It hasn’t even been a month since the iPhone 7 was launched in India, and there are already rumors about what will be there next iPhone. Many believe it will be called the iPhone 8 as it will be the 10th anniversary of Apple’s groundbreaking smartphone. This is particularly important as the new iPhone 7 has been seen as a timid update over the iPhone 6S. It is still early days in what we believe to be an almost yearlong cycle of rumors, but there is already quite a bit of information out there.
OLED Screen
An OLED screen is almost a sure shot on the next iPhone. Sharp executives have already been hinting that the next iPhone could have an OLED display manufactured by it. They have also hinted that they now can make OLED displays in the US. OLED screens also make sense from a power consumption point of view as they are known to guzzle less power than typical LCD screens used in iPhones.
Nikkei also reports that in addition to the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch models, there could be a 5-inch screen with 2.5D cover glass. One can also expect an increase in screen resolution, as Apple hasn’t bumped up the screen’s resolution on the iPhone since the iPhone 6. This will be particularly important if Apple wants to make a deep bet in VR.
New design
A new design for the iPhone 8 is a given, considering Apple didn’t redesign the iPhone 7 casing this year. A redesign is also in order, particularly for the larger Plus model, as the bezels on the top and bottom of the screen are humongous, and it feels much larger than phones with similar screen sizes. There is chatter that Apple may either use a polished metal body just like the Jet Black model on the current iPhone 7 or opt for a glass back, something it has previously done with the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S.
There is also a growing belief that Apple may use a ceramic body on the next iPhone. Apple already uses ceramic on the Apple Watch Series 2 Edition. As we have witnessed on phones like the new Xiaomi Mi Mix, it will enable Apple to build a glossy telephone that will be more resistant to scratches and damage than, say, a phone made out of glass or metal Sci Burg. Perhaps Apple could make a special edition of the 10th-anniversary model, which will be made of ceramic. Whatever the case, a new design is almost a certainty, and even long-time Apple watcher Ming Chi-Kuo of KGI Securities claims the same.
Wireless charging
While Samsung and LG have been making phones with wireless charging for years, Apple hasn’t used this technology in its phones. The Apple Watch started using the technology. Apple has filed patents that indicate it is working on some long-range wireless charging technology based on near-field magnetic resonance.
This indicates that Apple could use wireless charging in the next iPhone. It has been working with a start-up called Energous, also known as its charging chip, WattUp. Foxconn has also reportedly started testing wireless charging tech, and if it were to make enough of these, the chances are that Apple may unveil this feature in the special edition of the next iPhone.
Better cameras
The camera on the next iPhone could be in for a bigger update. At the same time, the dual-camera setup was unveiled in the iPhone 7 Plus. Apple has yet to unlock the dual cameras’ potential fully, enabling optical zoom and a bokeh effect associated with DSLR cameras. Apple is likely to further these capabilities on the next-generation iPhones. Ming Chi-Kuo, known for his reliable sources in Apple’s supply chain, believes that while there will be updates to the camera, the dual-lens setup could remain exclusive to the larger iPhone 8 Plus model.
Apple is expected to adopt an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner for Touch ID in the next iPhone. Xiaomi’s Mi 5S smartphone already uses this technology. In the iPhone case, Apple’s motivation could be propelled by the fact that it may want to have an edge-to-edge screen on the next iPhone, which may not leave room for a home button, which has been a signature of the iPhone since it first came out in 2007.
Apple could augment this with a new taptic engine that may reproduce more complex tactile vibrations. This would again be necessary if Apple planned to eliminate the home button and use the taptic engine to replicate the click. It has already started to do this on the current iPhone 7.
A11 Processor
Apple will likely ship the next iPhone with an A11 processor. This processor is expected to be made using a 10nm manufacturing process, making it faster and smaller simultaneously.
The iPhone is already the fastest mobile CPU by a country mile, and one should expect more of the same from it next year. Its lead in the ARM chipset space is quite massive, even over companies like Qualcomm, which have been making mobile processors for Android smartphones for years.
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