By all accounts, Apple’s 10th anniversary iPhone, a device that will presumably be called the iPhone 8, is going to be incredible. Echoing previous rumors, a new report from the Wall Street Journal — which typically has a stellar record when it comes to Apple rumors — claims that the aforementioned iPhone 8 will ship with a curved OLED display. This jibes with other reports indicating that Apple’s next-gen smartphone will feature an edge to edge display with minimal bezels.
“Apple Inc. has decided to adopt a flexible display for one model of the new iPhone coming out this year,” the Journal notes, “and has ordered sufficient components to enable mass production, people familiar with the matter said.”
With Apple expected to release three brand new iPhone models this fall (a 4.7-inch iPhone 7s, a 5.5-inch iPhone 7s Plus and the iPhone 8), the iPhone 8 is said to be the only device that will receive the fancy new OLED display.
The Journal’s report also relays that the bottom area of the iPhone 8 will not feature the tried and true home button. Instead, the area will feature a “function area” that some believe will operate similarly to the TouchBar on Apple’s MacBook Pro. Now whether or not Apple has managed to integrate its Touch ID sensor into the function area itself remains to be seen.
Also interesting, the Journal is the first to report that the iPhone 8 may forgo the Lightning connector in favor of a USB-C option. While USB-C offers many of the same advantages as Lightning, a USB-C connector is decidedly thicker than Lightning, and with space on the ultra-thin iPhone 8 said to be short supply, you might want to take that particular tidbit with a grain of salt.
Regardless, the iPhone 8 is largely shaping up to be the iPhone we’ve all been waiting for. In addition to expected speed enhancements, users can look forward to a new design, wireless charging, improved water resistance, and of course, vastly improved camera technology. There are even reports that augmented reality will be a key component of the next-gen device.
