Hold on to your hats, Apple fans. The latest iPhone 8 rumors suggest you’ll have three brand new handsets to choose from in 2017.
Next year marks the 10th anniversary of the iPhone, and after a lackluster response to the iPhone 7 and sales that might not have lived up to the company’s expectations, reports suggest that Apple is planning a complete redesign of its iconic smartphone.
The iPhone 8 will be available in models with 5.5-inch, 5-inch, and 4.7-inch screens, according to the Nikkei Asian Review. Each of the iPhone handsets will reportedly have glass backs in addition to glass fronts. The report suggests that Chinese companies Biel Crystal Manufactory and Lens Technology will make the new iPhone, which could signal that Apple is shifting away from having Foxconn as its main phone manufacturer.
However, Nikkei’s source suggested that these are early plans, and things might change.
Report says iPhone 8 will come in three sizes, all with glass backs: Now that the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are out… https://t.co/mUg1BuM46M
— Regina Phalange (@technocturnal) October 26, 2016
Rumors have swirled for some time that Apple was planning a major overhaul of the iPhone in 2017 to celebrate the smartphone’s decade of existence. The company might have further impetus to make major changes to the iPhone after posting its first decline in sales since 2001, as the Inquisitr reported.
The iPhone 7, which Apple released in September, was widely criticized for being too similar to previous versions and not having enough fresh features. The main difference between iPhone 7 and previous versions of the iPhone was the inclusion of a second rear-facing camera lens, but Apple only adopted that in the iPhone 7 Plus.
There’s further motivation for Apple to create an iPhone 8 that really captures the customers’ attention as phone owners start to shift away from Samsung. The Android smartphone manufacturer has had a terrible last few months after many reports of Galaxy Note 7 handsets exploding or catching fire, leading to Samsung issuing a mass recall and deciding to stop making those phones altogether.
This iPhone skin transforms your phone into an exploded Galaxy Note 7 https://t.co/MRTSeMAZSD pic.twitter.com/0xjSNkbSWJ
— Gizmodo (@Gizmodo) October 25, 2016
That means there could be a lot of people looking for a new phone over the next year, and more Android fans willing to make the switch to iPhone. That is, as long as Apple can deliver enough incentive for them to make the switch with a more exciting iPhone than it’s offered recently.
Previous rumors suggested that the 5.5-inch iPhone 8 will have a curved OLED (organic light-emitting diode) display while the other two will remain with the polysilicon panels that the iPhone 7 uses. It’s also possible that the iPhone 8 will take advantage of wireless charging, a feature that many Android manufacturers have had in their phones for years.
A glossy design is something that Apple had already experimented with in the jet-black iPhone 7 Plus. Customers have had difficulty obtaining one of that particular iPhone models as it has been in short supply. That could suggest that a glossy iPhone design is something Apple fans are looking for, especially since it’s available in many Samsung phones.
#ICYMI : The iPhone 8 could pair with mixed reality glasses, according to @Scobleizer https://t.co/lAm0tRYD1N by @pasha_spider pic.twitter.com/yX8QZxNMe3
— Geektime (@geektime) October 26, 2016
A glossy iPhone design could have a second purpose beyond the merely aesthetic, according to Robert Scoble, UploadVR’s entrepreneur-in-residence. He suggested that a clear glass iPhone might include eye sensors that could combine with a virtual reality headset and project holograms into the real world much like the Microsoft Hololens does.
Scoble also claimed that Apple would hide the battery and antennas around the edges of the iPhone 8 screen. Virtual reality and augmented reality have to be in consideration for Apple when Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Google Cardboard, Samsung Gear VR, and Sony Playstation VR have all struggled to sell more than a million units, according to Scoble, meaning that there are a lot of people Apple can reach with its own VR or AR efforts in the next iPhone.
In any case, it appears the mill of iPhone 8 rumors will keep on churning until Apple announces its next set of smartphones, which will probably take place next September.
[Featured Image by Kiichiro Sato/AP Photo]
