iPhone 8 - page 18

Goodbye Lightning? 2017 iPhones may rely on USB-C connector

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iPhone 6 Plus_8
Apple may be bringing UBC-C to iPhone.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

This year’s iPhones may boast USB-C connectors, claims a new report from The Wall Street Journal.

If true, this would bring next-gen iPhones in line with the company’s push to embrace the industry-standard connector — as seen with recent MacBooks, which ditched legacy connectors in favor of a single USB-C port for both power and data transfers.

Our hardware predictions for Apple’s rumored March event, this week on The CultCast

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New Apple hardware in March on The CultCast
New Apple hardware in March? Reports say yes, indeed.
Image: Erfon Elijah/Cult of Mac

This week on The CultCast: It’s been five years of CultCasts! We’ll regale you with some of our favorite stories from past shows. Plus: Our hardware expectations from Apple’s rumored March event; why iPhone 8’s wireless charging will probably be lame; Apple has five teams working on next-generation charging tech; why iPhone 8’s camera could pump out industrial-grade slow motion; and Steve Jobs gets a beautiful new home on Apple’s new spaceship campus.

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. It’s simple to accept Apple Pay and sell your wares with your very own Squarespace.com website. Enter offer code “CultCast” at checkout to get 10 percent off any hosting plan.

Big battery could be a huge draw for iPhone 8 upgraders

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The iPhone 8 won't be cheap.
A battery boost could be a big draw for iPhone 8.
Photo: iDropNews

Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty is predicting big things for iPhone 8 sales once Apple finally unveils the device this fall.

In her latest research note to clients, the Wall Street analyst predicts that the edge-to-edge OLED display and longer battery life on the iPhone 8 will accelerate upgrades from customers with iPhones that are two years old or older.

Sony’s new sensor could bring super slo-mo video to iPhone

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The iPhone 7 Plus will completely change your photos.
The iPhone 7 Plus will completely change your photos.
Photo: Apple

Future iPhones may be set to get a huge video upgrade, thanks to a new smartphone camera sensor created by Apple’s longtime supplier.

Sony has reportedly developed a new image sensor that is capable of shooting video at 960fps. That’s 720 frames more than the iPhone’s current slo-mo feature.

Apple has five different teams working on wireless charging

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iPhone 8 wireless charging
iPhone wireless charging is likely to arrive this year.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple may be likely to adopt the popular Qi standard when it brings wireless charging to this year’s iPhone, but it seems that Apple isn’t abandoning reports that it could use a proprietary alternative solution.

According to a new report, the company currently has not one or two, but five different groups inside Apple currently working to develop wireless charging technology for future iPhones.

iPhone 8’s wireless charging won’t be as good as we hoped

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iPhone 8 wireless charging
iPhone 8 will have wireless charging, but it won't be special.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

If you were hoping Apple had developed a spectacular new wireless charging system for iPhone 8, you’re going to be disappointed come September.

The latest rumor claims that Apple won’t be using range charging technology developed by Energous as previously expected, but instead one of the existing solutions already found in rival smartphones like those made by Samsung.

iPhone 8’s ‘revolutionary’ FaceTime camera to bring facial recognition

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iPhone 8 facial recognition
You'll be able to unlock your iPhone simply by looking at it.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

This year’s iPhone 8 will offer a “revolutionary” FaceTime camera that will be capable of facial recognition and iris scanning, according to one reliable analyst.

Apple is expected to do away with the handset’s physical Home button and Touch ID in favor of a larger display and a mini Touch Bar. Facial recognition could well become the new method of unlocking your iPhone and securing your apps.

Should Apple give iPhone 8 a mini Touch Bar? [Friday Night Fights]

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FNF iPhone 8
Wouldn't you want an iPhone like this?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The jury’s still out on whether the MacBook Pro’s new Touch Bar is a useful upgrade or a fancy gimmick. But according to recent rumors, Apple is already planning to bring similar functionality to this year’s iPhone 8.

Friday Night Fights bugTo make this happen, the company would almost certainly have to drop Touch ID. Would a mini Touch Bar be worth the sacrifice, or would contextual shortcuts and buttons make iOS more complicated than it needs to be?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we discuss whether a Touch Bar would be a useful addition to the iPhone!

The big changes coming to iPhone 8, this week on The CultCast

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According to new reports, iPhone 8 is getting the big changes you've been waiting for.
According to new reports, iPhone 8 is getting the big changes you've been waiting for.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

This week on The CultCast: According to new reports, the iPhone 8 will get a huge makeover with an edge-to-edge screen, wireless charging, a huge battery and more. We’ll tell you everything we know. Plus: A 4K Apple TV is on the way; our favorite TV shows from days of yore; and the search for the perfect corn dog.

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. It’s simple to accept Apple Pay and sell your wares with your very own Squarespace.com website. Enter offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10 percent off any hosting plan.

Glass iPhone 8 redesign will only be available on larger-size models

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iPhone8
Don't expect to get the new glass enclosure on Apple's smaller iPhones.
Photo: Imran Taylor

Size won’t be the only thing separating Apple’s next-gen 4.7-, 5.5-, and 5.8-inch iPhones, claims a new report.

According to sources in Apple’s supply chain, the rumored glass exterior form factor will only be available on the larger of Apple’s new iPhones. The smaller sized iPhone will meanwhile continue using an aluminum-alloy chassis, while the mid-sized 5.5-inch iPhone (the current iPhone Plus size) has yet to be determined.

Apple stock hits all-time high

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apple stock price
Apple stock prices spent the whole year on the rise and ended trading Wednesday with a $1 trillion valuation.
Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac

It’s a great time to be an Apple shareholder.

Aided by a increased confidence rating from Goldman Sachs, Apple shares hit an all-time high today, with the price jumping to $133.76 per share before closing just above the company’s previous record of $132.54, set on May 17, 2015.

Smaller iPhone set to get big battery upgrade in 2017

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iPhone 7
The iPhone 8 will have killer battery life.
Photo: Ste Smith

Apple reportedly plans to pack a much bigger battery inside the new 4.7-inch iPhone set to be revealed later this year.

In his latest research report, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims the smaller iPhone will be the first device to feature a stacked logic board design to bring better battery performance.

Our iPhone 8 mockup brings every gorgeous rumor to life

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ceramic iPhone
A ceramic iPhone would look spectacular.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

It’s the iPhone’s tenth anniversary this year, which means there’s no chance Apple is going to deliver another incremental upgrade with an all too familiar design. We’re expecting big things from the so-called iPhone 8 — including a complete face-lift.

Here are our gorgeous concepts for the iPhone 8 based on everything we know so far.

Apple orders millions of iPhone 8 displays from Samsung

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3D Touch app switching
Could OLED displays be coming to all new iPhones in September?
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Apple has reportedly inked a deal with Samsung Display to supply it with an extra 60 million OLED panels for the upcoming iPhone.

Apple previously agreed a deal with Samsung to produce 100 million OLED panels for the iPhone 8, suggesting that this handset could turn out to be even more popular than Apple originally thought it would be — or that Apple’s planning to expand OLED displays beyond merely its top-line flagship handset.

Apple joins Wireless Power Consortium ahead of iPhone 8

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iPhone wireless charging
More evidence that wireless charging is on its way.
Photo: Ivo Marić and Tomislav Rastovac

Apple has been added to the Wireless Power Consortium, a group dedicated to developing and promoting mass-market adoption of the wireless charging interface standard Qi.

The addition of Apple to the group, currently consisting of 213 members, is the latest piece of evidence that the company will adopt wireless charging for this year’s iPhone refresh.

All three 2017 iPhones may get wireless charging

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iPhone8
Is this what the new iPhone 8 will look like?
Photo: Imran Taylor

According to a reliable Apple analyst, the company will release three new iPhones this year — including a redesigned iPhone 8 (or iPhone X) and two iterative iPhone 7 updates.

All three models will reportedly boast new Apple wireless charging tech, rather than the feature being limited to a high-end OLED handset.

The next iPhone may cost more than $1,000

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ceramic iPhone
The next iPhone is going to be gorgeous.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Upgrading to Apple’s next iPhone won’t come cheap.

The price of the top-of-the-line iPhone is set to increase to more than $1,000, according to a new report that claims the device will pack an OLED display that stretches across the entire front of the phone.

iPhone’s user base to surpass 1 billion units by 2019

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iPhone 7
iPhone growth is slowing, but still healthy.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The iPhone user base is expected to surpass 1 billion units by 2019, according to new estimates.

Growth is so healthy right now that analysts expect the number of active users to be around 80 percent bigger when iPhone 8 goes on sale this fall than it was when the iPhone 6 arrived in September 2014.

Who said the iPhone had already reached its peak?

Apple reportedly starting iPhone 8 production early

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iPhone8
Is this how the new iPhone 8 will look?
Photo: Imran Taylor

Apple is getting a head start manufacturing the iPhone 8, according to a report from analysts at BlueFin Research Partners. “Early indication [is that Apple is] trying to pull in next generation iPhone builds as much as possible,” write John Donovan and Steve Mullane in a note issued this morning.

However, the analysts remain unsure whether this means Apple will debut the iPhone 8 earlier than its expected September launch date.

Is Apple headed for another boom period? [Friday Night Fights]

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IMG_3502
Will 2017 be a big year for Apple?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple impressed us all with its Q1 2017 earnings earlier this week. Is it the start of something spectacular?

Friday Night Fights bugiPhone sales beat expectations, and though things may look bad for the iPad business, there’s strong demand for Apple Watch, the Mac lineup is raking in more than ever, and services will be big enough to be its own Fortune 100 company by the end of the year.

Is Apple headed for another boom period? Or does it need more than just the iPhone 8 in 2017 to keep up this trend? Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we battle it out over Apple’s year ahead.