It has been a mixed year for the Cupertino-based manufacturer, particularly on the devices front. Despite selling its billionth iPhone, Apple's mobile sales faltered in Q3 of this year, as it always does before a new phone announcement. As such, along with the solid offerings from Samsung, LG, Huawei and Xiaomi of late, the next iPhone has more pressure on it than usual to deliver. 

With its unveiling still a few hours away, 19:00 SAST this evening, let's run through some of the rumoured elements the device is expected to feature. 

1. Name?

First and foremost is the new device's name. Up until a few weeks ago, the majority of news media took to calling the upcoming Apple smartphone the iPhone 7. That may not be the actual case, however, as Apple Insider has it on good authority that it will be called the iPhone 6SE. While there hasn't been much tangible evidence to corroborate this, rumours heavily suggest that the new iPhone will look a lot like its forebear, the iPhone 6. 

Added to this are reports that Apple has a range of sweeping changes in store for next year's iteration, most notable of which is a OLED display and removal of the home button. To that end, Apple may be saving the iPhone 7 moniker for 2017's model and not the one being debuted this evening. 

2. Headphone jack

One of the most covered rumours is Apple opting against a conventional 3.5 mm headphone jack for this upcoming model. It's a pretty bold move, especially as it may frustrate many consumers and manufacturers alike, with a wireless or Lighting compatible pair of earphones or headphones being needed to operate a jack-less iPhone.

Apple has never been shy of changing things up when it comes to ports, but whether or not other manufacturers follow suit if Apple does indeed go jack-less, remains to be seen.  

3. Design

It's been touched on earlier, but Apple may not be unveiling an altogether new take on the iPhone design later this evening. Many reports suggest the Cupertino-based company has only slightly refreshed the design of the iPhone 7 (iPhone 6SE). If that is case, some Apple fanatics may not be too interested in purchasing this new model. 

4. Another camera

One of the latest rumours gaining traction is the integration of a secondary camera on the iPhone's rear. It's a move that Huawei went for with the Leica-certified P9 flagship, and LG opted for dual lens cameras for its high-end model. 

While reports conflict on what Apple will use the second camera lens for, Bloomberg believes it will work in a similar fashion to the LG G5 version, offering a zoomed out or zoomed in view for photography fiends. 

5. More colours

The iPhone colour palette has remained fairly consistent for the past couple iterations, with only rose gold being added to the mix most recently. According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo via MacRumors, silver, gold and rose gold will still remain, but space gray will be replaced by a dark black option, with the addition of a piano black version. The difference between the two is a matte and glossy finish respectively. 

As for the navy blue option that's been cropping up in recent renders and 'leaks', it doesn't appear to be true. Then again, we should know for sure by 20:00 tonight.  

Wait and see

Easily the most anticipated smartphone of 2016, Apple will be unveiling the new iPhone, along with a few other devices at 19:00 SAST. The event will be live streamed for Safari and Microsoft Edge browsers, but we'll also be live tweeting all the details from @TechSmartMag. Keep following us to stay in the know.