Apple is gearing up to surprise everyone with the launch of its new iPhone lineup, which will include not only the two upgrades but also a completely overhauled and feature-packed iPhone 8 (if you wanna call it that). This will Cupertino’s most extensive lineup to date, suggests Bloomberg.
If sources familiar with the developments are to be believed, Apple is working on an updated design and ‘advanced’ camera features for the next major iPhone model. The existing 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhones will be refreshed with new and powerful internals and the report has no information on whether they’ll bag a design change or not. Much like every refresh, they are expected to look very much the same as the previous year i.e like the iPhone 7 lineup.
But, the much-awaited third iPhone model, which is being referred to as iPhone 8/iPhone X/iPhone Edition, is expected to include some unexpected and dramatically different features. This will be the case especially when you compare this new Apple device with iPhone devices launched till date. It is expected to be Apple’s high-end flagship smartphone for this year, but it will actually ship way later than the other two models unveiled at the same event.
As for the feature or specifications, Apple will be following its sleek and slender profile but replace (or upgrade) the current display with an OLED screen. Previously, there had been speculation that Cupertino had ordered 70 million odd curved OLED panels from Samsung but the curved nature of the screen seems to be out of the picture. The order for traditional OLED panels still remains and they’ll be replacing the current IPS displays, that’s for sure.
Citing sources aware of the developments, Bloomberg suggests Apple will be adopting a slim-bezeled design with curved glass and an OLED screen. Yes, the screen itself won’t be curved but the glass on the front and back of the new device will be. It is ditching on the curved display because of supply concerns, which has prompted it to move around in search for more partners or shell out moolah to increase production of existing ones.
Apple is said to be testing multiple iterations for the high-end iPhone and hasn’t quite put its finger on the final design yet. The phone is expected to be the same size of the iPhone 7 Plus, but with minimal bezels and more screen-to-body ratio. Think of their new design to be more closer to Galaxy S8 Plus, which Samsung launched just recently. The report also gives us insight into a couple of prototypes being tested by the Cupertino giant, which could commemorate the iPhone’s anniversary.
We’re coming up with a new device on iPhone’s 10th Anniversary, exactly ten years post late Steve Jobs’ grand presentation showing off the future of smartphones. Thus, Apple is said to have experimented with a prototype similar to their original 2007 iPhone model which has a highly curved back panel. It would have been the most appropriate device, considering the nostalgia running high among the masses. But, the manufacturers were struggling to build a highly curved glass panel, so a larger version of the device with the usual
But, the manufacturers were struggling to build a highly curved glass panel, so a larger version of the device with the usual aluminium back is being worked out. Bloomberg further suggests that there is also the possibility that Apple would replace the costlier aluminium with stainless steel for the complete frame of the new iPhone. And nothing more specific about the aesthetics of this device is known at this very instant but a screen-based Touch ID fingerprint reader, placed under the display, is also being tested.
Further, there are certain points in this report, which sound oh-so-certain and will surely be added to the upcoming models. Apple is going to ship the new iPhone models with its latest and greatest software update — iOS 11. The devices will surely be powered by their own A-series processors but the chips will be built using a 10nm process rather than the current 16nm TSMC process. Samsung and TSMC are currently working on the said 10nm manufacturing processes that’ll be in place for timely shipment of the new iPhones.
As for the features that are still being considered quite ambiguous are related to the camera and security of the device, but speculation about the same runs quite high. In opposition to the horizontal dual-lens camera placement in the iPhone 7 Plus, the next overhauled iPhone 8 is supposedly being tested with a vertical setup. This may sound utterly surprising but Apple is also testing a dual-lens front camera setup with a Sony sensor — where one of them could detect depth to activate AR capabilities. Analysts have been riding a high train on this speculation as CEO Tim Cook has been ranting about the prospects of this technology, which are higher than VR, in our future.
