There have been a lot of speculations related to Apple’s upcoming device ranging from its display and biometric unlocking to wireless charging and its chassis, with one of the most debatable ones being its price tag. 2017 marks iPhone’s 10th anniversary, and although the iPhone 7 was recently released in September 2016, people can’t seem to stop talking about the iPhone 8 as it’s expected to be ‘extra special’ for the brand’s tin anniversary. Although we are seven months away from the release of iPhone 8, rumours are ripe and here we’ve aggregated them for your perusal.
AMOLED Display with Touch Bar
Earlier reports suggested that Apple iPhone 8 will feature a curved OLED display, but according to research firm TrendForce, the upcoming Apple will feature an edge-to-edge 5.8-inch AMOLED display with 2K resolution, which will still be an upgrade on iPhone 7’s LCD display. Rumours are also adrift that the upcoming iPhone will sport a touch bar — same as seen on the latest Mac — alongwith iOS 11 software update. The touch bar will change functions according to the app in use. Apart from that, Apple might also do away with the physical home button, in order to make more room for the display, though it’s unclear whether they’ll be moving the fingerprint sensor to some other part of the device or will try to embed it in the display.
Stainless Steel Frame, Glass Front and Back
Apple might be moving back to the stainless steel frame with glass on both the front and back panels of the device. According to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple will be launching several variants of the iPhone 8, with the higher-end one getting a steel frame with glass panels and the cheaper one getting an aluminium frame. The jet black variant of iPhone 7 was widely popular, worldwide, and that can be a reason for Apple’s desire to switch back to the glossy glass back panel, which isn’t as prone to scratches as an aluminium panel.
Facial Recognition
Apple has recently purchased the facial recognition startup RealFace, which led to rumours about the company’s inclination towards upgrading its front camera with 3D sensor and iris recognition and other biometric unlocking methods — to replace TouchID fingerprint sensor. Ming-Chi Kuo also noted that Apple will incorporate the 3D sensor in its rear-camera which would negate the need for a dual-camera lens.
Price Tag of $1000
There have been rumours about iPhone 8’s price tag, which isn’t settling down well with Apple enthusiasts because it really is a lot at $1000. But if you take into account that this one is bound to be special — being the anniversary edition — and will also feature OLED displays, which are going to cost Apple almost double of an LCD, the price tag isn’t a lot. The upcoming device is also tipped to sport a virtual home button in addition to an upgrade on memory and storage. Experts believe that the upcoming iPhone will cost north of the rumoured $1000 price tag and it seems justified if you take into account that iPhone 7 256GB variant is currently priced at $849.
Wireless Charging
Now, this rumour corroborates with the one that Apple might be moving back towards the glass front and back panel and according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, this will also facilitate the device’s ability to charge wirelessly. Although if the device is fitted with either a metal or plastic body then also wireless charging is possible but charging via glass is faster as it doesn’t hinder the frequency as much as the other materials.
Folding Design
Rumours have also been afloat that the iPhone 8 will come in a foldable design due to a patent filing by the company. The design suggested an OLED display which will fold in half. Apple files a lot of patents all year long but not all of them are made into final products or are made commercially available — so this one is probably a long shot.
Three Variants and iPhone X
According to rumours running wild, Apple will be releasing three variants of the iPhone this year. One of them will sport a 5.8-inch OLED display with dual-camera, another with 5.5-inch LCD display with dual camera and the third one with a 4.7-inch LCD display with a single-lens camera. These can also be the awaited iPhone 8, iPhone 7s Plus and iPhone 7s, respectively. Considering that this is the 10th anniversary of iPhone, there are also rumours that Apple might name their next device iPhone X instead of iPhone 8.
Few More Tidbits
The 3D sensors might end up replacing the dual-camera and also support augmented reality on the iPhone 8/X. Other than that the device is tipped to be made available in red colour, in addition to standard black, jet black, rose gold, gold, and silver. The upcoming device will also be getting better water resistance with an IP68 certification and is expected to be made available in September 2017.
