What we know about iPhone 8 from the rumours
The upcoming iPhone 8 has already become one of the most-anticipated smartphones in recent history. With 2017 marking Apple's 10th anniversary of the launch of the original iPhone, consumers are waiting with bated breath for what they expect to be a major revamp of a device which ushered in a new age of smartphones.
The new iPhone 8 rumour mail has plenty of momentum behind it already. From the rumoured addition of wireless charging, virtual fingerprint scanning, and face detection capabilities, there's more than enough fodder available about iPhone's 10th-anniversary treat to keep the fanboys excited.
Here's the latest on the iPhone 8 from the week gone by:
Refresh instead of a revamped design
Since its launch in January 2009, Apple's iPhone has largely stayed the same when it comes to the basic layout of its design. Even though the display size increased, and the headphone jack now nowhere to be seen, the iPhone through the years has carried forward the defining external features of its DNA forward. With the iPhone 8 too, expect Apple to come with a design that carries forward its legacy.
If the rumour mill is to be believed, the phone will travel back in time, and borrow from the design of the initial phones in its family tree. The iPhone 8's design will be a throwback to the iPhone 4 from 2010 which featured glass panels on the front and back sandwiched between a polished stainless steel midframe. However, the iPhone 8 will take the aesthetics of the phone a notch up by using 2.5D glass sheets that will merge seamlessly with the midframe on both ends.
Other reports peg the iPhone's 10th-anniversary offering to come in two size variants – 5 and 5.8 inches – both sporting beautiful bezel-less edge-to-edge OLED displays flaunting screen to body ratios exceeding that of its rivals like the Samsung Galaxy S8.
Home button conundrum
With the iPhone 7 last year, Apple did not just do away with the headphone jack but also moved away from the design scheme of including a mechanical home button on the front of the phone. Instead, Apple chose to replace it with a static force sensitive button that used Apple's new "taptic engine" to respond to the users touch.
According to pictures of a mock-up of the upcoming device obtained by BGR, the iPhone 8 will see a major redesign of the home button. The report claims that iPhone with its 10-year anniversary edition will see the Touch ID (fingerprint sensor) embedded directly in the display, helping Apple bring to life the bezel-less edge-to-edge display look of the phone.
Camera
Though there are conflicting reports on the positioning of the camera on the back of the next iPhone, what is increasingly becoming more clear with every new leak is that the phone will come with an upgrade to the iPhone 7's dual camera setup at the back which will incorporate augmented reality features.
The front of the phone is rumoured to sport a 3D-dual camera setup.
All about cool stuff like iris scanner and AirPods
The phone additionally is being touted to come equipped with cool features like an iris scanner and wireless charging capabilities. If reports are to be believed, the iPhone 8 will be shipped along with the expensive AirPods. These wireless headphones which started retailing in India for Rs 15,400 last year will make the anniversary edition package more enticing, if Apple does indeed decide to ship them with the phone.
If this schematic is accurate, Apple is dedicating a lot of the iPhone 8’s internal space to wireless charging. https://t.co/tWKZJ2onjJ pic.twitter.com/Y2NqVqs64m
— Benjamin Mayo (@bzamayo) April 27, 2017
Not light on the pocket
Not light on features, Apple's upcoming iPhone 8 certainly won't be light on your pocket too. If rumours coming out of Apple's base in Cupertino are to be believed, the upcoming phone will be the most expensive iPhone Apple has ever released.
The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus currently cost between $649 for the cheapest variant and $969 for the high-end Plus models, but iPhone 8 is expected to start retailing upwards of the $1000- (approx Rs 65,000) mark.
On paper, the price looks steep, but taking into account the rumoured high-end specs, and features the phone promises to come packing, the most expensive iPhone ever still makes for a good proposition.