For the iPhone 8 release date in 2017, Apple will unpack the next iPhone in three screen sizes - a 4.7-inch, a 5-inch and a supersized phablet at 5.8-inch. But the last two models, reports said, will retain the same physical size of their 2016 counterparts.
Barclays Research, according to MacRumors, reported of two new iPhones with the front display stretched while keeping the profile of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. This will be made possible with the use of curved and bezel-free screens.
"The iPhone 8 design didn't sound 100% locked down but we believe the move is to a bezel-less design with screen sizes getting larger and curved edges in the original envelope. The iPhone 8 moves to 5" (from 4.7") and the Plus moves to 5.8" (from 5.5")," MacRumors reported Barclays as saying. The research firm based in its forecast on fresh details provided by supply chain sources, the report added.
The same report noted too that Nikkei had earlier reported of a third model with a 4.7-inch screen. If true and if the same design approach mentioned above will be used with this smallest of the iPhones, this device will possibly have a physical size close to that of the iPhone SE. It should be noted though that Apple is not keen on issuing a follow up to the SE next year, per recent reports.
This model and the 5-inch variant are tipped to unbox with LCD displays as the report also indicated that Apple's rumored switch to OLED will push through but will be limited to the jumbo-sized and premium 5.8-inch edition that presumably will be called the iPhone 8 Plus.
But all three models are expected to boast of all-screen front displays though according to Barclays the rumored ditching of the front-located Home button is not happening. "Barclays does not believe that the discrete home button will be removed on the next version of the iPhone," Apple Insider reported.
Instead, "the screen's dimensions in the casing will extend vertically as well as horizontally overlapping the home button," the report said. How exactly this will be achieved, Barclays did not elaborate.
Speculations are rife that the next iPhone will be an all-glass and all-screen device with stainless or aluminum chassis to hold together the inside components. And to mark the 10th anniversary of the device, Apple is said to skip the S phase and use iPhone 8 (and iPhone 8 Plus) on release date, in place of iPhone 7S.