What We Know So Far For many people, the annual launch of the new iPhone is one of the biggest tech events of the year. And with September rapidly approaching, you might be beginning to wonder just exactly what you’re going to be getting. Whether you’re into pre-ordering, standing in line, or you’re just curious, here’s everything we know so far about the new iPhone 8.
Insider Tip: Apple are rumoured to be having supply problems with the 8’s screen tech, as well as issues with fingerprint scanners. Even if the 8 does launch in September, more and more experts are saying that you won’t actually be able to get your hands on one until at least October. So be prepared!
Yet another tough question. Last year’s iPhone 7 released at £599 for the basic model. But we’re likely to see the 8 go for slightly higher than that, due to a combination of factors. The first of these is simply the higher specs and better quality hardware that’s going to go into the 8, leading most rumours to say that the base price is going to be at least £650 or so. But Apple is an American company, and factor in a weak pound conversion rate, and you could be looking at even more. The top end, large memory model of the iPhone 8 is likely to hover around the £1000 mark. All this means that on contract you’re probably looking at about £45 a month or so.
The Design
Though Apple’s traditional iPhone design certainly isn’t going to change too much, there are rumoured to be some deviations. The iPhone 8 could have a curved glass back panel, rather than the traditional aluminium backing we’ve grown used to. You’ll still get a metal frame, though it could be stainless steel rather than aluminium according to one source. <>Headphone jack? Not likely. Apple have abandoned it for good, it seems, though you’ll probably still get that free lightening jack to headphone converter in the box. Home button? Probably not, surprisingly. It seems that Apple are moving towards non physical buttons, meaning everything will be on the touchscreen, rather than having the familiar circle button at the bottom centre. A small change rumour: the iPhone 8 might jump up a waterproof rating and get an IP68 rather than an IP67 rating this time around. That’s not a big deal though, it simply means your phone can take a little more water than before.
The Screen
It’s been rumoured for a while now that the iPhone 8 would get a curved screen, but it looks like that’s not the case. Rather the screen will be flat, but the glass bezelling will curve around the sides, giving the illusion of a curved display (similar to the display on the most recent Samsung Galaxys). The big news here is that this should be an AMOLED display, giving more brightness and clarity, and better colour reproduction than ever before. This is a big step for Apple, who have relied on LCD screens up until now. AMOLED displays are much better suited to VR, which is going to be a major selling point in phones over the next couple of years, so Apple seem to be preparing for that. Furthermore, there are rumours that this could be a Quad HD or even higher resolution screen. Those are unconfirmed, however. And given supply problems with high res AMOLED displays at the moment, Apple might only offer this option on the top end model or as an additional (paid for!) extra. In terms of size, we’re likely talking big: around 5.8 inches. That’s pretty huge, but Apple could be compensating for this by having a completely bezel-less front panel. No bezel means no home button (as we’ve discussed), but also means that the front camera as well as the fingerprint scanner sensors could all be placed inside the screen itself. This would be a major innovation, though rumour has it that Apple are still struggling with the fingerprint sensor tech.
