7 Early Predictions for the iPhone 8

The iPhone 7 has only been out since September, but insiders are already looking ahead to the release of the iPhone 8 next fall. The event will mark the 10th anniversary of the iPhone, and rumors are swirling that Apple has something special up its sleeves. Heres a look at what we can expect from the next generation of the iPhone, given the trajectory of smartphone trends and what we know and can infer from Apple leaks and rumors.

Radical Redesign

One of the biggest changes to the iPhone 8 will most likely be an edge-to-edge display that resembles a single sheet of glass and eliminates the home button. Touch ID and the front-facing camera, currently housed by bezels, will be built directly into the display, eliminating the need for a separate home button.

This will leave more room for a larger screen. Screens have increased in size since the iPhone 5 was launched, which expanded the screen height of the iPhone 4 from 4.54 to 4.87 inches, allowing for a sixth row of icons. The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s increased to 5.44 inches, where the iPhone 7 has remained. But the iPhone 8 display could be bigger still, with rumors suggesting 5.5 or 5.8 inches; or the phones edges could simply shrink to fit the size of the new glass display.

Flexible OLED Display

Besides being lighter, a flexible OLED display will allow the iPhone 8 to bend and will improve its graphics capability. An OLED display, also used in some HD TVs, does not require backlighting. In addition to reducing the phones thickness and weight, this also provides a better contrast ratio, enriching colors. The use of OLED technology will also improve energy efficiency, prolong battery life and speed response time for faster refresh rates.

Taptic Engine

To support the elimination of the home button, the iPhone 8 will likely include an enhanced taptic engine. Apples combination of tap controls with touch-sensitive haptic controls, introduced on the MacBook and Apple Watch in 2015, was incorporated into the iPhone 6 and has since been getting more sophisticated. Taptic technology enables the iPhone to respond differently to different degrees of pressure, simplifying device control.

Optical Photo-Taking Stabilization

Another feature likely to be expanded on the iPhone 8 is optical image stabilization, used to reduce photo blurring from motion during camera shooting. Currently, only the iPhone 7 Plus has dual-lens capability, and OIS is only incorporated into its wide-angle lens. While only the high-end version of the iPhone 8 is likely to have dual lenses, both lenses will likely have OIS capability.

Advanced Security Features

The iPhone 8 will have more advanced biometrics features that improve upon the Touch ID technology introduced in the iPhone 5s. These features may include facial recognition and iris scanning capability. However, some rumors say iris scanning will not become available until 2018, so the initial release of the iPhone 8 may lack this feature.

Smaller, Faster, More Energy-Efficient

Chips for the iPhone have been shrinking since the iPhone 4. The iPhone 8 is expected to introduce the still smaller 10-nanometer A11 chip. Like previous iPhone upgrades, the A11 chip will promote greater energy efficiency and faster processing speed. The transition from the A9 chip to the A10 chip delivered a 40 percent boost in CPU performance and a 50 percent boost in graphics performance. The A11 is anticipated to deliver an even greater performance boost.

Wireless Charging

Apple has been working on long-range wireless charging capabilitythat may be incorporated into iPhones in 2017. The Apple Watch and competitor smartphones already use wireless charging, and Apple is reportedly working out some bugs in the technology. If this pans out by 2017, wireless charging will likely be incorporated into the iPhone 8.