Apple does not intend making major changes to this year’s iPhone, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, as the rumour mill picked up pace.

The vendor’s product plans are usually subject to significant speculation, but with this year’s iPhone performance being somewhat uninspiring, there is concern that the company will struggle to attract upgraders without new features.

Of course, upgrade cycles are not dependent on consumers seeking new features, and so Apple may see a boost simply from the fact that it is two years since the iPhone 6 launch.

MacRumours previously reported that Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, said the company has “great innovation in the pipeline”, with new features that will “incentivise you…to upgrade to new iPhones”.

While Apple is due to give the line a more complete overhaul this year (based on its current two-year product cycle), it has been suggested that it is keeping big changes up its sleeve for next year – which will mark the 10th anniversary of iPhone.

According to WSJ, the big change this year will be the dropping of the headphone socket – a change which has been previously reported. By shifting audio out to the Lightning port, iPhones can be thinner and water resistant.

Earlier reports suggested the device is likely to feature a very similar design to the iPhone 6. Some improvements are likely, perhaps around the antenna lines and camera bump, although to a certain degree these are dependent on technical considerations.

Reports originating from NBD Daily Economic News last month suggested that Samsung Display has picked up the contract to supply OLED screens. While Samsung is already a supplier for iPhone components, the deal is nonetheless significant in that this is the first time the vendor’s OLED displays have made it to the iPhone.

This, it now appears, is a move ahead of next year’s iPhone, which will also see a new design with reduced bezel size and the “home” button removed, replaced by a fingerprint scanner integrated with the screen.