If rumours are true, iPhone 8 will be a wet dream
The Apple iPhone 7 has barely managed to make a dent in this fast-paced world with ever-upgrading technology, and news of the "next iPhone" is already making waves. Will we stop at nothing? The iPhone 7 has already created some controversy with its conspicuously absent earphone jack. But despite that and a few hardware upgrades, it wasn’t that big a deal.
But with the 10th anniversary of the iPhone near the corner (2017), Apple is all set to dazzle the world (yet again) with iPhones that may actually be better in terms of utility and not just social status.
There are several rumours floating about the supposed new feature of the yet-to-be launched iPhone 8.
Wireless charging
It’s a technology that has existed for some time now and has been heavily incorporated by a lot of smartphone companies, especially the South Korean tech giant Samsung.
Earlier this year, KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple might be adding wireless technology to its range of smartphones.
According to this Nikkei report, Hon Hai Precision Industry, also known as Foxconn Technology Group, is making wireless charging modules to go with the iPhone's 10th anniversary range slated for release in 2017. The report also adds that Foxconn is making modules that will be incorporated into the handsets, but it is unclear whether all iPhone models slated for release in 2017 will come with the new function.
So far the only Apple product that has wireless charging capabilities is the Apple Watch. But a report from The Verge, suggests that Apple is hiring more and more engineers. This would seem like a pretty good indication of what is to come.
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| The 10th anniversary of the iPhone will probably change the world. [Photo: Indiatoday.in] |
Curved, OLED display
Recently, the CEO of Sharp Corporation, a Japanese company involved in the manufacturing and sales of telecommunications equipment, confirmed that the iPhone 8 will feature an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diodes) screen.
Sharp CEO Jeng-wu Tai, speaking at Tatung University in Taiwan said, "The iPhone has been evolving and now it is switching from LTPS to OLED panels. We don't know whether Apple's OLED iPhones will be a hit, but if Apple doesn't walk down this path and transform itself, there will be no innovation. It is a crisis but it is also an opportunity".
At present, Apple uses LTPS (Low-Temperature Poly-Silicon) panels in iPhones. The advantage of switching to OLED display is increased sharpness and brightness, and decreased power consumption. The Nikkei report also suggests that Apple may try its hands on curved display with the coming iPhone.
According to the report, the premium model among the 3 proposed iPhones will sport a curved organic light-emitting diode screen, while the other two models will stick with existing flat LTPS display.
No home button
The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, aside from the earphone jack (or the lack of it) saw another big change: the clickable home button was replaced by a capacitive touch panel with support for 3D Force Touch and haptic feedback built into it.
The rumoured iPhone 8 will crank it up a notch. They might just get rid of the home button altogether.
According to this report, Apple had earlier filed a patent on USPTO that reads, "A capacitive fingerprint sensor, including: a dielectric structure having a contact surface and a sensor surface; an array of capacitive sensing elements held on or near the sensor surface of the dielectric structure; and an electrostatic lens formed within the dielectric structure."
What this means is that the home button will still be there at the bottom of the display, however, it will not be clickable or, for that matter, visible. This does imply that the entirety of the front panel might be the display.
In addition to all this, there are reports which suggest that Apple plans to replace the current iPhone current metal casing with a glass back and a metal frame for all its three new handset models next year.
These rumours may have a basis in fact, but the truth is, you just got a new iPhone. The next one will make its way into our lives in good time. These features, though new to an iPhone, will make one thing certain: On its 10th anniversary, the iPhone will truly be at the top of the smartphone food chain and the wet dream of many - both in terms of brand and utility.