No iPhone 8? Analyst Says Next Year’s Device Will Be Called ‘iPhone 10’

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Until now, there were rumors that Apple would skip the iPhone 7S moniker for its 2017 flagship smartphone, and call it iPhone 8. The next year’s iPhone is said to be a huge upgrade to mark the 10th anniversary of the iPhone. Now an analyst says the 2017 iPhone could be called ‘iPhone 10’ rather than iPhone 8. Cowen & Company said in a research note (via Business Insider) that the iPhone sales would explode when the Cupertino company introduces iPhone 10, the successor to iPhone 7.

iPhone 7 is a ‘bridge’ to the iPhone 10 super cycle

The iPhone sales have been declining for the past several quarters. Apple sold only 45.5 million iPhones during the latest quarter, down 5% from about 48 million units sold in the same quarter a year ago. Cowen analyst Timothy Arcuri believes that the iPhone 7 is acting as a “bridge” to the iPhone 10 super cycle. Since this year’s device retains the design of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6S, many users have chosen to upgrade next year rather than this year.

Arcuri estimates that by the time iPhone 10 arrives in September 2017, 43% of iPhone owners will be using devices older than two years. They will be ready to upgrade their phones. Cowen & Company has raised its price target for Apple to $135. The research firm said the weakness in the iPhone 7 sales would help boost the sales of the iPhone 10.

The 2017 iPhone – whether it is called iPhone 8 or iPhone 10 – will have an entirely new design. It is said to have an OLED display that covers the entire front of the device. The home button, fingerprint scanner, and other sensors would be embedded in the display itself. Apple was recently granted the patent for a technology that allows it to embed the fingerprint sensor in the OLED display.

New iPhone to be a ‘clear piece of glass’

The phone is said to have a glass back with metal edges similar to the iPhone 4. Tech blogger Robert Scoble said in a Facebook post that the next iPhone will be a clear piece Gorilla Glass with other polycarbonates. The next-gen iPhone is said to have a higher frame rate and polygon count than a PC with Nvidia 1080 card in it, said Scoble. He added that the upcoming iPhone will feature a 3D sensor from Primesense.

Citing unnamed sources, Scoble said in his Facebook post that the phone’s battery and antennas will be hidden around the edges of the display. It explains how the Cupertino company would fit in some components while most of the chips are placed at the bottom of the phone. The edge-to-edge display could help Apple reduce the size of the handsets or offer a bigger screen.

Robert Scoble has a lot of sources in the technology world, but he doesn’t yet have a proven track record with Apple leaks. So, take his claims with a bit of skepticism.

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