iPhone 8 Rumors Abound About Price and Touch ID Replacement
Investors in the Apple Company received a notice from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo about what will come about on the iPhone 8. This new phone is expected to be released in 2017. This will mark the tenth anniversary of the original iPhone. Kuo has made some estimates in his report on the changes and new features that will be highlighted in the iPhone 8.
A Big Price Change
The iPhone 8 is expected to have a starting price of Rs. 70,000 or $1,000 USD. This high price is due to the increase in the production costs. Those costs are going up by about 50 to 60 percent. The production of an advanced OLED display is believed to be a key part of why the cost is expected to go up so much.
Design Features
Some key design points were listed in the report as well:
- The Touch ID-powered Home button will be eliminated. A new “Function” button will be used instead. This will be added into the display. A fingerprint sensor will be included in this part.
- The OLED panel will be about 5.8 inches in size. The panel will be designed with a form factor identical to what the iPhone 7 used. That older phone had a size that was about an inch shorter. Some reports suggest that there will be a slight curve on the panel.
- The actual active display area will be much greater in size. It will be 5.15 inches from one diagonal end of the screen to the next.
- Virtual buttons will be added on the bottom part of the screen. These are used for many basic controls on the phone.
How Will the Touch ID Be Replaced?
Because the Touch ID feature will no longer be a part of the iPhone 8, a replacement will have to be introduced at some point. A 3D laser scanning system is rumored to be a key part of it. This would utilize facial recognition technology as a new form of biometrics.
Other Keys
There are a few rumors about the iPhone 8 that have been floating around in recent time:
- The hard drive on the phone is expected to be relatively large. It should be at least 128 GB in size although additional options may be included as well.
- A stainless steel chassis will be used to protect the build of the phone. A newer forging process to connect the metal bezel to the frame will be included to make it easier for more phones to be manufactured.
- Apple is expected to include a wireless charging feature to help improving upon how a phone can be charged. More glass features may be found in the iPhone body to make it easier for the phone to link to a wireless charging system. This would entail fewer frequency disruptions in getting the charging process to work.
- There are still rumors about the phone possibly being able to fold in half. Those are simply rumors though and are not expected to be seen to fruition just yet. A special version of the iPhone 8 could have this feature in the future though.
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