The iPhone 8 is few months away but that hasn’t stopped speculation and loose-lipped execs spilling details about Apple’s next smartphone.
The iPhone 8’s front and back panels have allegedly surfaced online (below) courtesy of a Reddit user citing ‘a friend in the industry’ who sourced them from China. If legit, expect the iPhone 8 to sport a near bezel-less front, and the back to be fully glass rather the usual aluminium build. The leak also shows off the so-called iPhone 7S and 7S Plus, which also sport an all-glass design and built-in wireless charging support.
The iPhone 8, tipped by some to arrive as the ‘iPhone Edition’ or ‘iPhone X’ will be Apple’s 10th-anniversary smartphone and looks set to be the first to debut wireless charging tech, a curved AMOLED display and an unusual vertical dual rear-facing camera. If rumours are to be believed, the so-called ‘Edition’ will launch alongside the less-impressive iPhone 7S and 7S Plus.
We’ve rounded up everything we know about the iPhone 8 so far.
Release date
The iPhone 8 is likely to be announced in September 2017, marking 10 years since the firm launched its first smartphone.
However, one report claims that it might not be available to buy until the fourth quarter, noting that the iPhone 8 may be available in limited quantity only. A note by analyst Timothy Arcuri from Cowen and Company has added weight to this and claims that production could be delayed due to issues with its Touch ID sensor.
Another report suggests the iPhone 8 may not arrive until 2018. A research Deutsche Bank, picked up by Business Insider, claims the smartphone won’t make it onto shelves this year due to supply chain issues and “technical challenges”.
As if just to confuse matters more, Digitimes is reporting that mass production of the iPhone 8 is on schedule and that the smartphone will see a release in October.
Price
If it’s anything like Apple’s new MacBooks, next year’s iPhone will be more expensive than this year’s release, and some are claiming that the highest-spec model will be the first iPhone to cost more than $1,000.
Rumoured specs
– 5.8in 2.5D OLED edge-to-edge display
– New design with an ‘all-glass’ construction
– Wireless charging support
– Apple A11 chip
– Rear-facing Touch ID sensor
– iOS 11 with improved Siri, P2P payments
– Face-scanning technology
– Vertical dual cameras on rear
– Support for LTE speeds up to 450Mbps