Just a few months after the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus were introduced, the rumor mill is already ripe with what the next iPhone will look like, as well as what new features it will introduce for its loyal consumers. So for those on the fence about whether to buy a new iPhone now or wait for next year’s product, here are some of the possible features you could get if you wait about nine more months.

Bye-bye Home button

According to reports, the next iPhone will no longer sport a Home button and the Touch ID sensor will be incorporated in the display itself, allowing users to unlock their phones or authorize payments by touching their finger on the screen itself.

Liquidmetal

Back in 2010, Apple acquired exclusive rights to Liquidmetal Technologies, Inc.’s technology that would allow it to make a tough, unibody metal case. And over the years the Cupertino giant has renewed its licensing rights to the said technology, so this isn’t the first time we’ve heard of it as a possible design feature. Apple has applied for a patent that described how glass or sapphire will be combined with liquidmetal to create a case with no gaps between the two materials, with the metal alloy made up of zirconium, titanium, copper, nickel and aluminum. If rumors are to be believed, this could add a waterproof feature to the iPhone 7, something some Android devices have already offered for years.

Self-healing ports

Apple is said to be putting “a self-healing elastomer” over one or more external electronic connectors or ports. This is said to allow the device to be waterproof when the ports are not in use. Combined with the glass-metal case metioned above, the addition of this self-healing elastomer could really make the next iPhone waterproof, something clumsy fanbois will surely appreciate.

Wireless charging

Most smartphone makers have released models that support wireless charging, and since Apple has a penchant for arriving late to the party most of the time and claiming its new feature is revolutionary, I won’t be too surprised if it introduces wireless charging for iPhones next year. According to a patent application, the wireless charging technology will utilize the device’s speaker coil.

Wraparound screen

Another feature that is not entirely new, as we have seen Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. devices sporting curved screens that extend to the edges, is a curved screen. But a patent filing shows that Apple is also looking into it and taking it further. The patent filing describes a screen that stretches all around the device, as Apple deems that there’s “a need for an improved form factor for portable electronic devices which allows functionality to extend to more than one surface of the device.”

Panic mode

Another  patent Apple filed fori involved a panic mode, which can be activated deactivated via the fingerprint scanner on the Home button, or the screen if the Home button will really disappear. If activated, the iPhone will be locked and transmit a signal to emergency services. The patent application also stated that users can assign different fingerprints to activate different modes.

Three’s the magic number

And, finally, reputable Apple news source KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo stated that three iPhones will be coming in 2016: a 4″ iPhone with specs similar to the iPhone 5s, with an A9 chip; a 4.7″ iPhone 7; and a 5.5″ iPhone 7 plus. The devices are expected to be launched by September 2016, and the bigger iPhones will sport a 3GB RAM, a first for iPhones.

Photo by hurk (Pixabay)