Apple’s next iPhone refresh will be the device’s biggest in years, but some of the more dramatic upgrades could be curtailed by technical challenges.
In its report on the new iPhone 8, Bloomberg corroborates many previous rumors about the next-gen iPhone, but suggests that more “ambitious” features may be scaled back or ditched due to manufacturing problems.
Apple might go with “more subdued” curves rather than the heavily curved, edge-to-edge display that’s been rumored. And a Touch ID sensor built into the display might not make it into the final design, either.
“Apple has … experimented with integrating the iPhone’s fingerprint scanner into the screen of the OLED version, which would be technically challenging, the people said. It’s currently unclear if that feature will make it into the final product. Samsung also tried this approach for the S8, but ended up installing a more standard fingerprint reader on the back of its phone due to the challenges, another person said.”
Beyond this, the report echoes a lot of what we’ve heard about the next-gen iPhone devices, but adds a bit more credibility by corroborating them.
This includes the fact that Apple is preparing three iPhones for launch. Two will simply be updated versions of the current iPhone, while the high-end model will sport a totally revamped look.
That iPhone will include an OLED display, curved glass (although not as curved as Apple originally planned) and better cameras. It won’t have a Home button. And this flagship iPhone may not be available for four to eight weeks after the usual iPhone shipping date.
For the camera update, Apple is reportedly testing a dual-camera system with lenses positioned vertically, as opposed to horizontally. Some prototypes still bear the current iPhones’ camera bump, rather than having the camera sit flush against the phone.
The updated lower-end model iPhones will stick with LCD displays and get fewer hardware updates.
Given that the 2017-era iPhone refresh is the company’s 10th anniversary iPhone, and has widely been described as the biggest update since 2014’s iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, are you enthused by what we’ve heard about the iPhone 8 so far? Leave your comments below.
