Get all the rumors about the “revolutionary” 2017 iPhone right here.
Apple is still selling tens of millions of iPhone 7s every month—but all everyone can talk about is what’s coming next. After all, 2017 marks the iPhone’s 10th anniversary, so Apple is reportedly gearing up to make this year’s model extra special.
If you passed on the iPhone 7 to wait for the iPhone 8—or the iPhone 7s or whatever name Apple decides to use—it sounds like the next phone could be the design refresh you were waiting for. Just don’ t expect the headphone jack to return. We’ ll keep track of the latest rumors and how plausible they are, and we’ ll put them in one spot (this one!) so you can pop on over whenever you want to read the latest.
Now for the bad news: KGI is also predicting that only two to four million OLED units will be available at the beginning, with Apple ramping up production to 45 to 50 million later next year. Even worse? KGI said that the new iPhones will only come in three colors: black, silver, and gold.
It may also be wishful thinking, but it’s hard to believe that Apple would make a new special anniversary iPhone that does not come in a new exclusive color. Especially after the jet black and red options proved to be so coveted, and rose gold has now been embraced as a signature Apple color. Hopefully more color options will become available in 2018 as OLED production ramps up. Again, wishful thinking.
The HomePod firmware contains an image that looks an awful lot like the rumored iPhone 8.
Steven Troughton-Smith dug into an early firmware release for Apple’s upcoming HomePod speaker and found a treasure trove of information about the iPhone 8. Most notably, it seems to confirm that the iPhone 8 will dump Touch ID. According to Troughton-Smith, the pre-release firmware includes several references to a new “BKFaceDetectStateInfo” string, which seemingly refers to a new face detection biometric system. The iPhone’s camera may also be able to recognize your face, even if it’s laying down on a table. Additionally, the firmware contains a small icon of the iPhone 8, and it matches up nearly perfectly with the rumors, right down to the camera cutout at the top.
Evan Blass posted this render of an all-screen iPhone 8 in an Urban Armor case on @evleaks .
As it stands Apple has done some amazing things with ARKit, but all eyes are on the iPhone 8 to bring it to the next level. Fast Company cautions that the feature might not be ready for this year’s phone—or might be limited to the higher-end models—but one thing is for sure: A laser sensor in the iPhone 8 would certainly give Apple a needed boost in the AR race.
Gruber also opines on the price of the iPhone 8, or as he calls it, the iPhone Pro. In a lengthy post on his site, he concludes that the new OLED model will likely start at $1,200 for 64GB of storage. That’s a sky-high price for sure, but rumors have been swirling about the four-figure price of the iPhone 8 for a while now.
As for wireless charging, this seems likely. Apple joined the Wireless Power Consortium last year, and previous rumors have indicated that all new iPhone models being released this year will feature wireless charging. So if you’ re going to bet on an all-new feature, wireless charging is as close to a safe bet as we’ ll get before launch date.
In this report, an analyst from research company IHS Markit confirmed that Samsung is now the exclusive OLED supplier for the new iPhones, because Samsung specializes in manufacturing curved smartphone displays. However, the analyst says “Samsung is facing challenges in delivering what Apple wants, ” even though they’ ve cranked out close to 75 million curved iPhone displays so far.
This is not the first time we’ ve heard that Apple has faced roadblocks during the iPhone 8’s production. This follows an earlier report from reputable KGI analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo, which reported that the iPhone 8 will be out in October or November due to these supply issues. Previously, Digitimes reported that Apple was facing delays in developing its proprietary fingerprint sensor for the new OLED-equipped iPhone 8 (if, indeed, that feature will remain on the phone) . Additionally, Japanese news site Macotakara reported that STMicroelectronics, the new supplier of the iPhone’s 3D camera sensors, needed more time to ramp up mass production. With all these production issues, some reports even suggest the iPhone 8 won’ t come out until 2018.
Rumors being what they are, analysts at JPMorgan had predicted Apple would take the wraps off its new iPhone at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June, based on a note obtained by 9to5Mac. This is something the company hasn’ t done since 2010—and didn’ t do this year, after all.
We’ re not surprised the JPMorgan prediction fell through. During the company’s second-quarter earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook said people were pausing their iPhone purchases because they saw rumors of upcoming iPhones and wanted to wait. Announcing an iPhone 8 in June and not making it available to buy until September would all but kill Apple’s iPhone business—at least without hefty discounts to spur sales.
