This year it’s the tenth anniversary of the iPhone, and it’s rumored that the next model – set to be unveiled on Tuesday – will be a big change for the brand. The iPhone 8 could have a new design, more cameras, a very different screen and more besides.
In short, it’s thought that the iPhone 8 will be a very different phone to the iPhone 7, but exactly what’s changing and how? And what things might stay the same?
While we can’t answer any of those questions definitively just yet we can take a good guess based on the various leaks and rumors, and that’s exactly what we’ve done below.
iPhone 8 vs iPhone 7 design
Rumors suggest that the iPhone 8 will have a glass back with a metal frame, which would be quite a change, given that the iPhone 7 has a metal unibody.
The iPhone 8 is also likely to be a far bigger phone in order to accommodate the larger screen (detailed below). While we can’t be sure of the dimensions, one rumor puts them at 143.59 x 70.94 x 7.57mm, which would dwarf the 138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1mm iPhone 7 – though not quite by as much as you might expect given how much the screen is likely to grow.
That’s because while the iPhone 7 has large bezels, in particular above and below the display, the iPhone 8 is thought to ditch them almost entirely, taking the home button with them.
As such, if it has a fingerprint scanner at all it’s likely to either be on the back or on the power button. A lot of rumors also suggested it might be built into the screen, but recent leaks suggest this is unlikely.
The iPhone 8 is also likely to be more water resistant than the iPhone 7, as while the latter is IP67 certified (meaning it can be submerged up to 1 meter deep for up to 30 minutes), the iPhone 8 is rumored to be IP68 certified, which would mean you can dunk it up to 1.5 meters deep for the same duration.
The available colors might not be too different, with the iPhone 8 likely to be offered in many of the same shades as the iPhone 7, such as jet black, gold, silver and black, but rumors suggest a new ‘blush gold’ shade might replace rose gold on the iPhone 8, and the phone may also come in a mirrored finish.
iPhone 8 vs iPhone 7 display
Apple could stick its biggest smartphone screen yet on the iPhone 8, with most rumors agreeing on a 5.8-inch size. That would make it bigger than the 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus and far bigger than the 4.7-inch iPhone 7.
The iPhone 8’s screen is also expected to have far less bezel, as explained above, so while it will have a bigger screen it might not be that much bigger in the hand.
With a larger size, the iPhone 8’s screen is sure to be a higher resolution than the 750 x 1334 iPhone 7 or even the 1080 x 1920 iPhone 7 Plus. How much higher? We’re not sure, but one rumor points to a 1,125 x 2,436 resolution.
As well as a new size, Apple is also thought to be changing the display technology in the iPhone 8 to AMOLED, from IPS LCD in the iPhone 7.
That has a number of potential advantages, but most notably it can lead to more vivid colors and improved contrast, so it should be an upgrade.
The iPhone 8 may also benefit from some sort of function area at the bottom of the display. This has been described as both providing context-sensitive shortcuts and also allowing for gesture controls, allowing you to easily launch Siri or move between apps with swipes, rather than presses of the likely absent home button.
Another possible difference between the two phones is the aspect ratio, as while the iPhone 7 is 16:9 some reports claim the iPhone 8 will move to a more widescreen 18:9.
But not everything will be changing. For example, 3D Touch is likely to remain on the iPhone 8, allowing you to use different amounts of pressure when tapping for different results.
iPhone 8 vs iPhone 7 OS and power
The iPhone 7 is already a very speedy handset, thanks to its quad-core Apple A10 Fusion chipset and 2GB of RAM, but the iPhone 8 is sure to be faster still.
Rumors point to either an Apple A11 or Apple A11 Fusion chipset, which will likely still be quad-core but will probably be smaller at 10nm. That’s down from 16nm in the iPhone 7 and could make the chip both faster and lighter on battery use.
That’s likely to be paired with 3GB of RAM – half as much again as the iPhone 7, but the same amount as the iPhone 7 Plus. And Apple might further boost performance by adding an artificial intelligence processor into the mix, which could do some of the heavy lifting so the main CPU won’t have to.
Storage could increase too. The iPhone 7 comes in 32GB, 128GB and 256GB sizes, which at the top end makes it a very spacious phone, but the iPhone 8 might start with 64GB at the bottom end and top out at 512GB.
One area where we don’t expect much change is the operating system. Both phones run iOS of course and while the iPhone 8 is likely to launch with the brand-new iOS 11, the iPhone 7 will be updatable to that version once it’s available.
iPhone 8 vs iPhone 7 camera and battery
The iPhone 8 may well have a 12MP camera, just like the iPhone 7, but while the iPhone 7 has just a single lens snapper, the iPhone 8 is expected to have a dual-lens one.
Those lenses will probably be capable of similar tricks to the iPhone 7 Plus, including a 2x optical zoom and the ability to use depth of field effects to blur the background of images.
It’s also rumored to sport optical image stabilization on both lenses, have a ‘SmartCam’ mode which can recognize what you’re pointing the camera at and adjust the settings accordingly, and augmented reality (AR) features, which could allow for everything from adding 3D objects to pictures and videos, to helping you precisely navigate indoor spaces.
The iPhone 7 doesn’t have these AR abilities or a SmartCam, but it does have optical image stabilization and is generally a very capable camera, even in low light, which is where smartphone cameras often struggle the most.
We don’t know what the iPhone 8’s front-facing camera’s spec will be, but it’s likely to at least match the 7MP iPhone 7, and is thought to add the ability to take 3D scans of faces, allowing you to unlock the phone just by looking at it.
As for the battery, there’s a 1,960mAh one in the iPhone 7 and while we don’t know how big the iPhone 8’s will be it’s sure to be larger. Partly because the iPhone 8 will be a larger phone, and partly because it’s rumored that Apple is moving to a stacked mainboard design, which would leave additional space.
Another big change to the battery could be how you charge it, as Apple is strongly rumored to be adding wireless charging to the iPhone 8. That’s a feature that’s been a long time coming.
iPhone 8 vs iPhone 7 price
It’s rumored that the iPhone 8 might cost as much as $1,100 (around £845, AU$1,380), and that would be the starting price for the likely 64GB version, though we wouldn’t be surprised if it’s more like $1000.
The iPhone 7 meanwhile starts at $649 (£599, AU$1,079) for a 32GB version, rising to $849 (£799, AU$1,379) for a 256GB handset. In other words, it’s a lot cheaper, with even a top-end 256GB unit potentially costing less than a 64GB iPhone 8.
Takeaway
Apple has stuck with the same design of phone for a few years now so it’s due a proper overhaul and it looks like the iPhone 8 will be that.
If the rumors are right it will have a completely different design to the iPhone 7, along with a far bigger and far more form-filling screen, an extra camera lens, more storage at the top end, a bigger battery, more power and additional features that the iPhone 7 lacks, like face scanning, augmented reality abilities and wireless charging.
It will still run iOS, so the day to day experience of using the phone might not be that different, especially as the iPhone 7 is already very powerful, but if you’re on an iPhone 6S or earlier then this year could be a great time to upgrade, assuming most of the rumors prove accurate, and you can stomach the likely very high price.
- Apple might also launch an iPhone 7S and iPhone 7S Plus
Hello, my name is Jack Sparrow. I'm a 50 year old self-employed Pirate from the Caribbean.
No comments:
Post a Comment