Updated: iPhone 7 release date, rumours, news, specs, price and everything you need to know

Yes, yes, yes, we're fully aware that the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus have only just gone on sale, but the rumour mill has started to churn, and the first mutterings of a possible iPhone 7 release date have already reached our ears – don't shoot the messenger, alright.

Given the fickle nature of the tech industry and our insatiable need for something faster, thinner and with a new design – something the iPhone 6S lacked – the iPhone 7 is already being tipped as one of the most eagerly awaited additions to the 2016 smartphone roster. It's got a tough act to follow though, with early iPhone 6S sales breaking records.

So, what exactly can we expect from the iPhone 7? Well, read on to find out and bookmark this page as we'll continue to update it with all the latest iPhone 7 rumours, leaks and announcements moving forward.

iPhone 7 release date: When can we expect it?

If you're putting off that overdue upgrade until the iPhone 7 drops, we've some bad news for you; you've got one hell of a wait ahead. Probably at least a full year. That's right, 12 long months, not too far off 400 sleeps of waiting as rival handsets – such as the Samsung Galaxy S7 – come and go, tempting you along the way.

Although Apple is currently holding its iPhone 7 release date cards close to its chest – and will continue to do so right up until the brink of unveiling – the company's past smartphone launches can give us a sign of what's to come moving forward.

Over the past five years – ever since the iPhone 4S, Apple has unveiled its latest smartphone wares in early September, bringing the devices to retailers' shelves just a few weeks later.

As such, there's no reason not to expect the iPhone 7 to formally enter the realms of reality in September 2016. This might be pure conjecture right now, but one thing we know for certain is that you're not going to have this device filling your pocket anytime soon, sorry, folks.

iPhone 7 design: It's time for something new

The iPhone 7's design will inevitably be the phone's big talking point, after all, tradition tells us it's time for something new, and who isn't excited about that? The iPhone 6/iPhone 6S design is now in its second year, the traditional cut-off point for past Apple efforts. With the next full step in numerical announcements should come an all-new look and feel.

Just like the rounded iPhone 6 followed the boxy 5S, and the 4-inch 5 lined up after the smaller 4S, the iPhone 7 will mark a new design direction for the company that has time and again set the standard in smartphone aesthetics.

Sadly, what form this new look and feel will take is currently a mystery. Well, mostly. Apple is known to be working on curved and flexible phone designs – leaked patents have told us so – but it is unclear if such a radical new form factor will be bestowed on next year's phone or held off for future iterations.

One thing we do know about the iPhone 7 design, however, is that it will be slimmer than its predecessor. Leaked Apple patents have suggested the phone could be considerably slimmer than this year's model, with the iPhone 6S having jumped from the 6's 6.9mm to a slightly plumped 7.1mm form factor. As such, expect the next-gen model to dip back beneath that 7mm marker.

iPhone 7 specs: It might be time to buy new headphones

Helping this iPhone-themed Atkins diet is a change in the handset's components, most notably the phone's headphone jack. Now, this might not sound like the most exciting move in smartphone enhancement, but bear with us here, it's going to be a much bigger deal that you'd expect.

Despite the headphone market universally supporting a standard 3.5mm audio jack – you know the one – Apple patents have shown the iPhone 7 could forge its own new path in audio connections. The slimmer orifice dubbed a 'D jack' because of its squared-off, semi-circular shape, is just 2.0mm across. Now, while the introduction of a D jack would help ensure a slimmer iPhone, it would come at a pretty severe cost – none of our current headphones would be compatible without an adaptor. So, not only would you be buying a new iPhone, you'd be investing in an entirely new tech roster.

This isn't where the early iPhone 7 specs leaks have stopped, either. The phone's new power supply has already made a premature appearance. As if the Apple's current A9 chip didn't offer enough power, early leaks have claimed the upcoming iPhone 7 will see the iPad maker move to a new, more powerful six-core processor. As well as introducing added grunt, the new chip – presumably set to be dubbed the A10, because that's how numbers work – the added cores should see Apple better manage this power, further helping extend the phone's already impressive battery life.

Another potential change teased by Apple's busy patent filers, is the addition of a virtual keyboard. An unlikely addition for next year's model - this is probably one for a lot further down the roadmap, Apple is known to be working on a way of digitally projecting a keyboard onto flat surfaces, letting users type freely without a physical add-on - sounds handy, right?

iPhone 7 screen: It's time to move to Full HD

Like with the phone's design, it's time for Apple to up its screen efforts. Although the iPhone 6S offers one of the brightest, most vibrant and colour accurate displays on the market, its resolution is lacking by current standards.

The device's 4.7-inch screen boasts a 1334 x 750 pixel resolution. When the likes of the LG G4 and the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ are now rocking 2560 x 1440 pixel, QHD panels, and the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium has just landed as the world's first phone with a 4K display, the Apple offering is starting to look slightly grainy and dated.

While it's unlikely that Apple will jump straight to a QHD display - that sort of numerical specs race baying is not the company's style - early speculation has suggested the iPhone 6S Plus's 1080p, Full HD panel could be scaled down for the smaller of Apple's two flagship phones.

A feature tipped to have been bestowed on the 6S before sadly missing the cut, we'd be hugely surprised to see the iPhone 7 not running a Full HD, 3D Touch-friendly panel.

iPhone 7 camera: Don't expect big differences

Contrasting the phone's design and screen updates, don't expect the iPhone 7 to be on the receiving end of any major camera updates. This isn't a bad thing though; the phone simply doesn't need them.

The iPhone 6S took what was already arguably the best smartphone camera on the market and gave it a 12-megapixel spit polishing. As well as the improved megapixel count, the 6S switched to a new lens construction and added a raft of new camera-focused software tweaks - including the largely gimmicky Live Photos feature.

Although the iPhone 7's camera has yet to be the focus of many leaks, next time out we'd expect to see the 12-megapixel sensor retained, with a few further software enhancements thrown into the mix. 4K video capture, a new addition on the 6S, is likely to be an increased focus this time next year, too as the next-gen imaging tech becomes more prevalent.

iPhone 7 software: Siri wants to listen to everything

Given that the iOS 9 update has only just hit existing iPhones and iPads, Apple's next software release is still a largely unknown entity. It's pretty damn likely to be dubbed iOS 10 (or X) though, because, again, that's just how numerical progression works.

While the ins-and-outs of the iPhone 7-bound software are unclear, a couple of early rumours have started to float around.

One such report has tipped further Siri progression to be atop the features hit list. According to unnamed insiders, it has been suggested that Siri will soon gain the ability to transcribe your voicemails, converting them into text form. Handy? Sure. Sinister that Siri's listening into your voicemails? You bet.

iPhone 7 price: Start saving now

As we're sure you can appreciate, there's no official word on the iPhone 7 price just yet, and there won't be anytime soon. Again though, just like the company's launch patterns, Apple's past pricing structures offer a heavy hint as to what's to come next time around.

The iPhone 6S is expensive. A lofty price tag is a staple feature of all Apple handsets, so don't expect the iPhone 7 price to be anything but wallet-stretchingly high.

iPhone 6S prices start at £539 for the 16GB model and we can't expect the iPhone 7 to rock up any cheaper. You might want to start saving those pennies now then.

That's all we know for now, but stay tuned for all the latest iPhone 7 news and rumours as new details emerge.

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Apple iPhone, iPad Pro iOS 9: Tips, tricks and secret features, Dr Mobiles Limited, Repair, Unlock, Auckland

After a lengthy beta period, iOS 9 is now winging its way to iPhones and iPads across the land. We've been using it since it was first released to developers and there's plenty to like and lots of new features to play around with.

Here are some of our favourite tips, tricks and secret additions that will help you become a master of Apple's latest operating system.

Alter the side-switch functionality

Until its disappearance on the iPad Air 2, the side switch on Apple's tablet could be used as either a mute button or one that locks the rotation in either portrait or landscape.

On the iPhone, however, that function didn't exist. Until iOS 9, that is. If you've got an iPhone you can now set what the side button does. Head into Settings - General - and you can now change the 'Use Side Switch to' option.

Navigate the London Tube with Maps

Apple Maps has always fallen behind Google's navigation behemoth, but iOS 9 brings plenty of exciting features to the mix that might have you using Apple's mapping app a bit more.

The biggest improvement is the addition of transit directions – so buses, trains and tubes. There's limited city support at launch, so if you're in the UK, it'll only work in London. The way it works is slick and useful. When you set up a journey, you now have the option to search for transport links and results will be included tube and train journeys.

Disable "Shake to Undo"

A hidden feature to begin with, Shake to Undo lets you quickly delete the last few words typed with just a quick shake of the iPhone. We've always found it overly sensitive and the pop-up that appears is annoying. Thankfully, in iOS 9 you can disable it altogether. Just head into Settings - Accessibility - Shake to Undo, and then toggle the slider.

Smarter Siri - What can she do?

Do maths - In iOS 9, Siri seems to be a maths whiz. You can ask her basic sums, and some tougher ones, but she'll also be able to work out conversions. For instance, you could say 'covert 243 miles into kilometres' and Siri should give you the correct answer.

Set contextual reminders - Siri has always been able to set to reminders for you, but in iOS 9 she can set them to appear when you hit a certain location. Want to be reminded to pick up milk when you're in Tesco? Siri can help.

Show photos by date - The iOS Photos app had a design makeover in iOS 8, and now iOS 9 introduces new features like the ability to access your albums and snaps through Siri. The voice assistant can call up specific shots either by location or date. If you ask Siri to 'show photos taken in London last year' it'll bring up all the relevant results.

Create a to-do in Notes

One of iOS 9's best features is the completely updated and improved Notes app. It's clearly built for the new iPad Pro – just look at those drawing tools – but the iPhone and regular iPad also get some welcome new features. Our favourite is the to-do list creator which lets you whip up quick bullet-point lead lists of reminders.

Utilise Safari content blockers

Although it was hardly mentioned during the iOS 9 announcement, the ability to use content blockers in Safari is a big deal. A very big deal. Apple's official explanation of the feature is that it will 'block cookies, images, resources, pop-ups and other content', but in reality that translates to ad-blockers finally coming to iOS.

To get things going you'll first need to grab a Content Blocking Safari Extension from the App Store – you can try 1Blocker, Blockr, Crystal or the fantastically named Block Party – then head into the Safari section of the Settings app, and toggle enable the Enable Content Blockers switch to on and select your desired one.

Interestingly, these ad-blockers only work on 64-bit devices, so the original iPad and iPhone 5 are out.

Group notifications by apps

Notifications have been improved in iOS 9, though not quite as much as we'd have hoped. One nice addition is giving you a bit of freedom over how they're grouped. In Settings, head to Notifications and you can select them to be 'Grouped by app' rather than solely on time.

Add an iCloud Drive app to your home screen

While iCloud Drive hasn't really offered up enough reasons for us to switch from Dropbox or Google Drive, it's own cloud storage service that's great for moving content between your iOS and OS X devices. Even though it was introduced in iOS 8, there wasn't a native way to access all your stored files, you'd have to download a third-party alternative. Thankfully, iOS 9 fixes it, but not by default.

Instead of just shoving an iCloud Drive icon on to your homepage, you have to first head into Settings > iCloud > iCloud Drive and check the 'Show on Home Screen' box. Now jump back to the homescreen and you'll have a proud new icon sitting there.

Could Apple not do this with its other native apps too? We'd love to be able to disable Tips, Game Center and Stocks for instance.

Turn a video into a floating window (iPad only)

Part of Apple's latest push to better integrate multitasking into the iPad, iOS 9 lets you turn a video into a floating window and have it show up even when you exit the app. This is great for catching up on some TV while you knock out an email, and it also works for FaceTime calls.

It currently only works with the native Videos app and a handful of websites, just tap the icon above (furthest left on the video player) and prepare for much improved multitasking. You can resize the window by pinching or shut it off completely with the 'X' icon.

Turn on power saving mode (iPhone only)

iOS 9 does seem to add more 'headline' features to the iPad, but this one is exclusive to the phone. A new 'Low Power Mode' helps you get more life out of each charge by shutting down background app refreshes, limiting mail fetches and disabling some visual animations.

Once your phone reaches 20% it'll give you a handy nod to turn it on, but you can also head into Settings > Battery and flick the switch to turn it on manually.

Search the App Store with Spotlight

You now don't have to open the App Store to search through its vault of downloads, as iOS 9 brings a nifty new function to Spotlight. Swipe down anywhere on the home screen, type out your desired app, tap the Search App Store option and it will take you straight there.

Search directly in Settings

If you've ever spent endless minutes searching through the settings app for that lost option, this will be for you. Apple has added a search box right inside Settings and it's already one of our favourite iOS 9 hidden features.

It works similarly to searching through System Preferences on a Mac, just type the thing you're looking for and it'll bring up everything related to that item. Typing 'Time', for instance, lets you easily jump to 'Time Zone', 'Date & Time' and 'Default Alert Times' for your email accounts.

Make your device more secure

With the introduction of TouchID, Apple managed to make both iPhones and iPads much more secure. But, if you're still rocking an older iPhone or just prefer having some digits protecting your tech, iOS 9 now recommends you choose a six digit code instead of four. To make the change, open up Settings > Passcode > Change Passcode > Passcode options and hit 6-Digit Numeric Code.

High Quality music streaming over data connection by default

During the run-up to the Apple Music launch, we weren't completely sure at what bit-rate the tunes would stream at. It was eventually revealed that it would be 256kbps AAC, the same as iTunes downloads, but there was still some confusion over whether this would vary depending on your mobile connection.

iOS 9 though lets you ensure everything you stream from Apple Music comes down at the highest resolution available (still, 256kbps) whatever strength your connection is. To enable it, open up Settings > Music and toggle the High Quality over Mobile Network option.

Get back your contact shortcuts

In iOS 8, Apple added a bunch of your most frequented contacts directly to the multitasking screen, but then took them away again in iOS 9. Fear not though, because they're still accessible. They're now placed in Siri's new Proactive resting place, so just swipe left from the front homepage and they'll appear.

Jump right into Wallet

Instead of having to unlock your iPhone 5S, 6 or 6 Plus to access the new Wallet app, you can jump directly into it just by double tapping TouchID from the lock screen.

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Apple iPhone 6s vs Samsung Galaxy S6, Auckland, New Zealand, 0800429429 Repair, iOS, iCloud

The iPhone 6s may have been been recently introduced to the world surrounded by excitement and fanfare, but that doesn't give Apple an immediate right to expect to dominate the smartphone market over the next quarter.

Granted, the technical specifications that ship with the iPhone 6s are impressive as is the physical appearance of the device – a design that we know resonates with consumers due to it being proven by the popularity of the iPhone 6. But what about competing devices like Samsung's Galaxy S6? Let's take a look at each device to see how they measure up.

iPhone-6-Vs-Galaxy-S6

Design:

Both Samsung's Galaxy S6 and Apple's iPhone 6s are beautifully designed. Due to its "s" generational evolution, Apple's iPhone borrows much of its physical appearance from its predecessor, the iPhone 6, shipping with an almost identical metal unibody.

iPhone-6s-Galaxy-S6

Samsung's Galaxy S6, on the other hand, has a mix of aluminum and glass body to capture the attention of consumers. Preferring one physical design over another is really a personalized decision, but both devices are undeniably beautiful.

Display:

Galaxy-S6-iPhone-6s-displays

The accompanying display is the window to the soul of the device, and is therefore one of the most important aspects of any smartphone or tablet. Apple's iPhone 6s comes with a 4.7-inch Retina HD display, with a 1334 x 740 pixel resolution serving up 326 PPI. Of course, there's also the addition of 3D Touch technology that opens the device up to a whole new range of possibilities. It's basically a pressure sensitive display that can sense three different level/pressure of touch. Here's how 3D Touch in iPhone 6s works:

Samsung's Galaxy S6 offering comes equipped with a larger 5.1-inch Quad HD display offering up a 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution at 577 PPI.

Processor and RAM:

Processing-power-Galaxy-S6-iPhone-6s

After the display, consumers are generally interested in just how much processing power their kit ships with. As we already know, the Galaxy S6 packs an octa-core processor comprising a quad-core 1.5GHz Cortex-A53 and a quad-core 2.1GHz Cortex-A57. There's also 3GB of RAM alongside that beast. Apple's latest iPhone ships with its own Apple A9 64-bit processor, which has the M9 motion coprocessor built in. The iPhone 6s has been confirmed to ship with 2GB of RAM, and as we've been shown time and time again, Apple's harmonious collaboration between hardware and software generally gets the best out of what it's given.

Software:

This one is really chalk and cheese. Day and night. Entirely personal preference. The iPhone 6s, of course, ships with iOS 9 pre-installed. The Samsung Galaxy S6, of course, serves up the latest final version of Android Lollipop. Features and functionality within each platform are extremely well documented, both officially and by the likes of ourselves. However, what it really boils down to is if the decision was made purely on the underlying operating system, would you be more comfortable tying yourself down to Apple or Google's ecosystem?

Battery:

This one is a little trickier. While specs will tell you that Galaxy S6's 2550mAh means better battery than iPhone 6s's 1715mAh, in real world tests though, it will be another story altogether. Galaxy S6's Quad HD screen and TouchWiz software reportedly gives worse battery time than even its predecessor. Apple on the other hand claims that new battery management in iOS 9 and the battery efficient A9+M9 chip means iPhone 6s gives same battery time as iPhone 6 despite having 200mAh less battery capacity.

According to Apple, iPhone 6s should give you 14 hours of talk time, 10 days of standby, 10 hours of LTE or 3G usage and 11 hours of WiFi usage. Samsung doesn't provide any official battery time stats for battery in Galaxy S6.

Camera:

iPhone-6s-vs-Galaxy-S6-camera

Both devices ship with phenomenal cameras. It's as simple as that. Samsung's Galaxy S6 serves up a stunning 16-megapixel rear shooter with 4K video recording. With that said, that's pretty much all it is – a really polished and capable camera. The iPhone 6s, on the other hand, may come with a 12-megapixel module, but it does provide the option of Live Photos, which essentially means that every image taken is also stored as a very short video clip that can be used as a wallpaper. And as for videos, the iPhone 6s is also capable of shooting videos in 4K.

Price:

This is where we could find a number of individuals actually splitting off towards Apple or Samsung. Apple's iPhone 6s starts at $649 for a SIM-free, unlocked, 16GB version in Space Gray, Silver, Gold or Rose Gold color options. Samsung's Galaxy S6, on the other hand, is slightly cheaper (after the recent price drop), starting at around the $576 mark for a SIM-free option available in four different color options as well. Given the fact that it launched five months earlier, it should be widely available right now.

When it comes down to it, both handsets look fantastic. Both devices are undeniably powerful and should be able to handle most modern smartphone tasks with relative ease. Both come with biometric fingerprint detection as well. The choice really does come down to personal preference. Android or iOS? Apple or Samsung? Tried and tested or new to the market? Maybe the likes of 3D Touch and Live Photos seals the deal for you? Or maybe you prefer Quad HD screen and wireless charging in Galaxy S6? The choice is yours to make.

iPhone 6s vs Galaxy S6:

Take a look at the full specification breakdown below and see what you think.

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How to Save Battery Power on an iPhone 6S Plus? Auckalnd iPhone iPad Repair 0800429429

Does it always seem like your iPhone or iPod Touch runs out of battery life just as you're about to use it for an important meeting, or settling in for a six-hour plane ride? This article will offer some tips as to conserving battery power on your device.

Step 1

Lower the brightness. Go to the Settings menu, select the Brightness option, and turn the screen brightness down to low. It will be somewhat more difficult to use apps or read something on low brightness, but it will save you lots of battery power.

Step 2

Update to the latest software. Apple engineers implement frequent changes to iPhone software, making it necessary to update to the latest software in order to harness those changes.

If your phone is operating iOS 5 or later, check for software update availability by going to Settings → General → Software Update.

To check for software update availability through iTunes, plug your iPhone into your computer and look for it in the source list. Click on the iPhone in the source list and then click on

Step 3

Use music, videos, games or internet browsing sparingly. The graphics in these can all quickly drain your battery life, so make sure you're using them for all they're worth.

Step 4

Fetch data manually, or set fetch data to "hourly." Your phone fetches data periodically to update email and other notifications. The more often your phone fetches data, the quicker your battery life may deplete.

To tell iPhone to let you fetch data manually, navigate to Settings → Mail, Contacts, Calendars → Fetch New Data → Manually.

Step 5

Turn WiFi off. Because of your phone constantly reaching out for wifi signal, the battery life drops faster.

Step 6

Turn Cellular Data and (especially) 3G off.

Go to Setting → General → Cellular → Switch Cellular Data and Enable 3G to Off.

Step 7

Turn off push mail when you're not using it. If you have push mail on for a Yahoo! account, for example, and you dearly need to save power, turn off mail. To turn off push mail:

Navigate to Settings → Mail, Contacts, Calendars → Fetch New Data, and set Push to Off.

Step 8

Turn off push notifications. The iPhone's various apps are sometimes alerted to software updates through push notifications, which can unfortunately drain battery life. In order to turn off push notifications, navigate to Settings → Notifications and disable notifications for any applications you don't deem absolutely necessary.

Step 9

Use location software sparingly. Some apps on your phone, such as Maps, use location-pinning software to determine GPS locations. When you are not using them, and for privacy concerns, get in the habit of turning this function off.

Go to Settings → Privacy → Location Services and disable.

Step 10

When no coverage exists, switch to airplane mode. Your iPhone always tries to search for coverage, even in places where no coverage exists, burning battery power as it does so. For this reason, it's recommended to switch over to airplane mode when you are in such an area.

Step 11

Close apps properly. If you just press the Home button, some apps are still running in background. Double press the Home button and close them manually.

Step 12

Give it space when it charges. You may notice that your iPhone gets warm when it charges. If your iPhone is wrapped up in a carrying case while charging, the excess heat may affect the battery power. Be sure to give your iPhone adequate space while it's charging.

Step 13

Lock your phone (or put it on a short auto-lock). If your phone isn't set to a quick auto-lock time already, be sure to correct it. There's a good chance that your phone could waste battery power when you aren't using it if it isn't locked.

Go to Settings → General → Auto-Lock and set it to 1 minute or less.

Step 14

Let your phone complete at least one charge cycle each month. A charge cycle is when you charge the phone to 100% and let the battery power drain completely, after which you charge it again. Going through a charge cycle per month keeps the electrons in the iPhone lithium battery properly greased, so to speak.