPad Pro users were affected, but those who were saw their devices rendered unusable. The error message instructed users to plug their devices into iTunes to restore, but restoring did not fix the problem, leaving the iPad Pros bricked.

Apple has said it is looking into the issue, but did not offer details on what was causing the problem. The iOS 9.3.2 update will remain unavailable on the iPad Pro until a fix is found.

Update: Apple told iMore it is working on a fix and plans to issue an update soon.

We're working on a fix for an issue impacting a small number of iPad units that are receiving an error when trying to update the software. We'll issue an update as quickly as possible.