Will the next iPhone come out of Israel and China? A new report claimed that the iPhone 8 is now a work in progress, partly being developed by Apple with help from Israeli tech experts prior to the mass production phase where the tech giant's Chinese partners will come in.
Business Insider reported that the sequel to the iPhone 7 will be called iPhone 8, the labelling to dispel the notion that the 2017 model is but a minor jump. The report confirmed too that Apple will skip the S phase next year in marking the iPhone's 10th anniversary.
The publication pointed to Apple employees in Herzliya, Israel as source of its information.
In recent years, Apple has acquired Israel-based tech firms that specialize on flash memory, 3D sensor and high-end camera, and the latter will be among the killer feature upgrades that the next iPhone will come packed with. And as revealed by the Apple staff, the iPhone 8 will represent a major redesign of the flagship iOS device.
While the report withheld the juicy details on the matter, the next iPhone is rumored as a huge departure from the last three models. There will be radical changes and among the new things to expect is an edge-to-edge front display that will eliminate the top and bottom bezels, MacRumors said.
"Touch ID and the camera may be built directly into the display," the report said, adding that the control keys (the Home button including) and sensors will be integrated with the display panel that according to speculations will make use of OLED technology. It will be an all-glass iPhone using a single sheet of glass as envisioned by Apple design chief Jony Ive, MacRumors said.
Apple patents also appear to hint too that instead of aluminum, the iPhone 8 casing will be made of ceramic for increased durability. In the final build, the curved OLED panel will sandwich the iPhone casing that will hold the inside components in order to create the unibody build that was seen with the iPhone 4/4S and 5/5S.
And powering the iPhone 8 (and iPhone 8 Plus) on release date is a 10-nanometer A11 processing chip that is expected to deliver more power and speed, and improved efficiency to the upcoming device. Also with the new chip, MacRumors is predicting that next iPhone users will finally enjoy wireless charging and iris scanning features.