Apple will be celebrating the tenth anniversary of the iPhone in 2017 and Apple has said that the event will be celebrated with a completely redesigned iPhone.
A number of reports suggest that the new iPhone will be called the iPhone 8 (rather than the expected iPhone 7s) and that it’ll feature an OLED screen and a bezel-less design.
There are also a great many rumours surrounding the new design, the chipset and even the charging mechanism. Here’s everything we’ve heard:
A number of rumours are pointing to three new iPhones in 2017. These rumours suggest that there will be a regular iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, and a special edition, premium iPhone 8 model.
The phones are expected to be redesigned completely, featuring a metal frame to house the components. This frame will apparently be embedded in an all-glass body.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggests that the frames will be made of stainless steel and aluminium, and that only the premium model will have the stainless steel frame. Kuo also expects to see a bezel-less design for the iPhone 8.
An all-glass iPhone is intriguing, and considering the popularity of the JetBlack iPhone 7 (40-50 percent of pre-orders so far), the idea isn’t so far-fetched.
A source in Israel also spoke of the new iPhone as the iPhone 8 rather than the iPhone 7s. He also suggested that the new iPhone would be “different.”
The most fascinating rumour surrounding the new iPhone is the one that suggests Apple will use an edge-to-edge, curved, flexible OLED panel for the iPhone 8. Though Kuo does say that he expects the OLED panel to be available only on the premium iPhone.
Apple has reportedly signed an agreement with Samsung for the delivery of an estimated 40 million OLED panels, which will be supplemented by panels from the likes of LG and Sharp.
Vague rumours suggest that Apple is investing in a secretive Taiwanese lab that develops OLED panels and the company could be investing in an AMOLED panel manufacturer.
OLED is a great choice for a smartphone display because it offers almost perfect contrast ratios, is extremely thin (it doesn’t need a backlight) and can be flexible. It is also very energy-efficient (black pixels don’t consume power).
The downsides to OLED include a shorter lifespan and weakness to water damage. Considering that Apple is already using these panels in the Apple Watch and the fact that the Watch Series 2 is completely water resistant, this is not much of a concern.
Apple has reportedly been working on an integrated touch and display driver unit that is also expected to house all requisite sensors, including Touch ID.
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