iPhone 8 latest rumours - release date, UK price and features: Anniversary iPhone to have 5.8 in OLED screen and 3D face scanner, but curved glass
When will Apple launch the iPhone 8? Read the latest rumours about the 2017 iPhone specs, price and UK launch date, celebrating 10 years of the iPhone.
Hang on a minute, shouldn't the next iPhone be the iPhone 7s? It still could be. Leaks and more rumours are pointing to not one but three new iPhones, two of which may well be branded as iPhone 7s and 7s Plus models. The main launch, though, would be the flagship, 10th anniversary iPhone '8'.
We'd be surprised if Apple goes for that naming convention, however, and other rumours say it could even be called simply 'The iPhone', or iPhone Pro, but for now we'll stick to calling it the iPhone 8 for simplicity.
Update 3 March:
A new report from analysts at TrendForce - and another from AppleInsider - says that the iPhone 8 won't have two heavily rumoured features: wireless charging and a screen with curved edges. Based on information from the iPhone supply chain, TrendForce said, "Apple will not implement the curved display design for the high-end iPhone because there are issues with the 3D glass in terms of production yield and drop test results. Thus, the next high-end iPhone is expected to have the same 2.5D glass for display cover as the current models.".
On wireless charging, AppleInsider obtained information from Cowen and Company which reckons that the long-range wireless charging system which Apple is working on won't feature in the iPhone 8. What's more likely - as detailed below - is that the phone will use a similar system to current phones that support Qi wireless charging. This means you'll have to put the phone on a charger, just as with the Apple Watch.
The third new piece of news is that KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo refutes other reports saying Apple will use USB-C instead of Lightning on the iPhone 8 in order to introduce fast charging. Via TechTimes, he says that Apple will make a few power-management tweaks to enable the battery to be charged faster when using a Lightning cable.
On wireless charging, AppleInsider obtained information from Cowen and Company which reckons that the long-range wireless charging system which Apple is working on won't feature in the iPhone 8. What's more likely - as detailed below - is that the phone will use a similar system to current phones that support Qi wireless charging. This means you'll have to put the phone on a charger, just as with the Apple Watch.
The third new piece of news is that KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo refutes other reports saying Apple will use USB-C instead of Lightning on the iPhone 8 in order to introduce fast charging. Via TechTimes, he says that Apple will make a few power-management tweaks to enable the battery to be charged faster when using a Lightning cable.
Here's a summary of what to expect from the iPhone 8:
iOS 11 software
5.8in edge-to-edge screen with no bezels and no physical home button
3D front-facing camera could replace Touch ID
Long-range wireless charging - may not come until 2018
Apple A11 processor
64- or 256GB with 3GB RAM
Latest Intel LTE modem
Possible change in case material to glass or ceramic - or just glass back
That's the main specs covered, but here are the other rumours:
The main logic board will be in two pieces instead of the traditional one
Apple may move the SIM tray to the bottom edge (this could be to allow room for other internal components or to include a Smart Connector)
Quick charging will be supported when using a cable
New speaker design could make the phone the thinnest ever
It will use an OLED screen from Samsung
Facial recognition in addition to fingerprint scanner
Laser sensor for gesture recognition
The latest video from ConceptsiPhone does a decent job of showing what the iPhone 8 might look like. It's interesting to see an idea of how the bottom of the display might be used, similar to the Touch Bar on the MacBook Pro.
When is the iPhone 8 UK release date?
iPhone 8 UK release date: September 2017 (TBC)
Although still months away, we can fairly confidently predict the iPhone 8 release date. Assuming the annual September announcement tradition continues, the iPhone 8 release date will be in September 2017. However, 2017 marks the 10th anniversary of the original iPhone launch, so we wouldn't be too surprised if Apple mixed things up a bit (it launched the SE - pictured below - in March)
According to Tech Trader Daily (via MacRumours), Apple might be putting the iPhone 8 into production in June, sooner than expected. However, that doesn't necessarily mean the launch will be earlier than September given the potentially radical design change.
It's not necessarily going to be called the iPhone 8, of course, but that's the name we're using to keep things simple.
What will the 2017 be called?
It seems the name may have been confirmed with an Apple employee referring to the new device by the name 'iPhone 8' unprompted when speaking to Business Insider. However, there is another suggestion as Apple Insider claims that Apple could call this year's iPhone the iPhone X.
As we've mentioned, the iPhone for 2017 is slightly harder to predict because it will mark a big anniversary for the smartphone.
The latest rumours are that Apple will release three new iPhone models as part of the main lineup. This could well be the 'S' versions of the 7 and 7 Plus, and the extra 'iPhone 8', an even more premium flagship with 'revolutionary' features.
The Wall Street Journal says: "Apple plans bigger design changes for 2017, the 10th anniversary of the original iPhone. Those changes could include an edge-to-edge organic light-emitting diode, or OLED, screen and eliminating the home button by building the fingerprint sensor into the display, according to people familiar with the matter.
"At a meeting with an Apple executive, one of the company’s China-based engineers asked why this year’s model [the iPhone 7] lacked a major design change in keeping with Apple’s usual two-year cycle. The answer, one person at the meeting recalled, was that the new technology in the pipeline will take time to implement. People familiar with the matter said some features that Apple hopes to integrate into iPhones, such as curved screens, weren’t ready for this year’s models," it added.
If Apple follows the usual pattern, the iPhone 7 that launched this year will be followed by the iPhone 7S in 2017. The fact that it's 10 years since the original iPhone means this could all go out the window. Apple will want to do something special to celebrate the occasion so an 'S' model, which usually just brings small tweaks, won't suffice.
It's pretty much anyone's guess at the moment, hence, we're calling the 2017 model the iPhone 8 at the moment but it's perfectly plausible that the new phone won't conform to the traditional naming system at all. The iPhone SE (special edition) is already a thing, so perhaps Apple will go with 'iPhone Pro', iPhone Anniversary Edition' or even just 'iPhone' - although naming the iPad 3 as 'the new iPad' didn't go down too well.
A report from Nikkei suggested that in 2017 there would be three new iPhone models. It sounded as though we were in for the usual 4.7- and 5.5in models (the regular and Plus), plus a third new 'Pro' model with a 5.5in or above curved screen. Its source said the screen would be "bent on the two sides" making it sound like a Galaxy Note 7 rival. Of course, this didn't happen with the iPhone 7, though it doesn't mean we won't see a curved-screen iPhone 8.
How much will the iPhone 8 cost in the UK?
We're speculating for now, of course, as the iPhone 7 has only recently gone on sale. Whether Apple will introduce a price increase for the potentially special iPhone 8 is anyone's guess. However, the iPhone 7 price jumped up to £599 in the UK thanks to Brexit and we hope that it will stay the same with next year's anniversary model. However, in light of the latest leaks, the 'anniversary' model seems to be an ultra-premium device that could cost more than any iPhone yet. At least one report claims it will be more than $1000 in the US.
Although one analyst predicts the iPhone 8 will be the best selling model ever - with up to 150m sales - another is worried that following the anniversary edition, Apple will see a possible 10 year slump afterwards.
It is believed that moving to OLED for the iPhone 8 will push up costs as much as $50m for Apple, eating into the firm's profit margin. Whether the firm takes the hit and keeps the price of the phone the same or not remains to be seen.
What are the rumoured new features?
If Apple does indeed do something special for the iPhone's 10th anniversary, which is ever more likely from all the leaks, the iPhone 8 will be one which fans will no doubt want to upgrade to on launch day. Could we see the biggest queues ever?
A combination of design and hardware changes will make the iPhone 8 the most radical new iPhone to date, if we are to go by the rumours and leaks.
OLED screen: Will the iPhone 8 feature a next-gen display?
It seems certain that the iPhone 8 will have an OLED screen - like the Samsung Galaxy S7 - rather than the traditional IPS tech Apple has used previously.
A recent KGI report says that it will be a 5.8in screen which will fit into a chassis a similar size to the current 4.7in iPhone and that the phone will have a significantly higher capacity battery.
Here's a diagram from the report which illustrates how the iPhone 8 will slot into the range:
As you can see, the screen will have two parts. A 5.15in 'main' screen with a resolution of 2,436 x 1,125 pixels and a separate 'function area' across the bottom. This is likely to be where the integrated fingerprint scanner will live, and it may operate like the Touch Bar on the latest MacBook Pro laptops.
Whatever turns out to be the case, the screens are coming from Samsung. The Korean Herald reported that a source confirmed the order from Samsung and that - like the screen on the Galaxy S7 Edge - it will be made from plastic and not glass. Typically glass is only used for flat screens, so this is not too surprising.
And now according to GSMarena, the deal between Apple and Samsung for the screens is now finalised.
The iPhone 8 won't be the first to have a bezel-less screen. Xiaomi has already launched the Mi Mix, reviewed. It's a stunning device and the first of a new category of phones with it's 91.3 percent screen-to-body ratio, according to the firm.
A Facebook post by Robert Scoble - a well-known tech strategist - reveals new details about the next iPhone. In the lengthy post Scoble claims to have been told that it will be "a clear piece of glass... which will put holograms on top of the real world like Microsoft HoloLens does". He also says the phone will have an OLED screen and that Apple has 600 engineers working on a next-generation 3D sensor and that the phone will have eye sensors. These will bring "a new kind of interface". He also says that you'll "pop it into a headset which has eye sensors on it, which enables the next iPhone to have a higher apparent frame rate and polygon count than a PC with a Nvidia 1080 card in it."
Plus, he says that new sources revealed we can "expect battery and antennas to be hidden around the edges of the screen, which explains how Apple will fit in some of the pieces even while most of the chips that make up a phone are in a pack/strip at the bottom of the phone."
These sound like ridiculous predictions, especially the part about the phone being transparent - battery tech is not yet good enough to make one small enough to "hide" - but if true, the iPhone 8 will be a revolution rather than the evolution we've seen with the iPhone 7 this year. We'll continue to update this article as new information appears, but here's how things stand right now.
Glass frame: Will the iPhone 8 feature Gorilla Glass?
Jony Ive has wanted to introduce an iPhone which resembles a single sheet of glass for a long time and the 2017 anniversary iPhone could be the one. It's rumoured that at least one iPhone in 2017 will use a glass body, according to Apple supplier Catcher Technology. Glass on the front and back would make it like a hugely updated version of the iPhone 4S.
This, combined with the rumour that the iPhone 8 will sport an edge-to-edge OLED screen makes things rather interesting.
Allen Horng, chairman and chief executive of Catcher Technology, a key supplier said: "As far as I know, only one [iPhone] model will adopt glass casing next year. I don't think this move will have an impact on Catcher's revenue as glass casing still needs a durable metal frame which requires advanced processing technology and would not be cheaper than the current model."
However, don't get your hopes up. Although Foxconn - the manufacturer of iPhones in China - has been experimenting with building a glass chassis for around a year, it is likely too early to put it into mass production. Current tooling is all for aluminium chassis and that's where the expertise and investment is. A switch to glass - or ceramic or some other material - would be such a massive change that there would be far more leaks backing up these rumours. Put simply, we don't believe that the iPhone 8 will be an all-glass machine.
Touch ID: Will the iPhone 8 have a home button integrated to the screen?
What's much more likely is that the home button will be 'virtual' in the iPhone 8. This makes sense, and is surely one of the features of the 'function area' in the diagram earlier.
But will Apple ditch Touch ID? Previous rumours say no but another new Apple patent for an "Acoustic Imaging System Architecture" suggest otherwise.
It's impossible to know what Apple will do, since there are so many patents. One Apple patent shows that the new iPhone's Touch ID fingerprint sensor, which is usually situated beneath the Home button, could be built-in to the entire display, eliminating the need for a Home button and making room for a larger display without enlarging the overall size of the smartphone.
These rumours seemed pretty far fetched to begin with, but it might just happen. Sonavation recently announced that it has found a way to insert ultrasonic biometric sensors underneath a Gorilla Glass display, still being able to read a user's fingerprints.
The newly developed tech is "well suited for through-the-glass fingerprinting and specifically architected to deliver advanced security and ease-of-integration into mobile and IoT devices” Sonavation’s CTO Rainer Schmitt said.
The company claims that it can even do one better than the existing Touch ID (and most other fingerprint scanners on the market) by being able to scan fingerprints on a finger that's wet, dirty or oily. Though it's not clear which devices will be the first to feature this new technology, but we assume it'd either be the iPhone or a flagship Android smartphone.
Another patent has been awarded to Apple for a button which places the fingerprint sensing technology underneath the screen. Named a 'capacitive fingerprint sensor including an electrostatic lens', it means the Touch ID fingerprint sensor can work through various layers of the display.
Face-recognition: Will the iPhone 8 feature a 3D camera?
However, Macrumours says that a JP Morgan analyst claims there will be no fingerprint recognition at all, and that Apple will instead embed a front-facing 3D laser scanner that will be able to accurately recognise your face. This will avoid the problem where Touch ID doesn't work if you have wet fingers - or the sensor has water on it. He says it will also be more secure, which could lead to more companies - including banks - supporting Apple Pay.
This theory is backed up by Kuo of KGI Securities whose latest report, via 9to5Mac, says Apple will put an enhanced front camera and an IR sensor in order to build up a 3D model of the user's face.
The report also says that Apple's 3D algorithms are "years ahead" of Android, and such a feature could be an iPhone exclusive for a couple of years before Android phone makers catch up.
As pointed out by Patently Apple, yet more patents suggest a curved-glass design and also that the sides of the phone could be used for virtual buttons. For example, this could be used for certain controls when the camera app is in use. If true, the phone would rival Samsung's edge screen features.
There were also some rumours we heard about the iPhone 7's screen that never made it to fruition. It's possible that they could see daylight with the iPhone 8.
Economic Daily News speculated that the iPhone 7 could feature a 3D display, and one that doesn't require the use of those annoying 3D glasses. The website claimed at the time that Apple supply chain partner TPK is working on a project that could produce a glasses-free 3D display, though we're not holding out much hope for this as its been done before (remember the LG Optimus 3D?) and has never done well.
There were also some rumours to suggest that the iPhone 7 could have a sidewall display, similar to that found on the Galaxy S7 edge and Note 7. This came from an Apple patent that was published in 2015. The patent hints at a future iPhone with a display that extends onto the sides of the device, providing interactive or touch sensitive portions that give access to slide-to-unlock functionality, music player controls, messaging readout, called ID, system controls and more.
One of Apple's partners, Japan Display, is working in flexible an foldable screens similar to Samsung and LG. Whether this will end up in the iPhone 8 remains to be seen - it's unlikely but still interesting. Apple has plenty of patents describing bendable and folding devices, according to TechnoBuffalo.
More details on the screen tech include that Apple is supposedly working on a new generation of 3D Touch. According to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the firm will make it from a thin film in order to introduce enhanced sensitivity - via AppleInsider.
What colours will be available?
If you're wondering what colours the iPhone 8 will come in then we might have an answer via Macotakara. The Japanese site claims the smartphone will come in an additional red colour which will join the existing Black, Jet Black, Silver, Gold and Rose Gold options.
What are the rumoured iPhone 8 specifications?
Storage: 64GB or 256GB
A research firm, TrendForce, issued a report saying the new iPhone will offer just two capacities: 64GB and 256GB. The firm also said it will have 3GB of RAM.Dual-lens camera
We expect Apple to continue to offer a dual-lens setup, although whether it's in the same form as the iPhone 7 Plus is another matter. A source has told Business Insider that Apple is planning on integrating augmented reality into the camera app. Sony has offered an AR feature for a long time but Apple's will supposedly be around object and face detection. The source also added that Apple will make its AR tech available to developers with an SDK.Prior to the iPhone 7 launch we heard rumours that its camera would be flush against the back of the phone rather than protruding as it is currently on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. This wasn't the case, however, so it's a design change that could make its way to the iPhone 8.
Processor: Apple A11
The iPhone 8 is thought to include an Apple A11 processor built on a 10nm process. Some leaked documents, posted on Chinese blog cnBeta suggest the processor may be on one of two mainboard parts, necessitated by the bigger screen and thinner bezels, which means less room inside.
Wireless charging
It's thought that just one of the three iPhones for 2017 will feature wireless charging for the first time. The latest rumour from Mactokara is that you won't be able to charge your iPhone 8 wirelessly straight out of the box, but will need to purchase a wireless charging adaptor separately. Apple has just joined the Wireless Power Consortium, bolstering the rumours.
There are plenty of rumours about how this wireless charging will work. Back in January 2016 Apple was said to be working on wireless charging behind the scenes, but we always knew that this special type of wireless charging that doesn't require users to place the phone on a charging mat wasn't expected to arrive until 2017.
However, another report by 9to5Mac says Apple is working with Broadcom to develop a proprietary wireless charging solution, but it probably won't appear until the launch of the iPhone in 2018.
One of the reasons the iPhone doesn't currently offer wireless inductive charging is because the technology has never previously worked through aluminium. But Qualcomm has revealed that its latest wireless breakthrough now does work through metal, so it's finally a possibility for Apple.
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More weight has been added to this wireless charging theory with evidence that Apple is working with Energous. According to VentureBeat, upon studying Energous' latest prospectus it has unearthed a section directly referencing Apple: the subsection is "entitled Industry Certifications, and along with the expected listings like Underwriters Laboratory and FCC approval, is a final, curious inclusion: Apple compliance testing. Apple is the only company singled out in a list that otherwise contains industry-wide and legally required certifications." VentureBeat comes to the obvious conclusion that the WattUp reference design in question would undergo compliance testing at Apple only if Apple was evaluating its use in one of its portable devices.
What's interesting about this specific charging technology is that it doesn't depend on a wireless charging mat or dock, but rather the signal can travel up to 15ft, and can charge up to 12 devices at once.
There's more: a report on Nikkei cites an industry source who says that Foxconn is making wireless charging modules for the anniversary iPhone. "But whether the feature can eventually make it into Apple's updated devices will depend on whether Foxconn can boost the yield rate to a satisfactory level later on," the source said.
An older report from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, via MacRumors, suggested that Pegatron will be the exclusive supplier of the wireless charger.
"We believe one of the reasons why new iPhones will switch from metal casing to glass casing is to support wireless charging. In order to ensure a superior performance, we believe it is most appropriate for EMS suppliers to develop and make the wireless charger because then a comprehensive test can be conducted. As Hon Hai [Foxconn] needs to deploy most resources to develop and produce OLED iPhone, we expect Pegatron will be the exclusive supplier of the wireless charger," said Kuo.
Biometric security
Built-in e-SIM
What are the benefits of having an e-SIM? First things first, it'll make switching carriers easy and should allow for more flexible roaming. The idea is that with a standardised e-SIM, you'll be able to make a call and switch operators without having to insert a specific SIM card. This idea translates to roaming too, as it'll be much easier to switch to a local network if you're looking to spend a long period of time in a particular country.
You can also wave goodbye to SIM adaptors! If you've ever had to go from a nano-SIM device to a micro-SIM device, you'll know exactly what we mean.
Reversible USB charger
One rumour circulating the web is that a future iPhone will come with a new iPhone charger, with a Lightning connector on one end and a new reversible USB connector on the other end
There's a long way to go yet so stay tuned for more iPhone 8 details and rumours.
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