iPhone 7 leaked pictures claim to show back of the upcoming Apple handset

The unconfirmed photos show a handset that is similar to the existing iPhone, but has lost its antenna lines and has a new camera

The new Apple iPhone 6S is displayed during an Apple media event in San Francisco, California, September 9, 2015 (REUTERS/Beck Diefenbach)

New photos have emerged that claim to show the upcoming iPhone 7.

The handset shown in the pictures looks largely similar to the existing iPhone 6 and 6s. But it has lost the antenna lines that go around the back of the phone and has grown a new camera.

The authenticity of the photos can’t be confirmed, though they have come from a previously accurate source. But whether or not the photos actually show the phone, they fit with many of the previous rumours about the new handset – that it would keep a similar design but do away with the existing camera and antenna lines.

The pictures are said to be technical drawings of the new phone, taken from a factory tasked with making it (NowhereElse.fr)

The pictures don’t appear to show the new dual-camera system that has been rumoured to be debuting in the iPhone 7. But that might be because it is only coming to the iPhone 7 Plus – or a separate version at the same larger size called the iPhone 7 Pro.

The drawing does seem to confirm one of the persistent rumours about the iPhone 7 – that it will drop the headphone jack from the bottom of the handset and instead require people to use the Lightning port or Bluetooth. There doesn’t seem to be any space in the handset for the headphone jack to fit – though the bottom of the handset isn’t clearly pictured enough to say for sure.

The site that shared the pictures also claimed that he leaker suggested that the new phone was slightly thinner than the iPhone 6s. That would fit with the company’s aim to make its phones smaller and smaller, and is thought to be part of the reason for dropping the headphone jack.

The technical drawings purportedly come from a factory tasked with making the phone, and were shared by French site Nowhere Else.

The iPhone 7 isn't expected to be released until September. Apple will first unveil its iPhone SE, which is widely expected to be launched at an event next week.