Apple surprises its customers with every iPhone it releases, but next year will be very special, as it’s the iPhone’s tenth anniversary. So Apple could release its biggest iPhone to date next year, reports Forbes.
Apple’s next iPhone might be the iPhone 7s, iPhone 8 or Tenth Anniversary iPhone, but at least one of the models will come with a really big organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, MacRumors reported recently. The report cited Barclays analysts, who cited sources within Apple’s supply chain during their Asian trip.
How different and big the next device will be is the question for now. It is expected that the device will come with a bezel-less display design with a screen size of 5.8 inches — bigger than the 5.5-inch 7 Plus. However, a reader pointed out that the bezel-less design of the next iPhone would not allow the actual dimensions of the 5.8-inch iPhone to be much bigger than the 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus, notes Forbes.
To make bezel-free iPhones, Apple would need to remove the iconic Home button on the next iPhone, according to the widespread rumors. Barclays, however, differs and does not believe that the Home button will be moved to an in-screen solution. It does expect the company to extend the screen, both vertically and horizontally, but exactly how it will do it remains to be seen.
“[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,” Barclays noted.
Only the bigger iPhone 8 to sport OLED display?
Though MacRumors notes that the display sizes cannot be said with surety for now, Barclays believes that Apple will likely continue its trend of introducing phones with larger screen sizes and curved edges which might resemble the Galaxy S7 Edge.
Also, according to Japanese publication Nikkei, the large iPhone 8 to be introduced next year will be a premium model and will be sold alongside the more traditional 4.7-inch and 5-inch iPhones with more conventional LCD screens.
Barclays reported that only the 5.8-inch iPhone will come with a OLED display which could be brighter, sharper and more energy efficient compared to the LCD technology used currently. It is said that Samsung and LG will be the primary OLED suppliers for Apple, and Foxconn-owned Sharp too will join the supplier list by 2018.
