Apple’s Latest … Will It Be The Greatest?

Whither the Apple of old? The one helmed by a man with a mischievous grin and the phrase that made the tech world draw its collective breath: “Just one more thing.” And then, the collective breath expelled with marvel over the newest game-changing piece of sleek hardware.

That Apple may not be in attendance tomorrow. Or it might. The hush (at least from Apple) over the newest smartphone, the iPhone 7, has paled against the cacophony of previews of the event where the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus will finally be unveiled.

The fact remains that the iPhone 7 is not expected to be a game-changer — at least not in the way the smartphone was once seen. There are a number of features that may appeal to the wonk in us, as, for example, the battery life will be longer.

There will be a dual-lens camera, of course, which means here’s looking at you, kid, and you, kid. And the the firm has said, in reference to audio, “Hit the road, Jack” (for headphones, that is), which seems to be something that, should you go by web postings and blogs and social media, did not necessarily need fixing. But removing at least some of the hardware in this way can help lend itself to designing and debuting thinner and lighter iPhones. The screen size, according to some sites, could be as large as 5.5 inches.

Other wrinkles? Waterproofing, as research firm KGI has stated that the specs are thus: You can leave your new phone unattended in as much as three feet of water for a half-hour. We’re not saying you would, but that you could…

And as for memory: The clamor is for a baseline of memory in the phones that starts at 32GB, effectively doing away with the 16GB baselines of old, which means that Apple gives the nod to media demands that span pictures, audio and video.

Beyond the hardware, Siri, which has been seeing its functional tally go up in leaps and bounds, will doubtlessly be touted as a way to make consumers’ lives easier.

The fact remains, though, that the iPhone is the main event for the company on Wednesday (Sept. 7), as iPhone sales have been sliding over the past quarters. That means that all eyes will be on the tech giant, perhaps looking past the Apple Watch and toward larger devices with relatively greater software and platform offerings.

As for payments, the firm is rumored to be adding a FeliCa chip to the phone, which would represent a push into Asia, as the standard ties directly in with contact payments in Japan.