Trusted industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has released a new report which gives us his latest thoughts on Apple's newest models of the iPhone.
Design And Appearance
The report predicts that Apple will unveil three new models of the iPhone sometime in the second half of 2017. The first two models will be revamped versions of the iPhone 7 featuring some minor upgrades, but the truly interesting one is the iPhone 8 which will feature a 5.2-inch OLED fullscreen display similar to the design used in Samsung's Galaxy S8.
In terms of colors, Street Insider reports that the iPhone 8 will feature fewer color options than previous models of the iPhone. This is reportedly being done to ensure that the phone's unique design is maintained.
iPhone 8 Touch ID And Home Button
One of the biggest debates surrounding the upcoming iPhone 8 is the nature of the Touch ID. Some speculate that Apple, like Samsung, will opt to place the Touch ID scanner on the back of the device. Others have argued that Apple will integrate the Touch ID functionality until the device's home button, which will not be a physical button.
However, Street Insider has reported that Apple will eschew the Touch ID functionality all-together. They argue that Apple intended to integrate the Touch ID functionality into the device's virtual home functionality, but ran into technical problems. The report also implies that Apple's efforts at the Touch ID scanner were the reason for the recently-rumored delays.
"As the new OLED iPhone won't support under-display fingerprint recognition, we now do not expect production ramp-up will be delayed again (we previously projected the ramp-up would be postponed to late October or later)," said Street Insider.
iPhone 8 Specs And Features
While this report doesn't give us too many details regarding the specs of the iPhone 8, it does provide a few pieces of information.
In terms of ports and charging, all three upcoming versions of the iPhone will feature Lightning chargers and a USB-C port, but, beyond that, we don't know much. Street Insider did not comment on the possibility of a headphone jack. Apple's decision to remove it with the original iPhone 7 was certainly controversial, but the phone still sold well enough.
All three models of the iPhone will come in 64GB and 256GB storage options. Street Insider did not provide any speculation regarding the specific processor or amount of RAM that Apple would be using.
Release Date
Despite rumors of delays, Street Insider says that they believe the revamped iPhone 7, as well as the iPhone 8, will be unveiled in the September of this year. It is likely that all three phones will be unveiled at the same time though Street Insider does say they believe that the iPhone 8 may launch later than the revamped 7 and could face supply issues.
As always, reports such as these should be taken with a grain of salt. Until Apple confirms them, they are merely speculation. However, Street Insider does have a history of accuracy in these regards.
