With invitations for what is expected to be Apple’s new iPhone 7 now having been sent, the debonair James Bond of the smartphone world, the phone Daniel Craig presumably wanted James Bond to use when noting that Bond only uses the best is about to be lauched in just over a week.

The countdown is set for final lift-off, the time at which the espionage of leak after leak of photos purporting to show iPhone parts no longer matters, for the final products of the newest generation are set to launch and blow all the rumours away.

One thing that is expected which will rock the mobile computing and communications world is something central to the iPhone – its brain.

The A10 processor and M10 co-processor

The A10 processor is expected to be an absolute screamer, bettering the current A9 processor Apple uses in its iPhone 6S and SE ranges, which will make the A10 the fastest mobile processor, challenging desktop processors even harder. It will also come with the M10 co-processor to measure our movements and more. 

Samsung’s current Galaxy S7, S7 Edge and Note7 all have the Qualcomm 820 Processor as one of its options, alongside Samsung Exynos processor versions dependent on the region you’re in, and all of these processors should be absolutely blown away by the A10.

With the iPhone 7 Plus expected to come with 3GB RAM, (but only 2GB on the single-camera iPhone 7), you also have on that model the most powerful iPhone yet, which when paired with the expected 256GB capacity model, makes it the most capacious and spacious iPhone yet.

So, the iPhone 7 will have plenty of processing firepower under its belt and is sure to shame competing ARM chip makers once more, with vastly superior technology using fewer cores for superior performance – as is currently the case today, with the existing Apple A9 processor beating the Qualcomm 820 on various benchmarks while the 820 beats the A9 on others. 

Seeing as the Note7 is only just released, and the S7 range just six months old itself, these and all other 820 processor powered devices are about to get a whoopin’ Apple style, which is going to absolutely delight all new iPhone 7 users who are already prepped to feel the need for ever faster speed with each new model.

The iPhone 7 Plus dual-lens camera

Then there’s the camera on the 7 Plus. Expected to arrive with twin lenses, this is supposed to pull the same trick as the LG G5 – a wider field that can be captured by using both lenses together.

While the G5 does this beautifully for photos, with a fantastic manual mode letting you do whatever you want, the video mode is let down by not having the ability to change the exposure or tap-to-focus while recording video, whether in widescreen or not.

Both the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy S7 and Note7 allow you to change exposure levels on the fly, with tap to focus while recording, so the omission of this on the LG G5 is disappointing.

You can zoom in or out when recording, but if you can’t change exposure levels, then certain things like slides on a projected presentation can wash out when you’re recording a presentation.

You can easily account for this on an iPhone or S7/Note7, and plenty of other video camera apps on phones, but not on the default LG G5 app, which is a shame.

Hopefully LG will either fix that in an app update, and will have it fixed for the G6.

The thing is, I certainly expect Apple to deliver this feature properly, because its camera software already allows this feature and Apple takes its camera software seriously for ease of use, even though there are stacks of alternate camera apps out there.

Waterproofing

Next up is the expected waterproofing, something Samsung has finally achieved properly, without fiddly flaps, on its S7 and Note7 range.

It has now long been rumoured Apple would deliver such protection, so we certainly do hope it is true and that waterproofing to IP68 water resistance levels is delivered or bettered.

iOS 10

iOS 10 looked absolutely fantastic during the WWDC keynote preview and its differential privacy feature can stand up to scrutiny in the real world when used by millions, tens of millions and hundreds of millions of users.

Apple is launching so many good things in iOS, including better ways to interact with your apps, data and life via voice, the lock screen and a new HomeKit smart home control centre app, alongside a new messaging app and plenty more promise a truly great new OS version.

Android Nougat 7 has some interesting stuff, but within weeks of iOS 10’s launch, tens if not hundreds of millions of people will be using it, while some Android devices are only just getting their final upgrade to a new OS — Android 6.x.x Marshmallow — meaning very low numbers of Android Nougat 7 devices and users actually benefitting from Google’s advancements compared to Apple’s.

While there will be the inevitable issues or bugs with the new OS, which are likely to be squished with a first iOS 10.0.1 update, and people will complain that iOS 10 makes older devices slower than before until a 10.1 update comes to restore some of that lost speed (based on all the iOS versions until now when their respective new version numbers were launched), the vast majority of iOS users will soon be together enjoying an incredible new OS experience – to be far more loved than any Android or Windows update.

Headphone socket removed?

Apple loves all things wireless, and having as few ports as needed. This suggests the rumours that Apple is removing the 3.5mm headphone socket are true.

I’ve been using a Jabra Halo Smart Bluetooth headset, as I wrote about here when it was launched and I was anticipating a review model.

Well, since that time, I’ve been using it, and really loving it. However, Bluetooth still has some quirks, while it does actually work very nicely paired with two phones and letting me seamlessly switch between the two, I would expect Apple to create a flawless, stunning wireless protocol to deliver audio its own way, while connecting to multiple iOS devices like your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and more.

For those who insist on using wired headphones, a Lightning to 3.5mm adapter will surely arrive, and while it will, of course, be losable, it would theoretically stay permanently connected to your headphone cable.

There’s also the question of whether there will be an adapter that features not only a 3.5mm adapter but also a female Lightning port so you can charge and listed to the phone by wires at the same time.

Wireless charging and audio port, continued

If not, this will stop you from charging and listening at the same time, unless Apple has some kind of wireless charging plate on the way as well, which has also been rumoured.

Of course, if Apple’s device could be charged by Ossia’s "charge over the air" wireless power technology, no plates would be needed in your home environment, but we probably won’t see any Ossia or competing mobile wireless power integration into smartphones natively during construction for at least a couple of years yet, if not years more.

So hopefully Apple has an elegant solution in place so that charging and listening can still happen at the same time if desired, which might include the introduction of a new wireless standard after all but not getting rid of the 3.5mm socket just yet, and softening us all up for the iPhone 7s or 8 in 2017 instead.

iOS ecosystem

Apple’s richly endowed iOS ecosystem of quality first and third-party apps, alongside first and third-party accessories, is yet another important ingredient of Apple’s success.

Apps on iOS are usually better than their Android or other OS counterparts, leading to a better, more enjoyable and more productive iPhone usage experience than on competing devices.

There are only several iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Apple Watch models that can run currently supported OS versions to consider, compared with the many thousands of Android configurations and variants to encounter.

If you want the smoothest, best and with the A10 processor, fastest mobile experience, iPhone 7 will wipe the floor with its competition.

This isn’t even something that can be argued. It is simply a fact. Go and check out various popular apps on iOS and Android, paid and free, and find out for yourself the difference.

Heck, even the US Army has axed Android and appointed Apple as its smartphone supplier instead

DodBuzz.com quoted a US Army source noting that the iPhone 6S would ‘become the end-user device for the iPhone Tactical Assault Kit – ITAK, a special-operations-forces version Army’s Nett Warrior battlefield situational awareness tool, will replace the Android Tactical Assault Kit or ATAK.

Why is the army going to the ATAK attack to obliterate ATAKs and replace them with superior ITAKs instead?

DodBuzz quote the source stating that: “The iPhone is ‘faster; smoother. Android freezes up’ and has to be restarted too often. The problem with the Android is particularly noticeable when viewing live feed from an unmanned aerial system such as Instant Eye.”

The quote continues, with the source stating that "When trying to run a split screen showing the route and UAS feed, the Android smart phone will freeze up and fail to refresh properly and often have to be restarted, a process that wastes valuable minutes".

On the iPhone? “It’s seamless on the iPhone,” said the source. “The graphics are clear, unbelievable.”

Conclusion

When it comes to military operations requiring precision mixed with speed and power, the only Uh-Oh the iPhone 7 is going to deliver is to its Android, Windows Mobile, BlackBerry and other competitors, who will once again be at least a year behind Apple in terms of raw, technological, processing power being used more elegantly and with far greater sophistication than other ARM chipmakers.

And behind on all the other fronts such as a complete ecosystem, the highest value users, the best security and more.

After all, every year, the iPhone is declared as the new standard everyone seeks to beat, no matter how much better Samsung makes its S and Note ranges each year, something it definitely has been doing quite spectacularly this year and deservedly celebrating fantastic sales.

It’s just that the iPhone 7 is yet again going to crush its rivals and set off a new wave of upgraders who will surely deliver Apple yet another spectacular Christmas sales shopping season for 2016.

It has happened every year since 2007 and it’s definitely not going to stop now.

There’s also the Apple Watch 2, new MacBook Pros, MacBook Airs, MacPros, Mac Minis and whatever else Apple has planned for 7 September or later this year, if not the next.

And we don’t even know what the "one more thing" will be yet, should 2016 be seeing one this year!

So despite all the advancements of Samsung’s 2016 models, and features such as the S-Pen on the Note7 that might — just might — see Apple Pencil usable on the iPhone 7 range too, iPhone 7 is going to set the standard for 2016 and most of 2017, and it’s going to be unleashed unto the world in just over 7 days time.

Strap yourselves in and get some popcorn. This next week and a half should have last-minute leaks and speculation and anticipation and excitement, so get ready to rock as Apple yet again rocks the mobile computing and communications boat as only Apple can – and let the iOS vs Android vs Windows vs BlackBerry wars continue!