Everything we know about the iPhone 7

Based on Apple's historical nomenclature for its iPhone generations, it's likely the next iPhone will be called the iPhone 7.

Apple has used consecutive numbers to name its iPhone generation ever since the iPhone 3G. The next generation was called the iPhone 4, then 5, and most recently, 6.

We'll probably see an iPhone 7 with the same 4.7-inch screen as the iPhone 6s and an iPhone 7 Plus with a 5.5-inch screen like the iPhone 6s Plus.

It's unlikely that Apple would take away one of its two iPhones with different screen sizes.

So far, Apple has used three main materials for the iPhone, including plastic, glass, and metal.

Now, the iPhone 7 might be dressed in mysterious "new compound materials," according to DigiTimes. No one knows what these materials could be, or what they'll look and feel like, but they'll likely make the iPhone look and feel premium, if not, more premium than the current iPhone 6s' aluminum build.

Those white plastic antenna bands you see on the top and bottom of the iPhone 6 and 6s (as well as the Plus models) might be gone in the iPhone 7, also according to DigiTimes.

They're necessary on metal iPhones to allow a cellular signal in and out, as the aluminum casing acts as a barrier. Getting rid of the antenna bands is one of the reasons being reported for Apple's "new compound materials." 

The iPhone 7 could be even thinner than the iPhone 6s, according to Fast Company.

One of the main supposed reasons that Apple is ditching the headphone jack is to make the iPhone thinner, but we wouldn't be surprised if the iPhone 7 is thinner for the sake of thinness. 

The next iPhone might not have a headphone jack, according to Japanese Apple blog Mac Otakara via Apple Insider, which could make your old pair of headphones with a 3.5mm connector obsolete.

That means we could be using the iPhone's Lightning port for listening to music, which is usually used for charging. The other option is to use Bluetooth headphones.

If the rumors are true, Apple and other audio hardware companies would probably sell adapters so you can connect your old 3.5mm headphones to the iPhones Lightning port.

If the iPhone 7 doesn't have a headphone jack, that means the Ear Pods Apple includes with the iPhone will need a Lightning connector. So, we'll probably see new Ear Pods with Lightning connectors come with the next iPhone, according to 9to5Mac. 

We might be charging the iPhone 7 wirelessly, according to Fast Company.

Wireless charging could be another option for charging the next iPhone now that its main method of charging (with the Lightning port) could be used for listening to music.

Indeed, I tried using Lightning headphones for a week, and I found myself unable to charge my iPhone while I was listening to music.

The "new compound materials" combined with a lack of headphone jack could make the iPhone 7 the most waterproof iPhone yet, according to DigiTimes.

The iPhone 6s is also a very waterproof phone, so it's not entirely surprising that Apple is going in a water-resistant direction for its next iPhones.

The iPhone 7 could make any of your headphones noise-canceling with special software running with new audio components to make the Lightning port better suited for audio, according to Fast Company.

The current iPhone already uses noise-canceling technology to drown out ambient sound during phone calls so you can hear, and be heard, more clearly, even in a noisy environment. 

As with every new iPhone, the iPhone 7 will run on a new chip that's being called the "A10," according to Cult of Mac.

The iPhone 6s' A9 chip makes it the most powerful phone you can buy at the moment, and the A10 is supposedly even more powerful and efficient. 

It also has technology that will give the iPhone 7 better cellular "performance," which means it could have better reception and retain stronger data and cellular connections than previous iPhones.

Just like the last few iPhone models, we predict that Apple will announce the iPhone 7 in early September. It should come out a week or two after that.

The iPhone 6s without a two-year contract sells for $649, and the iPhone 6s Plus $749. Most iPhones before them cost the same (off-contract), so we predict that Apple will sell the iPhone 7 for a similar price.

Now that US carriers aren't offering two-year contracts anymore, you can't buy iPhones for $200.

From now on, you'll either pay the entire cost of the iPhone up front, or pay for it in monthly installments using either your carrier's monthly payment plan, or Apple's own payment plan.