With suggestions from John Gruber the iPhone 8 will be called the iPhone Pro, and some public commenter guessing the HomePod will wireless recharge devices, what does analyst Kuo think?
2017. It’s the year of the iPhone 7s and 7s Plus, and what some are calling the iPhone 8, which others still call the iPhone Pro.
Finance site StreetInsider lists all of Kuo’s 10 predictions, which you can read here.
Here's my take on them all.
{loadposition alex08}
1. Kuo starts by predicting what many have thought for some time - both the 7s and 7s Plus will essentially have the same form factor and screen size as the last three models.
The iPhone 8 will have a 5.2-inch screen, which StreetInsiders lists as potentially also being 5.8-inches “depending on the definition of screen size in use.”
That said, it can only be one or the other, but it will be different to the existing iPhones we know now, meaning app developers will have a new screen size to develop for.
2. The second big prediction is that the iPhone 8 will have an OLED screen that won’t support a Touch ID sensor under the screen.
This is the opposite of what many have expected from the beginning, that Apple would indeed figure out how to place a Touch ID sensor under the screen, and it comes down to the technology just not yet being good enough to work as seamlessly, effortlessly and easily as the current Touch ID we’re all used to.
Some are saying this will see the Touch ID sensor relegated to the back of the iPhone 8/Pro, with only a virtual home button on the front as is the case with the Samsung Galaxy S8.
My guess? Apple is cleverer than we give it credit for and it will indeed have figured out how to place Touch ID reliably under the screen, but we’ll just have to wait and see what happens on launch day to find out the truth.
3. The third prediction is that, because there will supposedly be no Touch ID, that 3D sensing will deliver a kind of “Face ID” and “improved selfie quality.”
Presumably you’ll need to tap somewhere first for Face ID tech to authenticate you by looking at your face, or irises, or whatever the heck it is looking at, or you’ll make the home lock screen completely useless as you’ll never be able to see it as you’d be instantly logged in.
If this comes to pass everyone will try fooling the sensor with a photo of themselves - and you’d have to think that Apple is way too smart to let its system be fooled by a mere photo.
4. The fourth prediction is that the iPhone 8/Pro and the larger iPhone 7s Plus will have 3GB RAM, supposedly to support the dual camera both these supposed models will offer, while for some reason, the smaller iPhone 7s will only require 2GB RAM because of a single camera.
Sounds bogus to me, but hey, I’m not an extremely highly paid analyst - 3GB if not 4GB of RAM as we have with the new iPad Pros should simply be standard, but as always, Apple works in mysterious ways, and its OS and hardware are so tightly integrated and efficient that Apple makes Google, Microsoft and everyone else look like the rank amateurs they actually are in comparison.
5. The fifth prediction is that 64GB and 256GB will be the storage options this time around.
Seems dumb to leave out the 128GB tier to me, and given iPad Pros now come with 512GB configurations, it seems only natural to me that 512GB will be an option.
Indeed, if this is true, the best thing about it is that 32GB will have been eliminated as a storage size, with 64GB a great new baseline option.
Again - who really knows? Certainly not me, and I’ll bet Kuo does a lot more guessing that he would want to let on, so we’ll just have to see what happens on launch day to even the scores up.
6. Prediction six says Apple will continue offering the standard Lightning charging, audio and accessories port, but we’re told “there will be an embedded USB-C power delivery IC for higher charging efficiency.”
That means a faster charging capability if you buy the presumably separately available fast charger.
iPhones are already supposed to be able to use the iPad charger for a faster charge, while iPads can use the MacBook charger with USB-C to charge much faster than the USB charger in iPad and iPad Pro boxes, so if this new arrangement delivers even faster charging should you have a charger able to deliver it, then so much the better.
7. Prediction seven is that “the output power of the receiver & speaker of OLED iPhone will be more consistent to create better stereo effects.”
It has to be said that the current iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are noticeably louder than the previous 6 and 6s-class models, so if iPhone 8/Pro can improve on this further, then that is great news indeed. I only hope the 7s and 7s Plus are suitably upgraded, too.
8. Prediction eight is that the iPhone 8/Pro will have fewer case colours to choose from, but hey, you can buy any colour of iPhone case that you want.
Also, if you use your iPhone without a case, then you deserve to have it break, because that’s the price you pay for stupidity. iPhones have a LOT of glass on them, and no matter how careful you are, some moron can easily bump into you and cause you to drop your phone.
I always use a case with my iPhones and they’ve saved me time and again when an iPhone has accidentally slipped from my hands.
If you’re one of these people that just don’t use an iPhone case, I hope you have great insurance or a lot of money, because one day - inevitably - you will need it.
In the meantime, the rest of us use a case.
9. Prediction nine suggests August and September are when the iPhone 7s and 7s Plus production ramp up will happen, and that it will be and October and November timeframe for the iPhone 8/Pro.
If accurate, this would mean no iPhone 8/Pro models launching at the same time as the iPhone 7s and 7s Plus. It would also suggest iPhone 8/Pro shortages - as if that wasn’t already the case with every new iPhone ever released since 2007 anyway.
Unsurprisingly, Kuo predicts that Apple will launch all three iPhones at the same time anyway, and that iPhone 8/Pro availability delays may run well into the first half of 2018, and in some ways as noted above, availability issues for Apple products because of insanely great demand is absolutely nothing new.
I mean, I just checked Apple AirPods availability in the US and Australia - and there’s STILL a six week shipping delay - and we’re into July 2017!
10. Kuo’s final prediction for the three new iPhones in the 2017 financial year will be “80-85mn units, with an equal split between OLED & LCD versions.”
So, there you go. There’ll be plenty more rumours between now and the presumed September release date, but only September’s actual launch will separate the facts from the fiction.