Just two months after Apple released the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, people are already starting to gossip about the iPhone 7. In fact, several fan renders of the yet-to-be-announced iPhone 7 are out.
Some of the more interesting ones come from Curved, a German publication and an initiative of the E-plus Group. Curved's concept renders for the iPhone 7 incorporates a sliding physical keyboard just like that of the BlackBerry Priv. The images tell it all.
While the renders look shiny and pretty, it just doesn't seem feasible that Apple would favor a sliding physical keyboard. It may work for BlackBerry since a physical keypad is actually one of its best brand trademarks but the same cannot be said for Apple.
Apple wants its products to be simple. This simplicity, along with the sizable price tags, is what a lot of people don't like about Apple's products. Nevertheless, the statement is clear — Apple wants things to be streamlined.
The company's repugnance for moving parts is not a secret. The trash bin design of the Mac Pro came about due to the company's want for minimizing the needed fans for cooling. Thus, it is hard to see how the same company would want a sliding physical keyboard.
Moreover, Apple, with its introduction of the first iPhone, was mainly responsible for killing the physical keypad on smartphones. Sure, there is a niche for the physical keyboard on phones, but it's just that, a niche. The majority still enjoy the virtual keyboards on their mobile devices.
Furthermore, changing the phone design would compromise how consumers know the iPhone. There's really nothing wrong with its design so why should it be changed with the possible backlash from the community?
Simply put, physical keyboards aren't relics but they're not exactly what one would consider as an innovation. It just doesn't make sense. If there's one thing that the renders tell the world, it's that the BlackBerry Priv looks nice with more silver on it.
