The iPhone 8 Plus is a gigantic phone even though it features only a 5.5-inch display. It has a thick bezel at the top that houses the front camera, ear speaker, and other sensors. The bottom bezel is there to accommodate the Touch ID home button. Apple’s upcoming iPhone X Plus is said to have a huge 6.5-inch OLED display, but its dimensions will be similar to the iPhone 8 Plus, claims a new report.
Just like Apple’s anniversary model, the iPhone X Plus would ditch the top and bottom bezels in favor of a top cutout. It would allow the iPhone X Plus to pack a bigger display while retaining the same form factor as the iPhone 8 Plus. Citing supply chain sources, Japanese blog Mac Otakara reports that the iPhone X Plus would have the same length and width as the current 8 Plus, but it will be slightly thicker because of the “mounting form of the rear camera.”
The iPhone 8 Plus is 3.07 inches wide, 6.24 inches long, and 7.5mm thick. Mac Otakara says the upcoming flagship will be 0.2mm thicker than the 8 Plus’s 7.5mm. The X Plus is expected to have an edge-to-edge OLED display with no bezels and no physical home button.
The increased thickness of the upcoming flagship will be due to the vertically-aligned dual camera system. The iPhone 8 Plus has a horizontally-aligned dual camera on the back. But the introduction of Face ID and TrueDepth camera system forced Apple to rearrange the rear camera position on the iPhone X. The next-gen iPhone X Plus is likely to have the same camera arrangement as the anniversary model.
Mac Otakara has a pretty good track record of providing accurate leaks about Apple’s unannounced products. The publication added that the iOS 12 will also bring improvements to the Face ID technology. The iOS 12 would come pre-installed on this year’s flagship models. The improved Face ID will allow users to unlock their phones even when the device is held horizontally. The current Face ID works only when you hold the iPhone X in the vertical orientation.
Mark Gurman of Bloomberg claims Face ID’s multi-position recognition will be designed for the next-gen iPad Pro models that are expected to feature the TrueDepth camera system. The horizontal support designed for iPads should also work on the iPhones.
The Cupertino company is set to release three new iPhones this year. One of the will be the second generation iPhone X with a 5.8-inch OLED display while the other one is the 6.5-inch iPhone X Plus. The rumor mill claims the third device would feature a 6.1-inch LCD screen. However, sources told Mac Otakara that it would come with a 6-inch rather than a 6.1-inch LCD panel.
All the three devices would have an iPhone X-like bezel-less design and Face ID technology, but the LCD variant would get only a single camera on the back. Mac Otakara says the second-gen iPhone X and the iPhone X Plus would feature a larger camera sensor and a larger lens. It is unclear how they would improve the image quality.
Separately, Taipei Times reports that Apple is working on an iPhone with a triple-lens rear camera setup that could be released in 2019. Citing Yuanta Securities analyst Jeff Pu, the publication says the triple camera system should enable 3x optical zoom. By comparison, the current flagship iPhones offer 2x optical zoom. The Economic Daily News had claimed last month that the triple camera system would offer a 6P design and up to 5x optical zoom.
Chinese vendor Huawei introduced the triple-camera setup with its latest P20 Pro flagship, which has received incredible reviews. According to DxOMark, the P20 Pro camera is far better than the iPhone X, Google Pixel 2, and Galaxy S9 Plus. It consists of a 40MP wide-angle lens, a 20MP monochrome sensor, and an 8MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom. Unfortunately, Apple won’t be able to introduce the triple camera system until 2019.
Meanwhile, many iPhone X owners have been complaining about issues with the Face ID technology. Folks at MacRumors have obtained a memo Apple sent to the Apple Stores and resellers. The tech giant told the support staff to first try to fix the camera system if the Face ID is malfunctioning. If the camera is working properly, the company has authorized its support staff to replace the entire units. Interestingly, Apple hasn’t yet officially recognized the Face ID problems.
