iPhone 8 will be launched on September 12, Apple ramps up production in China
The business newspaper in the US has been told by its sources, who have been briefed about the next iPhone launch, that Apple will indeed launch the new iPhone 8 on September 12. The report also notes the new iPhone 8, along with the iPhone 7s and the iPhone 7s Plus, will go on sale around 10 days after its unveil. Although no price for the phone has been mentioned, rumours earlier hinted that the iPhone 8, which is going to be the anniversary edition, will be the costliest iPhone yet.
The iPhone 8 will also possibly come with a new design, whereas the iPhone 7s and the iPhone 7s Plus will be iterative updates to the current iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus. Here is what we know about the iPhone 8 so far:
The iPhone 8 is expected to come with a price tag of around $1000 (expect India price of nearly Rs 1 lakh).
The iPhone 8 possibly comes with a new design, which is said to include two layers of glass with a metal frame sandwiched between them.
Currently, it is not clear how big will be the screen size of the iPhone 8. Although some rumours have hinted that this could be a 5.8-inch screen. We have also heard of the OLED panel, unlike the LCD panel that current iPhones use. The OLED panel, often seen in phones like the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy Note 8, shows punchier, deeper colours. Although there is no consensus on the screen size, it has been hinted by analysts that follow Apple that the iPhone 8 will have a design with very thin bezels around the screen.
The iPhone 8 is expected to do away with the physical home button. As for the TouchID, there are two rumours. One hints that the TouchID will move to the Apple logo on the back cover while another one says that it will be under the glass on the screen.
The iPhone 8 is expected to come with a redesigned camera. Just like the iPhone 7 Plus, it will have two cameras on the rear: one a regular camera, and the other one with a telephoto lens for the portrait photos and closeups. But -- and so say rumours -- this time around Apple is also going to use a bigger image sensor in the iPhone 8 so that it competes with the camera performance of the Google Pixel and the Galaxy S8 in a better way, especially when it comes to low light performance.
The redesign will possibly allow Apple to offer wireless charging with the iPhone 8, although reports say that the charging speed won't be as fast as what consumers get with the Galaxy S8, which too supports wireless charging.
It has been speculated that Apple is also beefing up the front and back cameras in the iPhone 8 to offer better augmented reality experience. If you remember, Apple introduced artificial reality APIs in the iOS 11, the software that is going to be inside the iPhone 8.
The iPhone 8 will be powered by the Apple A11 processor and is sure to come with at least 32GB internal storage. To support better AR experience, it will also possibly come with 3GM RAM.
The Apple iPhone 8 will support face recognition and users will be able to unlock the phone using face recognition technology. The phone will probably sport a sensor on the front that will help users get better face recognition even when the light is low.
According to WSJ, the iPhone 8 will be unveiled at an event in Apple's new office that has an auditorium with seating capacity of 1000 people. Apple has also reportedly, anticipating big demand for the iPhone 8 that is going to be the anniversary edition considering the fact that the first iPhone was launched in 2007, increased the production of the phone in China. Currently, there is one manufacturing plant in China making the iPhone 8, says WSJ. But soon the production is expected to expand to other plants where Apple and its manufacturing partner Foxconn make iPhones.
