Now that Samsung has officially thrown down the gauntlet by revealing its Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus devices, the ball is in Apple’s court. The Cupertino-based outfit now has a job of convincing those fans who passed up the iPhone 7’s in favor of waiting for something new, to wait for the iPhone 8 or iPhone 7s. But, with the company remaining silent, could too little come too late? Fortunately, people prepared to leak information early. So let’s take a look at what’s known about each next-gen iPhone.
iPhone 8 and iPhone 7s
While Samsung may have a head start over Apple in respect of handset sales that doesn’t mean the next iPhones will perform poorly. According to a JPMorgan report, 2017 could be a bumper year for iPhone sales. Put together by analyst Rod Hall he believes that the market is downplaying the effect an iPhone 8 and iPhone 7s will have on the market.
In fact, he suggests that 2016’s sales of 211-million handsets could be surpassed thanks to the next generation devices. To reach a staggering amount of 260-million, which would be an increase of nearly 50-million. So, with the prospect of a huge increase in sales, and the release of what could be an iPhone 8. One that will celebrate 10-years what became a game-changing mobile phone line, what can we expect?
Powerful A11 Chip
As you would expect it to be, the iPhone 8 will have features and specifications not shared by the iPhone 7s. However, recent reports have talked about one such feature/component that they will. And that’s an A11 Chip, for which about 100-million are believed to be being manufactured right now.
However, how will this yet tested chip compare to the Snapdragon 835 which will feature in some Galaxy S8’s? The answer is we don’t know, but, some results have been seen for the Snapdragon 835 and Exynos 8895. These results show a huge performance increase, as much as 20% CPU and 20% GPU. However, it’s thought that Apple’s A11 will offer improved performance beyond this and that’s thanks in part to the 10nm FinFET manufacturing process. The details of which are too complicated to explain here. Ultimately, however, it will result in a chip capable of delivering improved performance while being more energy efficient.
Camera
Thought to be making its way onto the iPhone 8, is what’s being referred to as a structured-light augmented camera. As we write this, there is little information about this technology, however, here’s what we know.
A camera utilizing such a tech would be able to refocus images after they have been taken. Whether this means the sensor takes multiple images at once and then a processor goes to work to come up with the best results, we don’t know. But, that kind of camera technology is being incorporated in 2017’s devices by other manufacturers, so why not Apple.
Additionally, for the iPhone 8, there could be a front-facing 3D facial-recognition camera. This would naturally capture images via two lenses and possibly offer as yet seen 3D effects to tidy them up.
With the iPhone 7s, the rumor mill, and insider leakers have been a little quieter, as such there’s not much to go on. As for what we believe it’s camera will be like, it’s possible it will have refocusing qualities like the 8. But, for the most part, we think it will have the features of the current 7-Plus. Just rolled up into a package that is smaller, with a new design.
What do you think the 7s will get?
Price
Thanks to the high cost of manufacturing, and the apparent lack of supply, of some of the components, used. The iPhone 8 and iPhone 7s could be more expensive than previous iterations. Now, if you’re in the UK, this was always going to be the case, due to the Pound falling against the Dollar. However, that is not the reason these devices could be more expensive everywhere, in fact, the real reason is a bit strange! It appears Apple wants to control the demand. Meaning it doesn’t want to outstrip supply early on, and have the devices continually out of stock everywhere.
To do this, it will artificially increase the price of the iPhone 8 to around $1000, which is a massive amount pay. We can guarantee that only the hardened Apple Fan may pay that. Well, that is if the device isn’t so fantastic that it represents value for money. As for the iPhone 7s, it will be cheaper, as for how much, again we do not know. But, it too will be more costly than its equivalent predecessor probably by around $65.
So there you have it a brief look at what detail is being suggested is factual for both devices. We do suggest you take them with a pinch of salt, as nothing is official. Having said that, we do now expect to see a rush in leaks thanks to the announcement of the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus. So, you shouldn’t have long to wait until we can bring you more information. In the meantime, here are a few more rumors about what may or may not make it.
iPhone 8 Rumors
- Edge-to-edge OLED screen in a compact form factor
- Structured-light-augmented primary camera to enable re-focusing of pictures after taking them
- Front-facing 3D scanning for facial recognition, 3D camera effects, etc
- Possible elimination of fingerprint sensing
- Wireless charging
- Glass front and back
- Very high price of $1,000+ to limit demand and offset increased BOM [cost of materials]
iPhone 7s Rumors
- Wireless charging
- Glass front and back
- Possible 3D scanning, less likely than on more expensive model
- An improved camera with refocusing features is possible
Images By Benjamin Geskin for iDropNews.
