After months of supply chain leaks and analyst reports, it is clear that the upcoming iPhone 7 will be only a minor upgrade. It should be named iPhone 6SS rather than iPhone 7 because the device is said to have the same design as the iPhone 6 and 6S, with only a few small changes like the inclusion of dual-SIM trays, and the removal of the headphone jack and antenna bands. A bigger upgrade will arrive with the next year’s iPhone 8.
Image Source: PixabayWhere will Jony Ive take the iPhone?
2017 marks the 10th anniversary of the iconic iPhone. And Apple is making all efforts to reclaim its glory after reports that iPhone sales have started declining. We reported in April that Apple had placed a $2.59 billion order with Samsung for the supply of OLED screens starting 2017. The OLED display is said to be incorporated in the iPhone 8. But there is more to the next year’s iPhone design.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple’s design head Jony Ive has “expressed a desire for the iPhone to appear like a single sheet of glass.” The design ideas for the 2017 iPhone will “push the handsets in that direction” by removing the bezels around the display with the OLED screen. It means the device will have a bezelless wraparound display with the fingerprint scanner, front camera, and other sensors embedded in the display itself.
Only one version of iPhone 8 to have all-glass design
However, a major Apple supplier recently indicated that only one version of the iPhone 8 will have an all-glass design. Allen Horng, the CEO of the iPhone casing supplier Catcher Technology, said last month that one model of the next year’s iPhone will still have a metal frame. Perhaps that’s why the WSJ said the 2017 iPhone will “push handsets in that direction” as Jony Ive is unlikely to realize his vision entirely.
All eyes are now on the iPhone 8 instead of the “modest upgrade” iPhone 7. Credit Suisse analyst Kulbinder Garcha said in a research note last week that he was expecting “muted” sales increase for the iPhone 7 due to the lack of exciting new features.
