It seems increasingly that Apple fans may have to wait until 2017 for a revolutionary iPhone release. Several analysts already believe that the iPhone 7 will be a rather conservative smartphone, and something of a minor improvement over the existing iPhone 6S. Indeed, the by now notorious KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has already suggested that major design changes will be implemented in the iPhone range in 2017; the tenth anniversary of this hugely successful Apple product.
Considering the quantum leap that the 2017 iPhone will represent, it is already believed that the name for this device will be the iPhone 8. This would reflect the fact that the smartphone will be a major step forward over the iPhone 6S and even this year’s iPhone 7, and would also seem appropriate considering the ten-year landmark that Apple will accumulate.
So what can we expect from the iPhone 8 when it is released? Here is a rundown of all the latest information relating to this smartphone.
iPhone 8 – Release date
Firstly, it is rather early days to speculate on precisely when the iPhone 8 will release, but there is no particular reason to suppose that Apple will dispense with its existing schedule. That would mean that the iPhone 8 will hit the market in September 2017, possibly on either Friday, September 22, or Saturday, September 23.
New physical features
Apple will be considering a wide range of new features for this extremely critical smartphone release, and these will be based around both physical and internal alterations to the iPhone model. In particular, an all-glass design has been linked with the iPhone 8, with sapphire glass possibly finally used for the first time in an Apple smartphone.
Additionally, Apple is expected to integrate wireless charging when the iPhone 8 is released, and it may extend the display size of the smartphone and increase the resolution as well. An A11 chip will be resident, and there have also been rumors that Apple will shift chip supplies to Intel in time for the release of the iPhone 8.
Finally, a curved version of the iPhone has been suggested as being possible for some time, and it is notable that Apple has applied for such a patent previously. Samsung’s curved screen mobiles have been particularly popular for the Korean corporation, and it is thought that Apple will want to rival its most obvious market competitor sooner rather than later.
OLED screen
Speaking of Samsung, it has been suggested that the 2017 iPhone 8 could include the OLED technology that has been hugely successful for the Korean electronics giant. It has already been rumored that Apple will extend the size of the display in the iPhone 8 significantly, with the consumer electronics market-leader reportedly working on 5.8-inch iPhone units.
And this particular rumor has been based on a supposed leaked order for 5.8-inch AMOLED display panels. This would be the largest smartphone screen that Apple has ever included in an iPhone unit, and would be a significant departure from its previous policy. Indeed, Apple has recently embraced a smaller smartphone with the release of the iPhone SE, and thus it would be slightly surprising to see the California-based company opt for such a large display site for its premium smartphone.
But reports increasingly suggest that Apple will indeed recruit Samsung to provide the displays for its next generation smartphone, with AMOLED Technology not only considered superior in terms of the physical imagery offered, but also being less greedy with power than the LCD alternative.
Specs
The specs of a smartphone are always central to its success or otherwise, and with Apple completely redesigning the iPhone 8 concept, it will be expected to deliver significantly improved specs as well. The iPhone 8 will likely feature an A11 chip, and this should be clocked at a significantly higher speed than the existing iPhone 6S.
By the time that the iPhone 8 is released, it is possible that Apple will have plans in place to significantly improve the resolution of the screen as well. It is a bit too much to expect Apple to embrace 4K resolution, even in the phablet version of the iPhone 8, but we could see a quad HD variant by this time. There will be pressure on Apple to deliver this, considering that it has fallen significantly behind its major rivals in this department.
It is also expected that Apple will include an improved modem in the iPhone 8, although the precise nature of this device is still very much book in the air. Apple has had a historical relationship with the US chip-maker Qualcomm, still the market-leader for smartphone and chips, but this may be coming to its natural conclusion.
There have been frequent reports that Intel is attempting to encourage Apple to opt for its chipsets in order to supersede Qualcomm, and this is apparently being seriously considered for the iPhone 8. This would lead people to likely choose an Intel modem for the iPhone 8 as well, and this could well be the successor to the 7360.
Battery
There will also be massive incentive for Apple to improve the battery life in the iPhone 7, as the company has been repeatedly criticized for the life cycle of its devices. While the iPhone range is battery efficient, owing to the fact that Apple delivers a unique proprietary hardware and software package, it is still suggested that the existing iPhone 6S fails to deliver the same battery life as Samsung mobiles.
Thus, by the time the iPhone 8 is released, Apple will likely significantly increase the existing 1,715mAh lithium ion battery. Considering that Samsung has been linked with a 4,000 mAh unit for the forthcoming Galaxy Note 6, this could mean that Apple at least considers doubling the existing quotient of the battery for the phablet version of the iPhone 8. 3,000 mAH would seem to be a more realistic target for the smartphone-sized iPhone 8, and it will be essential to deliver all the battery life possible, if Apple indeed intends to build a massive iPhone 8 screen with improved resolution.
Price
Finally, it will be interesting to see what price points the iPhone 8 launches at when it is unveiled in 2017. With Apple likely to freeze the price of the iPhone 7 in 2016, it is possible that the consumer electronics giant will be forced to increase the price of the iPhone 8 slightly, particularly if it features numerous new components. This could see the non-contract version of the smartphone possibly inched up to around $349, with the base model of the off-contract iPhone 8 possibly retailing at around $750.
