Next year's iPhone won't even have a home button
That's because the iPhone 7 is not a major redesign from last year's iPhone.
But next year's iPhone, likely to be released in September 2017, is shaping up to be a major upgrade, according to The New York Times.
Brian X. Chen reports that next year's iPhone will have two major changes, citing two current Apple employees.
"Apple is likely to continue making iPhones without headphone jacks, and next year's iPhone will have a full-screen face with the virtual button built directly into the screen, according to two people at the company who spoke on condition of anonymity because the product details are private."
This latest report backs up what we've heard about the 2017 iPhone. The current rumor is that Apple is preparing an update with several major new features for the 10th anniversary of the iPhone next year, including wireless charging and a bezel-free screen.
The home button will be embedded into the glass panel, according to rumors and Apple fan John Gruber's idle speculation. That means next year's iPhone will look like one large display.
All of these details line up with an analyst note from KGI Securities sent to clients.
Jony Ive, Apple's head of design, reportedly wants next year's iPhone to look like "a single sheet of glass." And the CEO of one of Apple's main suppliers says one iPhone model will "adopt glass casing next year."
It might look something like this concept rendering:
