New iPhone 7 render highlights shifting shape of antenna lines – for the better

Smartphone hardware design has always been dictated to one extent or another by the compromises between form and functionality: sure, we want phones that look and feel great, but they also need to be functional
if they’re to do us any good. Sometimes we don’t always agree with where manufacturers fall on that decision spectrum (how many times have you wished a handset was just a bit thicker and came with a much more adequately equipped battery?) but other decisions are very much in our interest – even if we don’t always love how they look. One element that quite clearly embodies that split is the presence of antenna lines on so many phones, and while they may appear to many users as blemishes in the otherwise smooth, unbroken finish of their handset’s facade, they play a seriously useful role in letting our phones communicate with the wireless networks that drive them. Today we’re checking out the latest evolution of antenna lines as a new render leaks, purporting to show off Apple’s new design for the iPhone 7.
Owners of the iPhone are only too familiar with the pair of lines splitting the back of their handsets, and we’ve heard no shortage of complaints wishing Apple would find a way to make them go away. And while Apple may not be able to do away with them for good, this leak sure suggests the company’s been seriously thinking about how to minimize their impact, repositioning the lines as curved breaks along the very top and bottom edges of the phone’s metal back.
The effect appears to be a marked improvement over past layouts, and while we’re sure some design purists will take issue even with these, their off-to-the-sides positioning finally gives us a largely unbroken, premium-looking back.
The other element getting attention in these renders is the iPhone’s camera, the cutout for which appears slightly larger in this image than on current-gen models. And while the “bigger” bit is relatively uncontroversial, there appears to be some disagreement over the extent to which the camera lens might protrude from the phone’s back: some renders call for a slight bump, other seem to depict a much more flush arrangement, and others still are just too hard to make out with much clarity.
Assuming this leak is legitimate, though, we’re betting that quite a few Apple fans will welcome both these changes with open arms.

Source: Nowehereelse.fr (Google Translate)