iPhone 8 To Feature OLED Display, Iris Scanner [RUMOR]

Even though the iPhone 8, like the iPhone 7, has not been officially announced by Apple yet, people are still speculating about what features we can expect in the model that’s expected to be launched in 2017. Sound ridiculous? It isn’t, considering that 2017 will be the 10th anniversary of the iPhone, and as such, the world expects something breathtaking from Apple.

If you’ve been keeping up to date with everything iPhone 8, then you will know that this handset could certainly take your breath away if the current set of rumors are correct. It may even change the very nature of what the term “smartphone” means! Here are two of the very latest rumors you’ve probably not come across yet!

iPhone 8 and organic light-emitting diodes

First off, it has long been rumored that at some point Apple would switch from the use of LED displays in its products to OLED, as have the likes of Samsung in its high-end devices like the Galaxy S7 Edge. However, at this time, the biggest demand for OLED technology is coming from Chinese handset manufacturers such as Huawei, Meizu Technology, and Oppo Electronics.

So what is an OLED (Organic light-emitting diode)? Summarizing from Wikipedia:

An organic light-emitting diode (OLED) is a light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic matter, which emits light in response to an electric current.

As for the iPhone 8, it is expected that Apple will finally make the switch to OLED with this handset, but as you would expect, nothing has been confirmed by the U.S. tech giant. Furthermore, it is being rumored that Apple is working on deals with manufacturers to supply OLED panels for the iPhone 8, and the manufacturers of favor seem to be both LG and Samsung.

If this rumor turns out to be correct, this could be an extremely lucrative deal for both of the South Korean tech giants.

iPhone 8 with an iris scanner?

Now imagine a future in which you unlock your iPhone with your eye rather than your finger. According to a rumor, which seems to have been quietly tucked away for some time, this could be seen as early as 2017 on the iPhone 8. Recently talked about by the often-derided DigiTimes site, I must warn you that this rumor has absolutely no grounding in fact (as far as I can tell, that is).

Apparently, Apple has often talked about its need to use iris scanning on its devices as far back as 2014, and the Apple rumors site MacRumors has also suggested that this could be a reason why Apple purchased the software company, AuthenTec. While I realize that none of this is really proving anything, many have created a trail in their minds which ultimately led to the introduction of Touch ID on the iPhone 5S.

But how does this lead to 2017 and the iPhone 8?

Next year is a huge year for Apple. It’s big not only because sales of the iPhone have been consistently falling but also because next year will mark the 10-year anniversary of the iPhone, and it is under serious pressure to get something right. It needs something that will help regain sales, so an iPhone 8 with some of the most advanced features and an incredible design is what it needs to produce.

As for how iris scanning will work, it is thought that the technology will be built straight into the iPhone 8 camera and that it will take a picture of a user’s eye. It’s believed that this unique pattern is then stored in the device for future recognition. The technology would then be used to detect any differences between a previously stored image and one currently being taken by the device.

As it stands right now, there are iris scanning technologies already out there. However, they are not found on portable devices but rather in international airports and high-security government installations. So as you can see, there will probably have to be a lot of hard work and research going on between Apple and its partners if it ever wants to get this technology into the iPhone 8 in time for next year’s big 10-year anniversary event.

Which technology do you think is the most likely to find its way onto the iPhone 8: iris scanning or an OLED display? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.