With an iPhone 7 announcement seemingly set for September 7, the next iteration of Apple’s smartphone range is yet again highly anticipated. However, for many months, rumors have suggested that this year’s handset may be little more than a tweak to what has come before it and as such offers very little in the way of design improvements and specification upgrades. So in this article, I will be looking into why it could make sense to wait for next year’s model, the iPhone 8.
iPhone 7 just an iteration?
No one doubts that Apple will indeed launch the iPhone 7 with some improvements over the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, but it is almost a consensus now that overall it will not offer users anything new, meaning that it will keep many design aspects of its predecessors and provide some improvements, depending on which of its rumored variants you purchase.
For example, it is said that either an iPhone 7 Plus or Pro could be the recipient of the rumored dual-camera set-up, plus there is rumored to be a new home button and there have been murmurs that the headphone jack will be gone. Furthermore, the antenna lines are rumored to have been redesigned and moved. As for the rumors about these two models of the iPhone 7 being just boring imitations of handsets gone by, they may not be entirely true, Apple could indeed surprise everyone with something slightly different. However, overall, does this justify the hefty price tag the iPhone 7 will likely have, and therefore, does it make sense to wait for the iPhone 8?
iPhone 8 the future
Next year will mark the 10th anniversary of the iPhone, and while it makes sense for Apple to offer customers something new with the iPhone 7, it will likely opt to make next year’s iPhone 8 the most advanced handset it has ever produced. Here are a few of the rumored features and specifications for the handset.
OLED display with virtual buttons
An OLED display is widely being rumored for the iPhone 8, which would mean it has no need for bezels. The Trademark Office (USPTO) recently granted a patent applied for by Apple which shows that the handset could have virtual buttons.
Curved display
Quite unlike the curved screens found on Samsung’s Galaxy Edge handsets, Apple’s rumored iPhone 8 curved display could include an artificial break between the sides and front. This separation could come in the form of patterned housing members or by using selectively activated display pixels which can be turned on and off.
Iris scanner
If you thought the ability to unlock your smartphone with your eyes was in the distant future, you only have to take a look at the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 to realize that this tech is already with us. Apparently Apple has been talking about including an iris scanner in one of its iPhones for some time now. In 2014 it purchased software a company called AuthenTec, which had some understanding of the technologies involved. So it is apparent that Apple is working on such a feature; unfortunately, Samsung has beat it to the punch.
Buttonless iPhone 8
Apple is also said to be working on an enhanced display for the iPhone 8 that will cover the entire front of the handset, and as such, it may have no physical buttons at all. Instead of buttons, a Touch ID fingerprint scanner could be placed underneath the display to give users the ability to assign buttons to different areas of the screen and customize their iPhone 8 however they see fit.
Wireless charging
With the iPhone 7 said to be not much more than a slight tweak of what has come before it, it’s a good bet that Apple will not have included wireless charging on the device. So we may have to wait until 2017 for Apple to finally catch up with its rivals and offer a more modern way to top up their batteries.
Final thoughts
So why wait for the iPhone 8? Before I begin to explain my reasons as to why, I think you should wait. Of course Apple has yet to officially release any spec or design information about the iPhone 7, so all of this could, in the end, be moot.
However, going on what we have heard, I think that if you want an iPhone that is going to challenge Samsung and its technological superiority, that is not something you are going to get with the iPhone 7. You will have to wait until September 2017 for that challenge to emerge from Apple in the form of the iPhone 8 with its OLED and edgeless display, all-over glass body, iris scanner and much more!
