After recently disappointing sales news for the iPhone 6S, Apple (AAPL) will meanwhile be turning its attention to the release of the iPhone 7. The next generation smartphone will seemingly be particularly important for Apple, as KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo this week forecast that the iPhone 6S would fail to exceed the performance of the previous generation of the handset. This will mean that by the time the iPhone 7 is released that there could be pressure on the consumer electronics giant to revitalize what remains its most important product range.

Brand new iPhone 7 design

So it’s perhaps not surprising that there are already numerous rumors related to the iPhone 7 emerging and circulating. And the latest speculation related to the forthcoming device suggests that Apple will completely redesign this iconic smartphone. Gene Munster has been giving his thoughts on the next generation iPhone 7, with the Piper Jaffray analyst having previously suggested on numerous occasions that Apple will eventually manufacture a high-definition television set.

In a note distributed among investors, Munster has claimed that the iPhone 7 will be based around entirely new design parameters. Central to this new approach will be the iPhone series eliminating the Home button, an innovation that has been predicted by many sources over the last couple of years.

Munster also believes that Apple will significantly increase the display size in the iPhone series in the next generation, ensure that the battery life is improved, and arm the market-leading smartphone with a new sapphire display. His belief is centered around the fact that the iPhone 7 represents a number change cycle, and therefore will be considered a new generation completely separate from the iPhone 6 and 6S.

Apple’s inclusion of 3D Touch in the iPhone 6S provides huge potential for the future of the smartphone, and it is thought that this could enable Apple to ditch the Home button sooner rather than later. The additional space that this would provide would enable Apple to increase the screen size significantly, which is the anticipated innovation.