We only just saw the iPhone 7 a few months ago, but already the iPhone 8 concepts are piling up. It seems everyone with a flair for design has an idea for what Apple should do with its next smartphone. The result has been (in some cases) elegant phones that look plausible—but only if the technology that some of these designers are imagining is easily available and also cheap enough to include in a smartphone. In other cases, it seems clear that either the tech isn’t here yet or the concept is just un-Apple-like.
Bringing Apple’s Touch Bar to the iPhone 8
This time the iPhone 8 concept is from a video posted on YouTube (and embedded below) by a user calling him/herself by the username “Apple designer.” The concept includes the Touch Bar, which Apple just released recently on one of this year’s new MacBook Pro models. The Touch Bar is essentially a thin bar sitting across the top of the keyboard on the MacBook Pro. It provides easy quick access to whatever functions are assigned to the Touch Bar. The Touch Bar itself is a multi-touch Retina display that changes depending on what the user does inside of the app he/ she is using.
In addition to adding a Touch Bar, the iPhone 8 concept in the video features an ultra-thin design, which is certainly Apple-esque. It also replaces the Lightning port with a Thunderbolt 3 port, enabling faster charging and transfers of up to 40 gigabytes per second. The concept is also nearly bezel-less, a rumor we’ve been hearing related to the iPhone 8 for quite some time.
Why a Touch Bar on the iPhone 8?
It seems a little strange that any iPhone 8 concept would sport a Touch Bar, which seems more like something that would be included on the iMac next. The bar has gotten mixed reviews from those who have managed to try it out. Some don’t see the point of it, although others quickly found it to be helpful. It seems counterintuitive that Apple would put a Touch Bar on the iPhone 8. It’s highly unlikely, as the phone itself is a huge touchscreen. Why slap a second touchscreen on the iPhone?
On the other hand, it could work, with one tweak. Samsung’s Galaxy S Edge phones have been a huge hit, and they have bars on the curved edges that offer quick access to apps. There have been rumors about Apple releasing a curved iPhone for some time, so maybe not a Touch Bar, per say, but maybe something more like an Edge screen, although that would seem like an obvious Samsung rip-off (and cue the patent lawsuit too).
