iPhone 7 to Ditch 3.5mm Headphone Jack, 2017 Model to Get Major Overhaul: Report

This year's Apple offering will reportedly not see much of a design upgrade, apart from small tweaks and upgrades. The form is expected to remain the same, while spec upgrades will be the highlight of Apple's keynote in September. A new report claims that this is a strategic move by Apple, to make sure that the 2017 offering by the company is a massive one.

Apple will celebrate a decade of the iPhone next year, and it looks to celebrate that with a brand new revamped iPhone. Therefore, this year's iPhone 7 has been subjected to just minor tweaks. WSJ reports that the company will let go of the 3.5mm headphone jack to make the iPhone slimmer and more water resistant.

However, the 2017 model will see a major overhaul and will sport an Oled display like the Apple Watch. It will let go of the home button, and integrate Touch ID into the display, all of which has been rumoured before. The bezel surrounding the display is also expected to disappear.

The report notes, "For years, Apple Chief Design Officer Jony Ive has expressed a desire for the iPhone to appear like a single sheet of glass, according to people familiar with the matter. The current design ideas for the 2017 iPhones are expected to push the handsets in that direction by eliminating much of the bezel around the display, with the Oled screen."

What the report implies is that Apple is switching its two-year refresh cycle to a three-year one, but that may not actually follow as the company could revert to the two-year cycle after the launch of the revamped iPhone next year.

The rumours so far suggest that they iPhone 7 will be shipped in three variants - iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone Pro/Plus Premium. The company will ditch the 16GB base variant, and bump it up to 32GB. Other storage variants expected The iPhone 7 Plus is expected to sport a dual camera setup at the back, and a Smart Connector at the back for connecting added accessories.