iPhone 8 With Longer Battery Life Said to Entice Those With Older iPhones to Upgrade

Apple’s rumored iPhone with an edge-to-edge OLED display will have longer battery life, which will drive customers with older iPhone models to upgrade at an accelerated rate, according to Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty.

Huberty also expects the high-end iPhone to have a significant form factor change with wireless charging, 3D sensors, and more advanced AI software capabilities, which are all features that have been previously rumored.

An excerpt from Huberty’s research note obtained by MacRumors:

In addition to more modest updates to current iPhone SKUs, we expect Apple to launch a higher priced device with AMOLED display that allows for a curved form factor and longer battery life, wireless charging technology, 3D sensors, and more advanced AI software capabilities. While we see accelerated upgrades for Apple’s highest end users in all regions, our work suggests China users are especially sensitive to new technology and form factor changes.

Her research note said a larger base of customers that own at least a two year old iPhone, particularly in China, has resulted in “pent-up demand” for the significantly redesigned “iPhone 8,” and this “supercycle” will help drive sales growth alongside modestly updated 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch models. Morgan Stanley raised its Apple stock price target to $154 accordingly.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said the “iPhone 8” will have a stacked logic board design that provides room for a larger 2,700 mAh L-shaped battery. As such, while the “iPhone 8” is expected to have a 4.7-inch form factor, Kuo said it will have comparable battery life to a 5.5-inch Plus model. For comparison, iPhone 7 has a 1,960 mAh battery and iPhone 7 Plus has a 2,900 mAh battery.

iPhone 8 Said to Have 3GB of RAM and 64GB/256GB Storage Options

The widely rumored 5.8-inch iPhone with an edge-to-edge OLED display will match the iPhone 7 Plus with 3GB of RAM and come in two storage options, 64GB and 256GB, according to Chinese research firm TrendForce.

The report, which outlines several already-rumored features, added that the so-called “iPhone 8” will not have a fully curved display due to production and drop test issues with 3D glass. Instead, the high-end device will adopt the same slightly curved 2.5D cover glass used since the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in 2014.

TrendForce said Apple will remove the Home button on the iPhone, as widely rumored, and integrate the related functions into the display. If that fact is accurate, it suggests rumored 3D facial recognition capabilities could supplement rather than fully replace Touch ID, which could be embedded into the display.

TrendForce itself expects the “iPhone 8” to incorporate 3D sensing technology that can be used for facial recognition and augmented reality features.

The research note said the 5.8-inch iPhone will be accompanied by updated 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch models with LCD displays. The 5.5-inch model will allegedly have the same 3GB of RAM as the iPhone 7 Plus, while the 4.7-inch model is said to have 2GB of RAM. Both models are expected to include up to 256GB of storage.

Rumors are generally shaping up to suggest the 5.8-inch iPhone with an OLED display will be a significant upgrade, but the model could cost upwards of $1,000 in the United States. Meanwhile, the new 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch models are expected to be iterative but less expensive upgrades to the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

Last year, TrendForce accurately predicted the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus would be available in 32GB, 128GB, and 256GB storage capacities.

Analyst rumor: iPhone 8 ‘function area’ to replace home button

While we’re still months away from finding out exactly what’s what with any new iPhone, the rumor mill is already running at full tilt. Following up on earlier reports of a 5.8-inch edgeless OLED screened device arriving as the “iPhone 8,” well-connected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is telling investors more about what its home button-less front screen could be like.The analyst notes that this presumed OLED iPhone with its $1,000+ pricetag will be similar in size to the current 4.7-inch iPhone. However, instead of the home button, it will include a “function area” that can also display controls for video or games.

That would keep it matched in style with the recently-released MacBook Pros and their OLED TouchBar, and, the analyst says, reduce the screen size used for everything else to about 5.15-inches. Last year the New York Times reported that the next iPhone would ditch the home button for virtual buttons built into the screen, and this rumor explains how all that could work. Losing the home button could indicate a lack of TouchID, which could be replaced by a fingerprint reader embedded in the display itself, or other biometric technology like face recognition.

Roundup: A Look at Various iPhone 8 Concepts and Mockups – Mac Rumors

With rumors suggesting the 2017 iPhone 8 is going to introduce some of the most radical design changes we’ve seen to the iPhone since 2014, a number of artists have been making conceptual mockups based on current rumors floating around.

Many of the mockups imagine fanciful ideas that Apple is unlikely to implement, but they also adopt the edge-to-edge display with built-in Home button, OLED screen, wireless charging, and glass body ideas that are being bandied about, giving an interesting look at how iPhone 8 rumors are being interpreted.

The first conceptual design was created by Thadeu Brandão and has been getting a lot of attention over the last couple of days. The mockup features an iPhone with a larger edge-to-edge display, dual cameras, and a glass front and back surrounded by an aluminum frame, and a physical home button built into the screen at the bottom of the device, which we are not expecting for the iPhone 8.

It has an Android-style home bar or “Touch Bar” with controls that change contextually based on the app, an inclusion that is not rumored for the device at this time. Brandão has also shared several iPhone 8 mockups on his website, showing off his design in more detail.

A concept created by Veniamin Geskin and Ran Avni imagines several iterations of the iPhone 8, with a display that extends to the edges of the screen but leaves top and bottom bezels, and another that curves down the edges of the device. Apple Watch-style inductive charging is pictured, as is a variation with a top bezel and no bottom bezel.

An iPhone 8 concept created by iDrop News is fairly true to the rumors we’ve heard so far, featuring an ultra thin device with a bezel-free OLED display, an all-white glass body, no Home button, and iris scanning technology.

Imran Taylor’s iPhone 8 mockup, created alongside ConceptsiPhone, imagines a ceramic body (unlikely due to cost), a 5.8-inch curved OLED display, a touch sensitive lower bezel, and wireless charging through a Smart Connector. It includes thick bezels at the top and bottom along with a Touch ID Home button, two features that don’t quite align with the rumors we’re hearing right now.

Swiss site Handy Abovergleich imagines a bubbly iPhone 8 with more rounded edges and a glass body sandwiched between an aluminum frame. A Touch ID Home button is under the display and is accompanied by an Android-style home bar, an iris scanner is built in, and Apple Pencil support is included. It also features USB-C instead of Lightning, a change Apple probably isn’t going to make.

The last concept comes from designer Moe Slah, and has an interesting look at how some apps could potentially look on a device that has an edge-to-edge display.

Apple is expected to introduce the redesigned iPhone 8 in September, its usual timeframe for introducing new devices. Up to three models may debut, including the flagship ~5-inch OLED device with an edge-to-edge display that’s pictured in all of the mockups and standard 4.7 and 5.5-inch models that may have a design closer to the iPhone 7.

iPhone 8 May Use Apple’s In-House Inductive Wireless Charging Rather Than Technology From Energous – Mac Rumors

Over the course of the last year, there has been ongoing speculation that wireless charging company Energous has inked a deal with Apple and could potentially provide wireless charging technology for the upcoming iPhone 8.

While Energous CEO Steve Rizzone has continually hinted that his company has established an agreement with “one of the largest consumer electronic companies in the world,” leading people to believe the partner is Apple, a new investor’s note from Copperfield Research outlines why Apple has no plans to use Energous’ WattUp radio frequency-based wireless charging solution.

Copperfield Research examined multiple inductive charging patent applications filed by Apple starting in 2013, which now number more than a dozen, suggesting the patents are a clear indication of Apple’s desire to pursue its own in-house inductive charging solutions for future products. Inductive charging, widely used today, relies on magnetic coils to provide power rather than radio waves.

An image from an Apple patent covering inductive charging

The patents by themselves are not a clear indication of Apple’s plans, but in one patent filed in 2011, Apple makes its feelings on radio frequency-based charging clear, calling it “very inefficient,” “not practical,” and potentially hazardous. In the interest of full disclosure, however, the patent was filed before any prospective relationship with Energous.

However, this type of radiative transfer is very inefficient because only a tiny portion of the supplied or radiated power, namely, that portion in the direction of, and overlapping with, the receiver is picked up. The vast majority of the power is radiated away in all the other directions and lost in free space. Such inefficient power transfer may be acceptable for data transmission, but is not practical for transferring useful amounts of electrical energy for the purpose of doing work, such as for charging electrical devices. […]

In addition, such schemes may pose hazards to objects or people that cross or intersect the beam when modest to high amounts of power are being transmitted.

Furthermore, Copperfield Research suggests both rumored design decisions and recent news that Apple has partnered with Lite-On Semiconductor for wireless charging bridge rectifiers are indications of Apple’s plan to use inductive charging.

Bridge rectifiers, explains Copperfield Research, are used to convert alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC), a component needed for inductive charging and one that would not be necessary should Apple be relying on an all-in-one module from Energous.

Apple’s rumored decision to use a glass body also reportedly points towards inductive charging. A glass body would not be required for RF-based wireless charging technology, but is needed for an inductive charging solution.

Adding further credence to Apple’s inductive charging roadmap are the consistent leaks from Asian sources that the next iPhone will feature glass casing. Inductive charging does not penetrate aluminum cases effectively, which is the material for the current iPhone casing. One reason Samsung adopted plastic material for its cases is to improve the performance of wireless charging.

A major misperception among tech blogs and WATT investors is that Apple’s switch to a glass casing somehow confirms the inclusion of WATT’s charging technology. This is ridiculous. The efficacy of RF wireless charging (WATT’s technology) is not affected by aluminum or plastic cases.

Many of Apple’s inductive charging patents outline the improvements Apple has made in the field over the course of the last few years and give hints as to how wireless charging could work if Apple is indeed developing an in-house inductive charging solution for the iPhone 8.

Patents point towards multiple objects that could provide power, such as a table top with a charging coil built in, a desktop charging station, or even a desktop or notebook computer, which could be used to provide power to an iPhone or iPad. Devices could even share power between one another, suggesting a fully charged iPad could charge an iPhone, or vice versa.

An image from an Apple patent covering inductive charging

Copperfield Research does believe that Apple had a partnership with Energous that gave the Cupertino-based company a way to research radio frequency-based charging without shelling out cash, but concludes that there is an “overwhelmingly conclusive mosaic” suggesting Apple will use in-house inductive charging for the iPhone 8.

Copperfield Research is made up of an anonymous group of researchers that have shorted Watt’s stock and may not be entirely impartial, but the evidence they have presented makes a compelling argument for the use of an in-house inductive charging solution rather than a partnership with Energous.

iPhone 8 concept images imagine rumored stainless steel sides – with curved glass edges

With a succession of reports suggesting that Apple is abandoning its aluminum casing in favor of a return to a glass and stainless steel design for this year’s iPhone, a new concept image gives another take on how this might look.

KGI first reported that Apple was working on a design with glass back, with later reports from Foxconn, glass suppliers – and a more recent report suggesting an iPhone 4-style flat-sided stainless steel band. When we ran a poll on this, the majority of you liked the idea, but suggested that flat sides with curved edges would be ideal, and that’s what we see in this latest concept … 

The concept by Imran Taylor has a slim stainless steel band connecting tapered glass edges at both front and rear of the phone, suggesting something that may be more comfortable to hold in the larger sizes of current iPhones.

Apple last used a flat-sided stainless steel band with glass back design in the iPhone 4s, though the iPhone SE adopts a similar shape in aluminum.

The rear of the phone shows the glass back with a vertical dual-camera arrangement that has also been suggested. It additionally shows an iPad Pro-style Smart Connector that has not been rumored.

Additional images show the same design in gold, rose gold and silver.

There’s also a video (with terrible soundtrack), though this combines the latest images with an older concept featuring a weird dual display that has obviously been superseded by current expectations of a Home button embedded into the display itself.

What do you think of the basic design? Would this mix of flat-sided stainless steel merging into curved glass edges meet concerns about comfort when holding the phone? As ever, let us know your views in the comments.

Second-Generation Apple Pencil Rumored for March of 2017

Apple may be planning to introduce a second-generation Apple Pencil this year, according to rumors out of the Asian supply chain. The new Apple Pencil could be unveiled at an event rumored to take place in March, where it would be shown off along with the next-generation iPad Pro.

Prospective features for a second-generation Apple Pencil aren’t known, but a previous report from Bloomberg has suggested Apple is considering new iPad capabilities that would let the Apple Pencil to work in a larger range of apps, which could be introduced alongside the new accessory.

There’s also been some speculation that Apple could build in functionality outlined in several patents, including new antenna technology and a magnet that would allow the Apple Pencil to attach to an iPad’s body when not in use.

While we don’t yet have any concrete detail on what could potentially be included in a second-generation Apple Pencil, given the major changes expected to be introduced to the iPad Pro lineup, it makes some sense for Apple to unveil an updated pencil accessory.

Rumors suggest Apple will introduce a new iPad Pro model somewhere around 10 inches with an almost bezel-free design. Though the rumored iPad will use a larger 10-inch+ display, it’s said to be the same size as the existing 9.7-inch iPad Pro. Features like Touch IDwould reportedly be built into the display, much like the rumored iPhone 8, and it is expected to include improved display technology and an upgraded A10X processor.

iPhone 8 May Include Facial and Gesture Recognition

The next-generation iPhone 8, set to debut this September, could include facial or gesture recognition technology, according to Cowen and Company analyst Timothy Arcuri. The facial recognition capabilities could be powered by a laser sensor and an infrared sensor located near the front-facing camera.

We’ve previously heard rumors suggesting the iPhone 8 could include advanced biometric features like facial recognition or iris scanning, both from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chu Kuo and from details sourced from the Asian supply chain.

With facial recognition, Apple could replace the Touch ID fingerprint sensor in the iPhone or augment its functionality with a two-factor verification system for sensitive information. In this scenario, unlocking the iPhone would require users to scan their faces, something that would increase security on iOS devices.

Facial recognition could also power other features on the phone, like augmented reality camera functions, and while gesture recognition is a new rumor, it could allow users to control their devices with simple gestures for doing things like turning volume up or down.

Capabilities like gesture control and facial recognition are also some of the first steps towards a rich augmented reality experience, something Apple is rumored to be working on.

Arcuri also reiterates several rumors we’ve previously heard. He believes Apple will launch a total of three iPhones, the standard 4.7 and 5.5-inch models and a new higher-end 5.8-inch iPhone with an OLED display.

The 5.8-inch iPhone, he says, will feature a wraparound display and a Touch ID fingerprint sensor that is located under the glass, a technology Apple has been pursuing for some time. Wireless charging, a much-rumored and highly desired feature, is also expected.

Today’s report from Timothy Arcuri covers many rumors that have been circulating for a few months, which is similar to much of the information that comes from the analyst. Cowen and Company has something of a mixed track record, but accurately predicted some iPhone 7 features.

iPhone 8 Plus model likely to use curved US-made Sharp OLED display

Japan’s Nikkei again reports on upcoming features for Apple’s next iPhone just a month after the launch of the iPhone 7. Three days ago, it reported that there would be 3 versions of the all glass-backed iPhone 8 line including a 5-inch screen model. Today the news organization is reporting that at least the biggest model will use a OLED and Sharp could be making some of those future OLED displays in the US.

“The iPhone has been evolving and now it is switching from LTPS (low-temperature poly-silicon) to OLED panels,” Tai told students at Tatung University, his alma mater, during a ceremony in which he was awarded an honorary doctorate degree. “We don’t know whether Apple’s OLED iPhones will be a hit, but if Apple doesn’t walk down this path and transform itself, there will be no innovation. It is a crisis but it is also an opportunity,”

After the Foxconn purchase of Sharp was finalized in August, Tai, a close associate of Chairman Terry Gou, was appointed CEO of Sharp. Foxconn, known as Hon Hai, is of course Apple’s principal manufacturer of iPhones.

Apple’s next iPhone, called ‘iPhone 8’ by many because of its rumored sweeping changes, is also expected to do away with the physical touch button and place touchID behind the display among many other innovations. Bloomberg previously reported that Sharp OLED iPhones would have to wait until 2018.

OLED displays offer sharper color contrast compared to LTPS screens that iPhones have traditionally used. Apple’s competitors including Samsung, LG, Motorola and others have been using OLED for quite some time and Apple and its proxies have often labelled OLED technology as “oversaturated”. Apple began using OLED displays on Apple Watch last year.

Perhaps most interesting about the report is that the displays could be made, at least in part in the US. Sharp only does very limited OLED production currently.

“We are now building a new [OLED] facility in Japan. We can make [OLED panels] in the U.S. too,” he said. “If our key customer demands us to manufacture in the U.S., is it possible for us not to do so?”

Previously it had been reported that Samsung would make the curved OLED display for Apple’s iPhone 8 but as we know, Apple likes to have multiple suppliers for key components, especially when one of those suppliers is Samsung.

 

iPhone 8 concept fast-forwards fanboys to 2018.

Pre-orders for the iPhone 6 began just over two months ago, but I’m already looking forward to shelling out cash for the iPhone 8 now that Steel Drake published this glass unibody iPhone concept.

The design keeps its familiar form factor but wraps the bottom and top edges with a glass display. Given Apple’s success rate with Sapphire glass, making this thing might not be conceivable until 2018, but there’s still plenty of time for Jony to make it happen. The designer decided to swap out the rear aluminum shell with a stiffening plate on the sides. The finished look is simple, a little curvy, and drop dead gorgeous.

Check it out:

Steel Drake’s concept looks like something Apple could possibly make, but there are a few things I’d change if I could.

Likes: Curved glass edges that drape over the top and bottom of the phone. Keeps the same iconic iPhone form factor. Camera lens could use an upgrade by now, but at least it’s not protruding. No more ugly antenna lines.

No Like: Glass doesn’t transition as seamlessly to the metal as the iPhone 6. Put the power button in the middle. 3.5mm headphone jack? Rumor is Jony wants to go with 2.5mm. Make the bezels slimmer so I can hold it easier.

It’d look great in white too: