iPhone 7 could be waterproof

It sounds like we're just a few short weeks away from the full reveal of the next suite of iPhones from Apple, and that's going to kick off a sales storm some time in September.

Before all that it's time for many days of speculation as we try to sort the real information from the nonsense in the many leaks. It's impossible to launch a project of this scale without some info making its way onto the web, so at least a few of the rumours to date have to be true.

The latest suggests that the iPhone 7, or whatever this range will be called, might be Apple's first waterproof phone. It's a feature which has been a typical part of certain Samsung and Sony ranges for the last few years and while we're not sure how much use people really get out of it, there's still some comfort in knowing that a drop into a body of water won't spell the end for your handset.

The waterproof rumour comes out of a patent which Apple has filed for color balancing photos that have been shot underwater. That certainly sounds like its possible to date snaps under the waves with the new phone, which would be a big change for Apple.

The scoop from Patently Apple makes it sounds like software would be used to preserve realistic colours and detail in an underwater scene, while also resulting in a finished image which looks like it was shot underwater. Sounds complicated.

Of course there's always a chance that this tech is just being considered for a future model as its quite late to be patenting something which would debut in a few weeks. We'll have to wait and see.

The iPhone 7 will likely be revealed in early September 2016.