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May 2016 iPhone Rumors Judged

Posted by Matt Birchler
— 2 min read

This is the fifth in a multi-part series of posts looking back on the iPhone rumors from last year. I am doing this review to put this year's rumors into perspective. With the wisdom of hindsight, maybe we can look back on how last year's rumors shook out and see if that colors our view of the rumor season we're in now. At the very least this will be a fun trip down Apple rumor memory lane.

May 2016

Overall Score: 4/7

May 3 - Possible iPhone 7 Headphone Jack Depicted in New Image

This morning, French site Nowhereelse.fr shared an image of a Lightning cable assembly, apparently destined for the iPhone 7, which differs in design from the same part found in the current iPhone 6s.

The assembly part is host to a number of components, including cellular antenna cables and the obligatory Lightning port, but the new design clearly shows a separate white headphone jack on the far left-hand side.

Verdict: Wrong!

May 6 - New Rumor Suggests iPhone 7 Won't Include Smart Connector After All

A Smart Connector has been one of the features rumored for the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, but a new report from Japanese site Mac Otakara suggests Apple has decided not to include a Smart Connector on the upcoming devices.

Verdict: Correct!

May 11 - Apple to Produce Single iPhone 7 Plus Model With Dual-Lens Camera and 3GB RAM

Apple plans to produce a single iPhone 7 Plus that will ship with a dual-lens camera and 3GB of RAM to compensate for increased image processing demands, according to a new report from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo that walks back from past reports suggesting Apple would produce two iPhone 7 Plus models.

we now believe Apple (US) will only roll out the dual-camera version in 2H16, with 3GB RAM to meet image processing requirements.

Verdict: Correct! This is a walk back of Ming-Chi Kuo's previous assertions of 2 5.5 inch models, but as of May 11, he had it nailed.

May 11 - New iPhone 7 and 7 Plus Drawings: Dual Camera and Smart Connector Exclusive to 5.5-Inch Model

Verdict: Wrong. This may be more evidence that Apple was working on a smart connector version of the iPhone, but it is not what came out in September.

May 22 - Alleged iPhone 7 Prototype Case Leak Shows Four Separate Speakers

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.

Verdict: Wrong! The iPhone 7 had 2 total speakers, and while there were two speaker grills on the bottom, there were none on the top.

May 23 - Possible iPhone 7 and 7 Plus Molds Confirm Camera Layouts, Lack Smart Connector

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.

Verdict: Correct! These didn't give a great idea for the look of the new iPhones, but the details shown in these leaks match up with what Apple shipped that fall.

May 31 - iPhone 7 Rumored to Include 32GB of Base Storage, Potentially Dropping 16GB Tier

According to supply chain research conducted by an analyst in China, Apple's upcoming iPhone 7 might finally drop the base 16GB storage model from the lineup when it launches in the fall.

Verdict: Correct!