iPhone 7 release date and rumor updates: New handset to come with flexible OLED screen

iPhone 6[Photo credit: Apple]

Recently, the rumors about the release of an alleged Apple iPhone 6C were put to rest by a supply chain associated with the Cupertino tech firm. What remains to be confirmed or debunked though is the iPhone 7. Apple is expected to release a follow-up to its large-screened chartbusting smartphone offering in the third quarter of this year. That may be about eight months away following Apple's release pattern, but media outlets are already thinking up how and what the future iPhone will be like. 

First up, strong suppositions indicate that the next flagship phone will be caked with sapphire glass. This was the same conjecture for the iPhone 6, which obviously did not come to pass. However, Focus Taiwan has made a report about Foxconn Technology Group, saying that the device supplier is constructing a new factory to manufacture sapphire glass for the new iPhone. 

Another info about the screen comes from IT Pro, which reported that the iPhone 7 could come in a 5-inch flexible OLED display with 400 ppi pixel density. The source of the information this time is Foxconn, which claimed to have received requests to build OLED screens in different sizes before 2016 or 2017. According to The Motley Fool, Apple was awarded by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office with a patent called "flexible electronic devices." The display could also be housed in a chassis made of liquid metal. 

Under the hood, the iPhone 7 could pack a quad-core A8 processor (some reports say it will be an A9) along with a hulking 256 GB memory size. A major RAM jump is also coming. The iPhone 6 had 1 GB internal memory. This is now dwarfed by the alleged 4 GB RAM to be loaded onto the new device. When it comes to imaging capabilities, Apple is expected to incorporate a 14-megapixel rear-facing shooter along with a 4-megapixel FaceTime camera. Earlier reports also suggested that a camera unit with a two-lens system that shoots DSLR-quality image will be slotted in.