According to rumors and speculations, Apple's upcoming iPhone 8 would come with some innovative features.
iPhone 8's OLED Display
Apple's next year iPhone will celebrate 10 years since the first launch of the mobile device. Therefore, tech experts and Apple's fans alike are expecting the company will launch a truly special iPhone 8 in 2017, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the popular gadget.
According to Japan's Nikkei Asian Review, Sharp executive Tai Jeng-Wu confirmed the next iPhone's hardware upgrade will reportedly include a stylish OLED display. He made this claim in a recent trip to Tatung University in Taiwan, his alma mater.
Jeng-Wu is well positioned to have access to insider information related to Apple's upcoming iPhone 8, since he also happens to be an executive at Foxconn Technology Group (Sharp's parent company also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry). Foxconn is an important iPhone part supplier and assembler and this puts him in a unique position to know what Apple is working on.
According to the report, Jeng-Wu said that Apple's iPhone has been continually evolving. Now the high-tech gadget is making the transition from low-temperature poly-silicon (LTPS) to OLED panels. He added that it is yet too early to know whether Apple's OLED iPhones will be a hit, but the company certainly needs to implement this new display technology in order to bring innovation to its flagship products and transform itself.
Jeng-Wu's remarks come in the context of Apple's financial troubles. The company has reported its first annual sales drop in fifteen years, according to The Wall Street Journal. The weakening demand of the iPhone is blamed by tech analysts on the lack of innovative features.
According to the website daringfireball.net, for most of the year Apple has been rumored to explore OLED technology, but Jeng-Wu's latest remarks can be considered almost an official confirmation. According to him, a new OLED facility is built now in Japan, but OLED panels could be produced by Foxconn in the U.S. as well.
The fact that Sharp and Apple are exploring OLED technology should be of no surprise. Samsung, Apple's top competitor, uses already OLED technology in both the Note 7 and S7 Edge phones. Many customers prefer the OLED displays to LCD screens because they offer brighter colors and sharper color contrasts.
Another advantage to OLED displays is their ability to flex. This feature allows manufacturers to create foldable models or, at least to bend the screens around the edge of the device. The OLED displays are, in essence, practically shatter-proof and way more durable.
According to Gizmodo, Apple is expected to release three new iPhone 8 models next year. Among them is included a high-end model with a 5.5-inch (or larger) OLED display, featuring curves on both sides of the phone, similar to Samsung's Galaxy S7. According to USA Today, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has stated that the new iPhone 8's OLED display will be curved and will feature a glass casing similar to the iPhone 4.
iPhone 8's Wireless Charging
BGR is reporting on another innovative feature expected to come implemented in next year's iPhone 8 will. According to the publication, the upcoming iPhone will ship with wireless charging. It is rumored that Apple's manufacturing partner Foxconn has started to test wireless charging modules that will be included in at least some versions of the iPhone 8.
Whether or not the wireless charging technology finds its way inside the upcoming Apple flagship mobile phone depends on how that testing goes and whether Foxconn is able to consistently produce good quality wireless charging modules. If this rumors are true, then this is just another sign that Apple is looking for serious innovations for next year's iPhone 8 that will come on the market right around the 10th anniversary of the first iPhone.
If that happens, adding wireless charging would introduce one more standout feature to the upcoming iPhone 8. Whatever Apple goes with, it really needs to be innovative enough to make a difference. With the market fully saturated by lookalike smartphones, the company will need to finde ways to kickstart sales of its iPhone line.
Another reason for Apple to introduce the innovative wireless charging technology is to terminate the Lightning port. By discontinuing the 3.5mm jack port in the iPhone 7, Apple already demonstrated its belief that the future of headphones is wireless. If with the iPhone 8 the high-tech company can shortcut the need for any charging cables, then it could feasibly create the world's first completely wireless smartphone.
