iPhone 8

Analysts have been expecting this fall’s iPhone 8 to prompt a so-called ‘super cycle’ for weeks, and now Credit Suisse is the latest to push that expectation. Analyst Kulbinder Garcha at the firm cites ‘pent up demand’ from the iPhone installed base for a very different model than recent hardware updates.

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I’ve been giving more thought to the issue of how Apple might embed Touch ID into the display of the iPhone 8. So far, the various reports and rumors have focused on two possibilities: one hi-tech, one low-tech.

The hi-tech approach would be to embed a fingerprint reader beneath the display. We know from the sheer volume of Apple patents that Apple has plenty of ideas about how this might be achieved – but there’s a massive difference between a concept and a finished product. Indeed, there’s a huge gap between a fully-working prototype and something that works in volume production. If the rumors are to be believed, Apple has struggled to achieve this.

The low-tech approach would be to take the same route as many Android brands and simply move the Touch ID sensor to the rear of the casing. I’ve discussed previously why I think this would be a terrible idea, and the most recent reports do suggest Apple is not taking this approach.

But it strikes me that there’s a third possibility here. What might be termed a ‘mid-tech’ approach …

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The latest iPhone 8 leak is an image of a purported case for the device, via KKSneakLeaks. This (admittedly) bare bones clear case gives some clues as to the device’s characteristics by the shape and cutouts in the accessory. Most prominently, the case includes a camera cutout that would snugly fit the vertically-stacked dual camera that we have seen so much in recent weeks.

It also has a noticeably longer power button and notably lacks any hole for a rear Touch ID sensor to reside. This again supports the idea that Apple will successfully integrate the fingerprint scanner into the display, rather than an earlier leak which placed the sensor below the Apple logo on the back. The general proportions of the part also confirms that the physical size of the device is comparable to the 4.7-inch iPhone 7.

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Although there are still many doubts about the iPhone 8 rumored design, mocked up above, a new schematic has surfaced on Weibo today. This drawing (embedded after the break below) is a more detailed version of what we saw yesterday and includes label annotations for many components.

The new dual front and (vertical) back cameras are visible and a rear Touch ID sensor is nowhere in sight, again implying it will be integrated into the OLED display. What’s most interesting about this latest leak though is that it indicates the parts used by the iPhone 8 for wireless charging …

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Over the weekend we got what may be the most impressive preview of what’s in store for the iPhone 8 this fall, and now a new illustration that appears to be schematics for the upcoming flagship iPhone has surfaced online. Benjamin Geskin first tweeted the image below, and elements of the drawing do align with recent leaks.

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There’s a new image making the rounds online purporting to be the Geekbench results of the upcoming iPhone 8. The image shows off the iPhone 8’s supposed speed bump in both single-core and multi-core scores. The single-core speeds show a jump of nearly 30%, and the multi-core by nearly 50%.

While these lightning speeds are enough to make any soon-to-be-upgrader happy, they’re unfortunately fake.

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Wireless charging is widely expected to be on one if not all new iPhone models later this year, and the CEO of a prominent wireless charging technology company appears to consider it a done deal. Powermat CEO Elad Dubzinski called wireless charging ‘a standard feature in the next iPhone’ ahead of any official iPhone 7s or iPhone 8 announcement.

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Whilst we still aren’t entirely sure what the iPhone 8 will look like, there have been a flurry of rumors in the last month that the device will not be launching to Apple’s normal annual schedule.

Today, Nikkei is the latest publication to claim that the iPhone 8 may not be in customer’s hands until late October or November. The report pinpoints the OLED panel, wireless charging components and new circuit boards as the reason for the production problems.

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Growing evidence that the iPhone 8 may go on sale significantly later than the usual September timeframe speaks volumes about the very different approach Apple is taking to this year’s flagship model. It is breaking not just one, but two of the cardinal rules in the How To Be Apple manual.

Rule 1 is that the company avoids ‘bleeding edge’ technology. When new tech rolls around, the company watches and waits while other manufacturers do the trial-and-error bit. Apple launches only when it is satisfied that the tech is stable and that it has figured out the optimal way to employ it.

We saw this with the iPod. The first portable media player was invented in 1979, and the first actual mp3 player went on sale in 1998. Apple waited until 2001 to release the iPod. The first smartphones went on sale in the mid-1990s; the iPhone wasn’t released until more than a decade later. The first phone to have a fingerprint reader was the Motorola Atrix in 2011; Apple didn’t add one to the iPhone until two years later …

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We’ve been hearing several reports that the launch of the iPhone 8 could be delayed compared to previous years. Reputable Apple analyst KGI Ming-Chi Kuo has also weighed in today, reporting that mass production of the OLED iPhone will likely be pushed back to October/November, instead of the normal August/September timeframe for new iPhone launches.

KGI says the reason for the production difficulties is that the new iPhone 8 includes several major cutting-edge components that Apple has custom-ordered. The analyst still expects the iterative ‘7S’ models to launch on the normal schedule …

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Update: New details at the bottom …

The rumor mill for the iPhone 8 is seemingly flip-flopping between two distinct designs for Apple’s 2017 flagship iPhone, one made of aluminium and another more drastic look with a curved glass front and back. The latest unverified leaks from today depict the latter device.

These photo show an iPhone made of glass and stainless steel with the front screen seemingly going edge-to-edge with no discernible bezel. There is also no Touch ID visible on the back, implying it will be integrated under the display. More photos after the jump …

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In this week’s top stories: Apple celebrates Earth Day with a promise to stop mining completely, iPhone 8 design leaks continue, we go hands-on with NVIDIA’s new Pascal drivers for Mac, and much more. 

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[Update: This specific alleged chassis leak appears to be a rendering based on schematic leaks.]

The latest alleged iPhone 8 chassis leak appears to further indicate that the Touch ID fingerprint sensor will be relocated to the rear side like some Android phones. Earlier rumors predicted an embedded Touch ID sensor in the display.

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Analysts are expecting the price people will pay for an iPhone to rise significantly heading into next year. Apple analyst Katy Huberty from Morgan Stanley released a report (via Business Insider) predicting iPhone ASP to rise to $753 in 2018, up from $695 in the holiday quarter just gone.

Much of this increase is attributed to demand for the upcoming flagship iPhone model with an all-new design, OLED display and (almost) bezel-less front face. This ‘iPhone 8’ is rumored to cost significantly more than Apple’s current lineup. Huberty also notes that more people are buying the iPhone 7 Plus than ever before, which starts at $769 and is priced at a $120 premium relative to the 4.7-inch iPhones.

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According to new data from comScore, iPhone ownership in the United States has hit an all-time high. The data shows that the iPhone 7 has pushed the market towards the device, though usage of older devices such as the iPhone 6 remains strong…

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iPhone 8 rendering above, new schematic below

A new image shared online appears to show a preview of the iPhone 8 design with vertically stacked dual cameras and a rear Touch ID fingerprint sensor. The schematic shared on Twitter by Sonny Dickson features a cut out on the backside presumably used for Touch ID with dimensions matching schematics leaked earlier by a different source.

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Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI is out today with a pair of new reports, this time relating to Samsung and its Galaxy S8 and upcoming Galaxy Note 8. Despite once saying that the Galaxy S8 “lacked attractive selling points” compared to the iPhone 8, Kuo is raising his shipping estimates for the device.

Kuo also notes of the upcoming Galaxy Note 8 that Samsung is expected to unveil later this year and how the device will compare to the iPhone 8…

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Apple will reportedly continue to bundle a Lightning to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter with its new lineup of iPhones this fall, the same as it did with iPhone 7 last year to help ease the transition for customers to a device without a traditional headphone jack.

The news is according to a research note out today from Barclays analyst Blayne Curtis who speculates that Apple will likely drop the complimentary adapter sometime in the future, possibly with the 2018 lineup:

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We’ve seen a whole bunch of rumors of late suggesting that while Apple really wants to embed a fingerprint reader into the display of the iPhone 8, it is struggling to do so.

The notion that Apple wants to use an embedded fingerprint reader seems abundantly clear. As I’ve mentioned before, we’ve had multiple reports from credible sources like Bloomberg, the WSJ and the New York Times. The claimed schematics and sketches have also all illustrated a design without any space for a Touch ID sensor at the bottom of the screen, and the volume of Apple patents makes it clear the company has been working hard on figuring out how to do it.

But, unusually for Apple, this is bleeding-edge technology. The company usually lets other manufacturers figure out the kinks in new tech before it launches later with a version that does the job properly. This is the reason it’s being suggested that the company may need a Plan B or even a Plan C …

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Bloomberg has today published its overview of Apple’s plans for the new iPhone lineup this year, largely reaffirming what the rumor mill has said up to now. Apple will reportedly launch three new iPhones in the fall, iterative successors to the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, and a new ‘top of the line’ iPhone 8 with an ‘overhauled’ design.

Bloomberg details various prototypes for the radical new OLED iPhone with variations of curved glass and stainless steel chassis materials …

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