The iPhone 7. Cupertino's flagship smartphone for 2016 isn't turning out to be quite the heavy handed affair a nomenclature upgrade for the iPhone generally is, and we've got no one else but Apple to blame for it. But whether the company's following the right strategy for its lineup or not is a matter for another post, today we've managed to get our hands on some more renders of the upcoming devices. These show us what upgrades (in physical/design) terms we should be expecting this year. Dimension wise the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus should stay more or less the same, but there are a couple of subtle upgrades which should interest you.

Latest iPhone 7 Renders Compare Device With iPhone 6s And Show Minimal Design Upgrades

The iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus are expected to be launched this year in September, and will be making minimal design upgrades to Cupertino's flagship smartphone lineup. We've seen quite a few leaks so far about redesigned antenna bands, a larger camera sensor for the smaller flagship and the elimination of the 3.5mm earphone jack and today's renders add some dimensions into the mix as well.

While most of the dimensions that you can see in the images below aren't that significant, save the addition of half a millimeter to the device's thickness. Even though his shouldn't seem much, especially when you consider an increase from 7.1 to 7.15, convert the numbers into inches and you'll get to see how much the additional hardware upgrades on the iPhone will cost Apple this year. For the company that gave us the MacBook Air, device width matters a lot, and this year's expected increase shows that Apple's off of its game.

If today's information turns out to be accurate, then the iPhone 7 should be expected to come with a width of 0.34 inches, a 0.6 increase from last year's device. So while you shouldn't expect the device to be the 'thinnest iPhone yet' we're hoping that the other upgrades which Apple's got planned should help sustain market interest for another year. After all, keeping up the numbers is the company's primary concern now, and this has started to make its way slowly into its product lineup as well.

Moving towards aesthetic upgrades, this year's devices should improve over 2015's launches, especially with the redesigned antenna bands. Another good upgrade that the iPhone 7 will be coming with this year is a larger rear camera sensor for the device. This ends up building a nice contrast to the device's overall smooth rear shell in design terms. A larger sensor also hints towards camera upgrades for the device, which should be a given since the market's quite heavy on smartphone photographic capabilities.

Finally, in addition to a thickness increase and a large camera sensor, another change that today's renders show is the much talked about elimination of the 3.5mm earphone jack. We'll give Apple top points for design in this regard, especially when you take a look at the renders below. The removal of the jack provides more room for speakers on the device and ends up almost completely simplifying the device's bottom.

However, even as Apple's managed to simplify the iPhone's aesthetics this year, the fact that the iPhone 7 appears to be slightly larger than the iPhone 6s is intriguing to say the least. After all, you'd expect Cupertino to further slim things down on its yearly flagship upgrades, especially given the rate at which the tech world progresses. And if there really is a width upgrade for us this year, then the corresponding hardware upgrades better make up for, especially as Cupertino should follow its own set of rules.

That marks the end of our iPhone coverage for the day. When compared to their predecessors, the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus should improve things when it comes to aesthetics and design. But as far as the 'next big thing' for the smartphone goes, the iPhone seems to be falling woefully short, or rather, woefully in line with the Android world and its standardization of features. Thoughts? Let us know what you think in the comments section below and stay tuned for the latest.