iPhone 7 might get rid of mute switch as well as headphone jack, leaked pictures suggest

The phone is likely to look mostly the same as the existing iPhone 6 and 6s – with just a few important things missing

Research has warned that the methodology used by many apps lacks adequate scientific grounding (iStock)

Two very important things might be missing from the next iPhone, according to leaked pictures.

The next Apple handset might have the mute switch that usually sits on the side of the phone taken off, as part of a re-design that is expected to leave the phone looking mostly the same, but remove the headphone jack from the bottom and the antenna lines from the back.

In what is claimed to be a leaked photo from Chinese social media site Weibo confirm previous rumours about the upcoming iPhone. But they also offer the clearest look yet at the side of the phone – showing the new changes.

A supposedly leaked picture of how the dual-lens camera might look

Removing the mute switch on the side of the phone would be in keeping with Apple’s apparent strategy for its hardware, which tends to focus on making it simpler and smaller than the year before. It could also help Apple ensure that the new phone is waterproof – one of the reasons that have been suggested for the widely-rumoured removal of the headphone jack.

It already removed the same switch from the iPad, encouraging people instead to mute their tablet by turning the volume all the way down with the switches or to flip the mute switch in the software’s control centre.

Despite the fact that removing the mute switch would be in keeping with Apple’s recent moves, it is the first time that the rumour has been suggested and the picture can’t be confirmed as being genuine.

The pictures also seem to indicate that the phone has a Smart Connector – a magnetic port that first appeared on the iPad Pro. On the tablet, the connector is used to allow people to plug in accessories like keyboards, but it has also been suggested that it could be used for charging, potentially when headphones are plugged into the Lightning port on the bottom.