New iPhone, expected tomorrow, will ditch headphone jack

UPDATE: US media reports say Apple's new iPhone, due to be unveiled tomorrow morning NZT, will ditch its headphone jack.

It's said that earbuds will ship with the new iPhone that will plug into its Lightning port (hitherto only used for charging or connecting to a computer).

Apple will immediately start selling an adapter for connecting a standard 3.5mm headphone to a Lightning port, stories say.

Punters will also have the option to shell out for Bluetooth wireless headphones.

Leaks also indicate the "iPhone 7" (as it may or may not be called) will have a second camera, which is said to assist with zoom.

There will be two models, with the dual camera restricted to the larger "iPhone 7 Plus".

Also expect to see a bump in minimum onboard storage from 16GB to 32GB, a "click-less home button" that registers pressure but doesn't physically move, and a faster processor (the better to power that dual camera).

One analyst says the new model will also get IPX7 waterproofing (that is the same as the Apple Watch and the ill-fated Samsung Galaxy Note 7.

In terms of colours, the current rose gold, gold, and silver models will remain, apparently, but space gray will be replaced by a "dark black" option and a separate "piano black" model with a glossy finish. "Piano black" will initially be restricted to higher-end models.

EARLIER: New iPhone tipped as Apple sends invites to Sept 7 event: what to expect

Apple is expected to unveil a new iPhone — and possibly the second generation of the Apple Watch — at a September 7 (Sept 8 NZT) event in San Francisco.

As usual, the company has kept invites vague, but year-in, year-out a new iPhone has been announced around this time.

In recent years, Apple has also followed a two-year pattern of a major upgrade every second year, with a tweaked model in between.

Thus, the September 7 event should be a big-bang "iPhone 7" upgrade.

But the The Wall Street Journal says Apple will break its cycle and only introduce subtle changes at the Monday-week preview (a faster processor, a bump from 16GB to 32GB onboard memory for the entry-level model, a better camera and a new dark blue colour are tipped).

If so, it will disappoint fans. The company's last major iPhone overhaul was in 2014, when the company super-sized its display with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus (which were followed by the 6s, 6s Plus and the smaller SE in 2015).

The Journal reckons Apple is holding off on major iPhone changes until next year, which will be the handset's 10th anniversary?

New Apple Watch?
It's also possible that Apple will preview the Apple Watch 2 on September 7 (the first model was first demo'd two years ago and has now been in the market for around 18 months. The rumour mill holds the second-generation will have a similar form factor. A GPS chip for tracking workouts is expected to be the signature new feature.

And some are also picking the event will see new MacBook Pros. A slimmer design, Touch ID and a dynamic OLED touch panel in place of static function hardware keys are all said to be on the cards.